From Maik Ullmann

An urn was once enthroned on the pedestal of the Waterloo monument in Fallersleben, but this was replaced by a figure of Germania on October 26, 1876. From now on, the monument dedicated to the Battle of Waterloo and its fallen on June 8, 1817, was also to commemorate "the glorious victories of 1870-1871," as the Aller-Zeitung noted on November 3, 1876.-__-0000-__- With the construction of the monument, the costs of which were largely borne by the population and the local Landwehrverein,-__-0001-__- the latter set a striking sign of its affiliation with the Kaiserreich. In this context, the Germania is a form of expression of nationalism, as was ultimately demonstrated during the inauguration event: whether through the raising of the German flag by the citizens of Fallersleben, the arrival of representatives of numerous war associations, or the organization of a torchlight procession -__-0002-__- - the contributions to the large-scale inauguration of the monument found manifold expression.

The figure of Germania, created by the Hallesian sculptor Emil Schober -__-0003-__-, was therefore also intended to commemorate the Franco-Prussian War, at the end of which the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. For this very reason, the Germania almost disappeared from the Wolfsburg monument landscape after the war.

In the Potsdam Agreement of August 2, 1945, the denazification and demilitarization of Germany were two of the most important decisions. The consequences of this agreement reached by the victorious powers made themselves clearly felt within the German culture of remembrance in the post-war period - also in Fallersleben. In an order dated August 26, 1946, the military government of the district of Gifhorn called upon its localities to immediately indicate all monuments and museums whose intention was to "reawaken militarism or commemorate the Nazi party."-__-0004-__- In addition to the Waterloo Monument, a memorial stone for the fallen of the First World War, a glass memorial plaque for the fallen firemen of the same war and a booty cannon from 1915, the then Fallersleben town manager Daniel Hill also listed the Germania standing on the memorial square. A committee appointed by the municipality even suggested its removal. Only the pedestal was to remain.-__-0005-__- According to a short note of December 20, 1946, however, "no further decision has yet been made". At this point the correspondence in this regard stops; the Germania still stands on the spot today.

The reasons for this presumably lie in a redesign of the monument that had already taken place on May 12, 1932, the concrete circumstances of which, however, can no longer be ascertained. On this day the Germania received a new pedestal - the old pedestal of the Waterloo monument was shipped to the castle park and from now on could stand for itself again in its original form.-__-0000-__- The new Germania pedestal in turn now no longer reminded of "the glorious victories" but carried the following inscription: "To the brave heroes their grateful fellow citizens". In addition, in 1932 the names of the 25 Fallersleben soldiers who had gone into the field against France in 1870/71 were also inscribed on the pedestal. Finally, the Iron Cross, entwined with a laurel wreath, was dedicated to these soldiers and their efforts in battle. According to the list, none of the soldiers lost their lives during the fighting. However, the Fallersleben council minutes indicate that "a miller's companion" -__-0001-__- died in the course of the fighting. This was "Th. Lehn", who is marked on the pedestal as "wounded", but according to the "Amt-und-Landwehrverein" was killed in action.

But what is it actually about the symbol of the Germania itself? Revived in the late 18th century, it underwent numerous reinterpretations until 1945. The figure proved to be a changeable medium, which was repeatedly adapted to the respective prevailing ideology.-__-0003-__- In the years before the wars of liberation, it was still considered an anti-monarchical, bourgeois symbol, but in 1814, the Prussian King Frederick William III turned it into a monarchical patriotic allegory.-__-0004-__- It was the Roman historian Tacitus, who was rediscovered only during the Renaissance, who was to have a decisive influence on the modern reception of Germania. It was the mores described by him, especially the morals of the Germanic peoples, to which recourse was made again and again in the 19th century. In the quest to consciously distinguish themselves from other nations, Germania was an indispensable construction for the newly emerging national consciousness: Germans were looking for a symbol that could express their identity and the unity they had created. It was the figure of Germania that served this very purpose.-__-0005-__- After the founding of the German Empire, in the course of planning the massive Niederwald Monument, which was to be read as a demonstration of German unity, the national symbol underwent another reinterpretation. Still depicted during the 1860s as rather warlike and admonishingly looking toward France, after 1871 it was predominantly figured posing victoriously and bearing the imperial insignia.-__-0006-__- The monument character of the Germania was now less militaristic; rather, as a national monument, it commemorated the founding of the German Empire.

Since the Germania in Fallersleben was erected in those 1870s, it stands to reason that it should be viewed in this context: With the imperial eagle resting on her head, her sword stretching victoriously into the sky, she looks proudly toward the north, in keeping with her mythical origins. The chosen compass direction, which deliberately contrasts with earlier depictions in which she directed her gaze to the west, makes it clear that the war was history, the people lived in peace with France.-__-0007-__- The burden of the chains, once imposed by the Romans, later again by the French, she had now finally thrown off: Germania was completely freed from any yoke. The same applied to the individual German states. Only the victory over France in the spring of 1871 made possible the founding of the German Empire, free from any foreign rule. Thus, the Fallersleben Germania is to be interpreted as a symbol of the peace achieved, which is once again particularly emphasized by the laurel branch adorning its head.-__-0008-__-

The Germania is dressed in a sagum, a Roman type of cloak, which Tacitus erroneously regarded as characteristic for the Germanic tribes.-__-0000-__- A breastplate worn over it protects the upper body. While later depictions of Germania again show her with raised shield, awaiting the enemy in a warlike posture, the Fallersleben Germania simply holds the lowered shield with her left hand at the upper edge, as if she is aware that no enemy will have to be fought off in the near future. In addition to the Prussian eagle, it also shows the golden imperial crown. According to legend, it is traced back to the imperial coronation of Otto the Great in the 10th century.-__-0001-__- In the late 19th century, because of this supposed line of continuity, it was considered the incarnation of the idea of empire according to God's will. The shield is faithfully designed in the colors of the German Confederation and the later imperial colors of black, white and red. The growing sense of togetherness of the now all-German population found visible expression in Fallersleben through the planting of three oak trees to the left, right and behind the Germania. For in Germanic tradition, to which German commemorative culture referred in countless variations, these were both signs of peace and of various German virtues such as honor or courage.-.__-0002-__- The then Superintendent of the place, August Althaus, stated exactly this in his speech at the opening of the memorial on October 26, 1876: The mighty war had brought forth "once again a strong German Empire and a German Emperor."-__-0003-__- Notwithstanding this, however, the German people could not find life in war, but only in peace.

Within Fallersleben's culture of remembrance, the Germania soon became established. In the late 19th and early 20th century, it can be found as a central motif on numerous postcards.-__-0000-__- In today's commemorative practice, however, it hardly plays a role. Within 70 years, in the change of ideologies and political structures, the mythical Germania lost most of its meaning. The message it conveys has also long since become obsolete: the era of the often conjured up supposed hereditary enmity with France ended in 1963 with the signing of the Élysée Treaty.

Only in 1980 did the monument once again cause a stir: "Treasures found for historians",-__-0001-__- headlined the Wolfsburg News on August 28 of that year. On August 18, the Germania was damaged under circumstances that can no longer be reconstructed today.-__-0002-__- In the process, a monument conservator came across a roll of documents inside the figure,-__-0003-__- which contained numerous written documents.-__-0004-__-.

These included newspaper articles from the time of the laying of the foundation stone of the monument and its remodeling, as well as 191 telegrams from the period between July 1870 and March 1871 reporting on war events in France. In addition, a poster of the National Socialist German Workers' Party for the election of the 7th Reichstag (1932) was found in the sleeve, showing the likeness of Adolf Hitler - an early commitment to National Socialism even before Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor. At the time of their discovery, however, the documents received no increased attention.-__-0000-__- They simply went back into the case, which in turn took its rightful place inside the restored Germania. Copies of the dispatches from the theater of war and the election poster were not made, so that parts of the "Germania file" must remain locked away for the time being.

Sources:

-__-0000-__- "Fallersleben, 27. Octobr.", in Aller-Zeitung of November 3, 1876.
-__-0001-__- Stadt Wolfsburg, Das Ratsbuch der Stadt Fallersleben (as note 5), p. 165; StadtA WOB, HA 9076, Amt-Landwehr-Verein zu Fallersleben, Nachrichten über das Denkmal, 21 Oct. 1876.
-__-0002-__- "Fallersleben, 27. Octobr.", in: Aller-Zeitung, November 3, 1876.
-__-0003-__- Communication from Roland Kuhne, Stadtarchiv Halle, to the author, October 27, 2016.
-__-0004-__- StadtA WOB, HA 10843, vol. 1, An die Herren Bürgermeister im Kreise, Betrifft: Militärische Museen und Denkmäler, 26 Aug. 1946; Ibid, Herren Bürgermeister im Kreise, In follow-up to my decree of August 26. 1946, October 4, 1946.
-__-0005-__- Here and hereafter Ibid, To the District in Gifhorn, Re: Military Museums and Monuments, October 8, 1946.
-__-0006-__- StadtA WOB, HA 9076, handwritten note by Rector Heinrichs, May 12, 1932.
-__-0007-__- Stadt Wolfsburg (ed.), Annette von Boettcher (ed.), Das Ratsbuch der Stadt Fallersleben. 1547-1948. brunswick 2013, p. 165.
-__-0008-__- StadtA WOB, HA 9076, Amt-Landwehr-Verein zu Fallersleben, news about the monument, October 21, 1876.
-__-0009-__- Lothar Gall, Germania. A German Marianne? Bonn 1993, p. 20.
-__-0010-__- Meinhold Lurz, War Memorials in Germany. Volume 1: Wars of Liberation. Heidelberg 1985, p. 177f.
-__-0011-__- Charlotte Tacke, Denkmal im Sozialen Raum. National Symbols in Germany and France in the 19th Century. Göttingen 1995, p. 29.
-__-0012-__- Here and in the following Ibid, p. 179.
-__-0013-__- Gall, Germania (as note 10), p. 26.
-__-0014-__- Simone Staritz, Geschlecht, Religion und Nation - Genoveva Literaturen 1775-1866. St. Ingbert 2005, p. 122; Gall, Germania (as note 10), p. 18.
-__-0015-__- Cornelii Taciti, De Origine Et Situ Germanorum, 17, 1-2, ed. and transl. by Alfons Städele. Berlin 2011; Elke Trzinski, Studien zur Ikonographie der Germania. Recklinghausen 1990, p. 66.
-__-0016-__- Hans Martin Schaller, "Die Wiener Reichskrone - entstanden unter König Konrad III.", in: Gesellschaft für staufische Geschichte (ed.), Die Reichskleinodien. Signs of the Holy Roman Empire. Goeppingen 1997, pp. 58-89.
-__-0017-__- Meinhold Lurz, Kriegerdenkmäler in Deutschland. Volume 5: Third Reich. Heidelberg 1986, p. 214; Ders, Kriegerdenkmäler in Deutschland. Volume 1: Wars of Liberation (as note 11), p. 154.
-__-0018-__- Here and in the following "Fallersleben, 27. Octobr.", in: Aller-Zeitung of November 3, 1876.
-__-0019-__- StadtA WOB, Postkarten, P-705, P-708, P-709, P-710, and P-711 (Deutsche Reichspost. Postcard).
-__-0020-__- "Treasures found for historians," in Wolfsburger Nachrichten, August 28, 1980.
-__-0021-__- StadtA WOB, HA 9076, note by Elke Wichmann from the School and Cultural Office: Discovery of a document scroll in the monument of "Germania" Ortsteil Fallersleben, August 20, 1980, p. 1.
-__-0022-__- Copies of the contents of the sleeve are today partly in the collection of the Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben Museum.
-__-0023-__- StadtA WOB, HA 9076, note by Elke Wichmann from the School and Cultural Office: Discovery of a document roll in the monument of the "Germania" district Fallersleben, August 20, 1980, p. 1.
-__-0024-__- Ibid, p. 2.

Published on 7.11.2018