Der Hessische Landbote

The Hessian Courier (Der Hessische Landbote) (1834) is an eight-page pamphlet, originally written by Georg Büchner, against the social injustices of the time. It was printed and published following editiorial revision by the Butzbach pastor Friedrich Ludwig Weidig. The first copies of the pamphlet were secretly distributed in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt on the eve of 31 July 1834.

Contents

1. Contents of the pamphlet

2. Origins and distribution

3. Aftermath

4. Assessment

1. Contents of the pamphlet

The pamphlet begins after a short preface (with instructions to the readers on how best they should handle the illegal text) with the rallying call: "Peace to the huts! War on the palaces!" The circulation of the pamphlet is unknown, it was probably in the range of 1200 to 1500 copies. The authors compare the social conditions in Hesse at that time with a (modified) example from the creation story in the Bible. They ask provocatively if, unlike in Genesis, the "peasants and craftsmen" were created on the fifth rather than the sixth day and are therefore to be categorised as animals that can be controlled at the whim of the people created on the sixth day, namely "the princes and the nobles." In addition, the authors denounce the judiciary as a "whore of the princes"; it is "just a way to keep you in order so that they can more easily enslave you." The key motif of this polemic pamphlet, which runs through the entire text as a continuous theme, is the connection of this biblical style with the listing of figures showing the (high) tax revenues and (wasteful) expenditure of the Grand Duchy of Hessen. Thus Büchner and Weidig tried to convince the God-fearing people of the urgency of a revolution and the justification of an uprising against the Grand Duke and the state order - which at the time was seen to be "given by God's grace" and therefore untouchable.

2. Origins and distribution

It is assumed that the first draft of Georg Büchner’s pamphlet was written in late March 1834 at the Badenburg in Gießen and was revised in May by Friedrich Ludwig Weidig. Between 5 and 9 July, Georg Büchner and an associate brought the revised text to the printers in Offenbach am Main. On 31 July, Karl Minnigerode, Friedrich Jacob Schütz and Karl Zeuner collected the printed copies of the text from the Carl Preller printing presses to distribute them. An informant named Johann Konrad Kuhl told the police about the highly-charged text. The very next day, 1 August, Karl Minnigerode was arrested with 139 copies of the pamphlet in his possession. Büchner warned Schütz, Zeuner and Weidig about the police activities. Non-confiscated copies were then redistributed. In November, a new modified edition was printed in Marburg.

The pamphlet was first printed in Offenbach but was revised once again by Leopold Eichelberg and reprinted in Marburg. In some cases, entire passages were removed or added during these revisions. For example, if one compares the versions of July and November 1834, the introductory text (mentioned above) is missing from the November edition, and the pamphlet begins directly with the rallying cry "Peace to the huts […]". Büchner's original text does not survive. The July edition revised by Weidig is now the starting point for research. According to reports, Büchner was incensed by the changes made by Weidig and was no longer prepared to accept the text as his own. This suggests that the changes were relatively significant. Büchner research suggests that Weidig's interventions are more frequent in the second part in particular.

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