Emil Max Hödel (27 May 1857 – 16 August 1878) was a plumber from Leipzig, Germany, and a propaganda of the deed anarchist, who became known for the failed assassination of the German Emperor, Wilhelm I. A former member of the Leipzig Social-Democratic Association, he was expelled from the organization in the 1870s^[1] and eventually became involved in anarchism.

Hödel used a revolver to shoot at the German Emperor, Wilhelm I, on 11 May 1878, while the 81-year-old and his daughter, Princess Louise of Prussia, paraded in their carriage.^[2] Hödel was seized immediately. He was tried and convicted of high treason, and sentenced to death on 10 July by the Prussian State Court. Julius Krautz [de], Prussian state executioner, beheaded Hödel on 16 August 1878 in Moabit prison.^[3][4]

Although Hödel had been expelled from the Social Democratic Party, his actions, and those of Karl Nobiling, were used as justification to ban the party through the Anti-Socialist Law in October 1878.

• Propaganda of the deed