The ‘Frankfurter Wachensturm’ of 1833

Consequences
 

However, the revolution was not only planned in Frankfurt; uprisings were to break out simultaneously in various other places in Germany, some with active support from Poles. For example, a group of Polish officers from Besançon and other Polish units were supposed to cross the French-German border and support the German insurgents in Baden and Württemberg, but this ultimately did not happen.[5]

Although historians categorised the “foolish Frankfurt coup” (Michael Doeberl) more as an amateurishly planned and thoroughly naïve student caper (Hans-Ulrich Wehler) which was quashed after around two hours, at the time it was taken very seriously as a revolutionary political coup attempt. In response to the Wachensturm, the reactionary forces struck back; a wave of “demagogue persecution” followed, which claimed the lives of many German friends of Poland, such as the publicist Friedrich Ludwig Weidig, spiritus rector of the Polish aid scholarships at the University of Giessen and co-author of the “Hessischer Landbote” together with Georg Büchner.

For the Poles in Germany, the uprising had fundamentally negative consequences. Lubański had to flee to France and became a doctor in Nice. Lelewel and Oborski, in turn, sought refuge in Switzerland. However, the repercussions of the failed uprising extended beyond those directly involved. Poles throughout Germany, even those who had not participated, faced heightened suspicion and discrimination. Access to German universities became increasingly difficult for Polish students, as they were now viewed with distrust and prejudice.

Filip Emanuel Schuffert, April 2024

Further reading:

• Hofmann, Andreas C.: Deutsche Universitätspolitik im Vormärz (1815–1848). Ein Beitrag zur Neubewertung des Deutschen Bundes, Berlin 2019.
• Weitershaus, Friedrich Wilhelm: Verfolgte, Verurteilte und Verdächtige der Vormärzzeit in Oberhessen. Studenten, Bürger, Bauern gegen Reaktion und Restauration, in: Mitteilungen des Oberhessischen Geschichtsvereins 62 (1977), p. 171–220.
• Molik, Witold: Polscy studenci na uniwersytetach niemieckich od końca XVIII do początku XX wieku, Poznań 2016.
• Hackmann, Jörg / Marta Kopij-Weiß: Nationen in Kontakt und Konflikt. Deutsch-polnische Beziehungen und Verflechtungen 1806–1918, Darmstadt 2014.