Young Germany
Karl Friedrich Schapper was born on December 30 1812 in Weinbach. His father, Christian Schapper, was a priest. Karl Schapper studied forestry in Giessen. As a student, he joined a radical fraternity, and in 1832, he participated in an insurrection known as "Frankfurter Landsturm". The would-be revolutionaries seized an arsenal and wanted to overthrow the Frankfurt diet and proclaim a republic. Schapper was imprisoned, but after three months, he managed to escape, making his way to Switzerland. There he worked as a forestry worker and typesetter. He joined the radical organisation 'Young Germany' and became a follower of the utopian communist Wilhelm Weitling. 'Young Germany' was modelled on, and affiliated with, Giuseppe Mazzini's 'Young Italy', and in 1834, Schapper participated in Mazzini's attempt at an armed invasion of Savoy from Switzerland. This was Mazzini's second attempt; like the first, in 1833, it was unsuccessful. Schapper was once again imprisoned.