Herman von Natzmer

Herman von Natzmer (1806 - 1858) became an officer in the Prussian Army and was assigned as commandant of the arsenal of in Berlin. On June 14, 1848, the arsenal was stormed by the citizens of Berlin protesting the dissolution of the National Assembly and the revocation of the German Constitution by King Frederick Wilhelm IV. Natzmer as commandant of arsenal refused to order his troops to fire on the citizens. For disobeying the order to fire on the crowd, Natzmer was tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He became a hero to the insurrectionists all across Europe in 1848 and 1849 because of his refusal to fire on the insurgent citizens. In 1849, Natzner escaped from prison and fled to the Palatinate where he took part in the Baden-Palatinate uprising of 1849. Following the suppression of the uprising in Baden and the Palatinate, Natzmer escaped to Switzerland and later to England. In 1852, he emigrated to Australia. Natzmer died in 1858.