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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
Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 2013
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