[1] The period was a confused one during which political objectives were not always firmly fixed, nor clearly set out, but it is understood that Dorten's preference was for a Rhineland separated from "protestant" Prussia, and economically more closely aligned with France.

At the end of 1923, a final attempt to establish an independent Rhenish state having failed, he escaped to Nice in France: here he resumed his legal career and worked on his memoirs.

[3] The early progression of his legal career was also broken by a period of military service, undertaken with the Second Field Artillery Regiment No.23, based in Koblenz.

Ellis Island records disclose that on 22 December 1912 Dorten disembarked from the (recently refurbished and renamed) trans-atlantic cruise liner "Victoria Luise" on a visit to the United States, accompanied by his wife.

[8] Dorten continued to convene meetings of properly authorized officials and representatives in the Rhineland to try and obtain legitimacy and agreement from the towns and rural districts for the support of his objectives.

Not withstanding several setbacks, Dorten was able to find politically likeminded allies, including Dr. Franz Geueke, the publisher of the Rheinische Volkszeitung,[9] the regional newspaper.

It subsequently transpired that he also on various occasions during 1919, held talks at his home at Hilda Street 14 in Wiesbaden with officers from the French army of occupation, including General Mangin himself.

The French made no secret of their enthusiasm the idea of peeling the Rhineland off from the rest of Germany,[6] and they encouraged Dorten to create an independent Rhenish Republic, which from their point of view could become part of a larger solution to the "German problem".

After a week, it was impossible to deny that the "Putsch" had failed, in the face of large-scale popular protests, and opposition from all the municipal councils and other relevant organisations in the region.

[7] Following his latest failure to establish a Rhenish Republic, on the night of 31 December 1923/1 January 1924 Hans Adam Dorten made his way to France, settling at Nice in the south-east of the country.