Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr Graf von Hertling was born in Darmstadt on August 31, 1843. He began his career as a professor of philosophy at the University of Munich, publishing books on Aristotle (1871) and Albertus Magnus (1880).
From 1875 to 1890, and again from 1893 to 1912, Hertling was a member of the Reichstag, He also led the Center (Catholic) Party faction from 1909 to 1912.
In 1891, the Regent of Bavaria made Hertling a life member of the upper house of the Bavarian Landtag. Upon becoming the leader of the largest party in the Bavarian Landtag in 1912, Hertling was appointed Bavarian Minister-President and Minister for Foreign Affairs by Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria. He was the first minister-president ever appointed who governed on the basis of a majority in the Landtag. King Ludwig III of Bavaria elevated Hertling to the rank of count (Graf) in 1913.
Following the outbreak of World War I, Hertling supported the policy of Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg. But by July 1917, the majority of the Reichstag (consisting of the Center, the Social Democrats, and the democratic faction of the Liberals) had voted for a peace of understanding, more parliamentary influence, and democratic reforms. They no longer confided in Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, whom they regarded as unable to realize their demands. The Supreme Command (Oberste Heeresleitung, or OHL), represented by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, also refused to cooperate with Bethmann-Hollweg.
At that time, Hertling had already been asked to take over the post… but refused. He thought he was in too weak a position to succeed against H-L.
Bethmann-Hollweg’s successor Georg Michaelis turned out to be a complete failure. He had acted according to the wishes of OHL, but he was unable to win the support of the majority parties. Michaelis resigned at the end of October after only ninety-nine days!
On November 1, 1917, Georg von Hertling accepted the appointment as Chancellor and Minister-President of Prussia. He was the first politician to hold either post; all of his predecessors had been career civil servants or military men.
Hertling soon confronted the same problem as his predecessors: he stood between the Supreme Command with its extreme war aims on one side and the Reichstag-majority with its wish for peace and democratic reforms on the other. Hertling wanted Hindenburg to sign an agreement stating that the peace negotiations would be solely with the chancellor. Hindenburg signed a vague document and, even so, was never willing to stick to it! Hertling accepted the OHL demand for territorial annexations… but wanted to limit them. He only managed to persuade King Ludwig III of Bavaria to renounce his dream that Alsace-Lorraine become part of Bavaria.
In negotiating the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Russia in early 1918, Hindenburg and Ludendorff went against Hertling’s ideas for a more moderate peace. When U.S. President Woodrow Wilson came out with his Fourteen Points in January 1918, Hertling, in order to soothe H-L, wanted to only partially accept them. Additionally, he refused to give up Belgium… but both aims went against the wishes of the democratic Liberals. Hertling had neither the power nor the courage to carry through his point of view!
On June 24, 1918, German Foreign Secretary Richard von Kühlmann admitted in the Reichstag that there was no longer a chance for a victory… and negotiations were unavoidable. Hindenburg and Ludendorff demanded his resignation… and Hertling obliged.
Hindenburg and Ludendorff also denied Hertling influence over the future fate of Poland and the occupied Baltic territories. Even when Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria urged Hertling to start peace negotiations in early June 1918, Hertling refused to please the Supreme Command. He believed what Hindenburg and Ludendorff told him: there was still a chance for victory. Even in early September, Hertling stated that Germany must not come out with new proposals for peace, because such actions could be interpreted as a sign of weakness. During that time, the Reichstag majority deemed Hertling untrustworthy.
Having failed to bring about any democratic reforms during his tenure, Hertling’s only concession was that he chose a Liberal politician, Friedrich von Payer, as vice-chancellor. Though he had admitted in the Prussian parliament that Prussia’s three-class suffrage was obsolete, Hertling took no steps to abolish it!
In July 1918, Paul von Hintze succeeded Kuhlmann as German Foreign Secretary. He feared a revolution if politics remained as usual, and that Hertling stood in the way of peace. But the Chancellor stayed true to his belief concerning the necessity of an autocratic monarchical system.
However, by late September 1918, even the Supreme Command had demanded ceasefire negotiations. Hindenburg and Ludendorff were ready to accept a new government in agreement with the majority of the Reichstag. On September 29, 1918, Hintze confronted Kaiser Wilhelm II with these demands, who gave way and ignored Hertling’s resistance.
At the time, Hertling was seventy-five years old. Due to his weak sight, the Chancellor was dependent on his son… who read the majority of documents to his father. The elder Hertling had also started to suffer from dizzy spells.
Like Michaelis before him, Hertling was increasingly seen as a puppet of H-L, who constituted a virtual military dictatorship in the last year of the war. In addition, Hertling presided over the last stage of the collapse of the German home front. When it became apparent that he was unable to manage the crisis, Hertling was forced to resign on October 3, 1918 in favor of the more liberal Prince Maximilian of Baden.
Sadly, Georg von Hertling did not live to see the fate of Germany after Versailles. He died on January 4, 1919 at Ruhpolding in the People’s State of Bavaria at the age of seventy-five.
Hertling was credited for founding the important German Catholic fraternity Askania-Burgundia. He was also a member of K.St.V. Arminia at Bonn.
His great-granddaughter is actress Gila von Weiter