Adalbert Baumann

As a politician, Baumann is best known for his ideas surrounding the post-World War One future of Bavaria and Bavarian nationalism; Baumann supported a separation of Bavaria from the German Empire to form a new state with Austria. This was on the basis that the victorious powers of the war would better favour Bavaria in a new union state, rather than in a Prussian-dominated Germany. His ideas were brought to attention on 12 September 1919, when he gave a speech at a meeting of the German Workers' Party (which he had been a part of since 1919^[4]) in the Sterneckerbräu, which were so angrily rebuked by Adolf Hitler that Baumann left the room, while Hitler continued to argue against him.^[5] Baumann thus formed a part of Adolf Hitler's rise to power, as Hitler was recognised by Anton Drexler for his oratory skills, and was invited to join the Worker's Party.^[6]

Baumann founded the Democratic Socialist Citizen's Party of Munich (German: Demokratisch-sozialistische Bürgerpartei München) in mid-November 1918,^[7] also joining the South Munich branch of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, where he was reportedly frequently involved in clashes with fellow members, leaving the latter by 1920.^[7] Baumann was also a member of the Provisional National Council of Bavaria [de] (the predecessor of the Landtag of Bavaria after the House of Wittelsbach was deposed in the German Revolution of 1918–1919) from 8 November 1918 to 4 January 1919.^[4]

After the formation of the Nazi Party in 1933, Baumann tried to have a German language office formed, sending a letter to Joseph Goebbels with a plea to do so. His request was denied, and Baumann would later be expelled from the Party in 1937. Baumann also supported the formation of a European economic union of 26 countries; in March 1935 a letter to the governments of Europe was sent, demanding an artificial lingua franca be installed to aid "the economic consolidation of Europe".^[8]

Throughout much of his life, Baumann lived on the Neuhauser Straße in Munich.^[9] Outside of politics, Baumann was a teacher at the Luitpold Gymnasium, although some sources incorrectly label him as a professor at the University of Munich.^[10]

Baumann married Emilie Schwarz (born 31 August 1873 in Heidelberg) on 15 May 1897; they were divorced in 1938. Emilie was a German Jew and was deported from Munich on 1 July 1942. She was held in the Theresienstadt Ghetto in Terezín before being murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp in Poland. Her Stolperstein is in Kaiserslautern, along with that of her sister, Olga Schwarz. Baumann died on 6 December 1943 in Munich.^[4][11]