Kuno von Moltke

Lieutenant General Kuno Augustus Friedrich Karl Detlev Graf von Moltke (13 December 1847 – 19 March 1923), adjutant to Kaiser Wilhelm II and military commander of Berlin, was a principal in the homosexual scandal known as the Harden-Eulenburg Affair (1907) that rocked the Kaiser's entourage. Moltke was forced to leave the military service.

Biography
In 1896 Moltke, a 'confirmed bachelor' in his early 50s, married Nathalie von Hayden ('Lilly'), a woman more than twenty years his junior. The couple soon became estranged, with Moltke's physician later alleging that Lilly had physically attacked Moltke several times. The couple were eventually divorced in 1902 (the formal divorce proceedings took several years to conclude).

The Eulenburg affair
In 1907 the journalist Maximilian Harden publicly accused Moltke and Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg of a homosexual relationship. At this time, homosexual acts between men were illegal per Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code.

Accusations and counter-accusations quickly multiplied. Later that year, Moltke sued Harden for libel. His ex-wife Lilly (who had since remarried and was now called Lilly von Elbe) voluntarily testified against him. Magnus Hirschfeld, a physician and sexologist who supported the legalization of homosexuality in Germany, also testified that he believed Moltke to be homosexual. The court sensationally acquitted Harden and concluded that he had been telling the truth about Moltke's sexuality. However, the verdict was voided due to faulty procedure.

In 1908 Harden was retried, and this time he was found guilty of libel against Moltke.

German press reaction
After the first trial, the German press were sympathetic to Moltke. Newspapers condemned the tactics of the defense and expressing condolence with Count von Moltke, who was declared to have presented a dignified figure in court. Berliner Tageblatt condemned Harden for his salacious articles, and argued that they amounted to the unnecessary hunting down of an old soldier.

Later life
Moltke played little further part in public life after the Harden-Eulenberg affair. He died in Breslau in 1923.

Orders and decorations

 * German honours
 * Service Award Cross (Prussia)
 * [[file:D-PRU EK 1914 2 Klasse BAR.svg|50px]] Iron Cross, 2nd Class (Prussia)
 * [[file:Ord.Aquilarossa-UFF.png|50px]] Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd Class with Bow and Crown; 2nd Class with Oak Leaves (Prussia)
 * [[file:PRU Order of Crown ribbon.svg|50px]] Knight of the Royal Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Star (Prussia)
 * [[file:D-PRU Hohenzollern Order BAR.svg|50px]] Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern (Prussia)
 * BAD Order of the Lion of Zaeringen ribbon.svg Commander of the Order of the Zähringer Lion, 2nd Class, 1894; Commander 1st Class, 1904 (Baden)
 * Ord.Merit.Mil.Bavaria.PNG Knight of the Military Merit Order, 2nd Class with Swords; Commander (Bavaria)
 * MKB Order of the Wendish Crown ribbon.svg Grand Commander of the House Order of the Wendish Crown (Mecklenburg)
 * Order of the Griffon - Ribbon bar.svg Grand Cross of the Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg)
 * Order of the White Falcon - Ribbon bar.svg Commander of the Order of the White Falcon (Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach)
 * SAX Albert Order ribbon.svg Commander of the Albert Order, 1st Class (Saxony)
 * Het lint van het Vorstelijk Erekruis van Lippe.jpg Cross of Honour of the House Order of Schaumburg-Lippe, 2nd Class (Schaumburg-Lippe)
 * Cross of honor Order of the Crown Württemberg.png Cross of Honour of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, with Crown, 1893 (Württemberg)


 * Foreign honours
 * Ord.CoronaFerrea - COM.png Knight of the Imperial Order of the Iron Crown, 2nd Class (Austria-Hungary)
 * Ord.Franz.Joseph-COMplacca.png Commander of the Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph, with Star (Austria-Hungary)
 * Commendatore SSML Regno BAR.svg Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy)
 * Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Commander.svg Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)
 * Order of the Medjidie lenta.png Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class (Ottoman Empire)
 * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar.svg Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Anna, 2nd Class in Diamonds (Russia)
 * RUS Order św. Stanisława (baretka).svg Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st Class (Russia)
 * Order of the Crown of Thailand - 3rd Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg Commander of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Siam (Siam)
 * Royal Order of the Sword - Commander BAR.svg Commander of the Royal Order of the Sword (Sweden)