Matthias Erzberger

Born Sept. 20, 1875, in Buttenhausen; died Aug. 26, 1921, in Bad Griesbach. German political figure.

A member of the left wing of the Catholic Center Party, Erzberger was first elected to the Reichstag in 1903. At the beginning of World War I, he advocated annexations by Germany. After the victory of the February Revolution of 1917 in Russia he urged the Reichstag to search for a way to end the war. In July of that year he sponsored a “peace resolution.” Erzberger entered the government in October 1918. He headed the German delegation in the armistice negotiations with the Entente. On Nov. 11, 1918, he signed the Compiégne Armistice. In 1919 and 1920 he served as vice-chancellor and minister of finance. Erzberger was assassinated by reactionaries.