Eckart, Dietrich (1868-1923)

Eckart, Dietrich

JOURNALIST, POLITICAL AGITATOR, PLAYWRIGHT (GERMANY)

BORN 23 Mar 1868, Neumarkt, Bayern (near Nürnberg) - DIED 26 Dec 1923, Berchtesgaden, Bayern
CAUSE OF DEATH heart attack
GRAVE LOCATION Berchtesgaden, Bayern: Alter Friedhof, Baumgarten Allee

Dietrich Eckart grew up without his mother and was hardly looked upon by his father. He visited several schools and in 1891 he ended his Medicine Studies in Erlangen without finishing them. In 1893 his father died and he inherited a significant amount of money. After he was treated for a morphine addiction he worked as a journalist and as a theatre critic. He lived in Leipzig, Berlin and Regensburg. In 1899 he was broke and returned to Berlin. There he was supported by theatre manager Georg von Hülsen-Haeseler but still he failed as a poet and as a dramatist.

From 1907 to 1913 he lived with his brother and in 1913 he married the rich Rosa Marx-Wiedeburg. In 1915 they went to Munich where he founded the Hoheneichen publishing house. In 1919 he was among the founders of the NSDAP and he became Hitlers friend and mentor. He als introduced Rosenberg to Hitler. In 1921 he became editor in chief of the Völkischen Beobachter. During the same year he divorced his wife. He was arrested after the Hitler putsch but when he suffered a severe heart attack he was released from prison. Six days later he died of a second heart attack in Berchtesgaden.

Hitler dedicated Mein Kampf to him (and other people). The Waldbühne in Berlin was named after him after its construction in 1936. His grave can still be found in Berchtesgaden.

Images

The grave of Dietrich Eckart at the Alter Friedhof, Berchtesgaden.
Picture by Androom (28 Aug 2009)