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Körner reloaded oder: Helden sterben nie!?

Körner reloaded oder: Helden sterben nie!? JUSTUS H. ULBRICHT * In the context of last year's commemoration of the Napoleonic Wars (1813-1815) and the Battle of Nations near Leipzig in 1813, one poet, unknown to most people today, has reappeared ­ at least nominally ­ in our cultural memory: Theodor Körner. However, for more than 150 years this author and "war volunteer" belonged to the cultural soul of Germany's educated bourgeoisie as the "singer with lyre and sword." Körner's brief life was quickly mythologized, his death glorified as a martyr's death for the "German cause," and his small artistic oeuvre (along with that of Ernst Moritz Arndt) understood as an important intellectual testimonial to the "German uprising" against Napoleon. This essay deconstructs the Körner myth and provides a panoramic overview of how its impact was politicized from the early 19th century and into the GDR era. The essay also looks at the appropriation of Körner by national and local memorial politics. ,,Überhaupt heiligt nichts so ein Leben als der Tod, [...] Körner ist nun wirklich zu einer vollendeten Gestalt geworden. Jugend, Dichtung, Vaterlandsliebe, Tapferkeit haben sich zu diesem einen frühen Ende verschlungen. Wäre er leben geblieben, hätte sich das Magische, das jetzt die beiden http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte Brill

Körner reloaded oder: Helden sterben nie!?

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden
ISSN
0044-3441
eISSN
1570-0739
DOI
10.1163/15700739-99000084
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

JUSTUS H. ULBRICHT * In the context of last year's commemoration of the Napoleonic Wars (1813-1815) and the Battle of Nations near Leipzig in 1813, one poet, unknown to most people today, has reappeared ­ at least nominally ­ in our cultural memory: Theodor Körner. However, for more than 150 years this author and "war volunteer" belonged to the cultural soul of Germany's educated bourgeoisie as the "singer with lyre and sword." Körner's brief life was quickly mythologized, his death glorified as a martyr's death for the "German cause," and his small artistic oeuvre (along with that of Ernst Moritz Arndt) understood as an important intellectual testimonial to the "German uprising" against Napoleon. This essay deconstructs the Körner myth and provides a panoramic overview of how its impact was politicized from the early 19th century and into the GDR era. The essay also looks at the appropriation of Körner by national and local memorial politics. ,,Überhaupt heiligt nichts so ein Leben als der Tod, [...] Körner ist nun wirklich zu einer vollendeten Gestalt geworden. Jugend, Dichtung, Vaterlandsliebe, Tapferkeit haben sich zu diesem einen frühen Ende verschlungen. Wäre er leben geblieben, hätte sich das Magische, das jetzt die beiden

Journal

Zeitschrift für Religions- und GeistesgeschichteBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2013

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