Harden-Eulenburg Affair

The Harden-Eulenburg affair, often simply Eulenburg affair, was the controversy surrounding a series of courts-martial and five regular trials regarding accusations of homosexual conduct, and accompanying libel trials, among prominent members of Kaiser Wilhelm II's cabinet and entourage and the chancellor von Bismarck during 1907-1909. It is often considered the biggest domestic scandal of the German Second Reich. While the controversy centred on Philipp Prince zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld and his accuser, journalist Maximilian Harden, accusations and counter-accusations quickly multiplied with the phrase "Liebenberg Round Table" being used to describe the gay male circle around the Kaiser.

Harden v. Moltke

December 18-25, 1907

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von Elbe, through a diagnosis of classical hysteria, and Hirschfeld, by retracting his earlier testimony, were discredited and Harden was convicted of libel and sentenced to four months imprisonment.

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