Thirties

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The thirties were the names of those refugees who had to flee from Germany (German-speaking area) during the freedom struggle in the 1830s as politically persecuted or who left the country voluntarily as people who thought differently. Since the United States was considered a country with exemplary democracy at the time , many emigrated there, including to Texas , Illinois and Missouri .

Historical background

The ideas of the French Revolution (1789–1799) - "freedom, equality, brotherhood" - had meanwhile also found acceptance in the German states, especially among intellectuals , professors and students. “ Left ”, “ liberal ” and “ national ” (striving for national unity and independence) become synonyms for a socio-political movement that was bitterly opposed by the monarchs united in the German Confederation . The Carlsbad resolutions resulted in the persecution of so-called demagogues and an absolutist reaction from the rulers. The demand of the "rioters" was the creation of a classless civil society, the slogan was "common good over self-interest ". The aim was to fight the mass poverty of the time through labor protection laws, social welfare and the establishment of workers' organizations . An early national movement eventually turned into a mass movement that found expression in highlights such as the Hambach Festival (May 27-30, 1832 ), the Frankfurt Wachensturm (April 3, 1833 ), gymnastics festivals and singing festivals.

The "thirties"

“Thirties” is the collective term for those refugees, mostly intellectuals, who had to leave Germany during or after the freedom struggles of the 1830s ( “Ubi libertas, ibi patria - where freedom is, there is also my fatherland” ). An important role played in this context by the lawyer Paul Follen (also: Follenius ; 1799–1844), brother of the scholar and writer Karl Follen (1796–1840), Adolf Ludwig Follen and his brother-in-law, Pastor Friedrich Münch (1799–1881) " Giessener Emigration Society" from 1833. The aim of this society was not only to help those willing to emigrate, but also to establish a "new and free Germany" in North America.

The "Thirties" were to a certain extent the forerunners of the " Forty-Eighters ", that is, the group of German refugees who only had to leave their homeland after the March Revolution of 1848 and who are now more widely recognized by historians . In contrast to the “Forty-Eighters”, the “Thirties” were more tolerant and level-headed and less doctrinal . In addition, they were mostly younger than their successors, as they included a large number of young students. The "30s" saw themselves as heroic adventurers and lone fighters, while the "48s" were more of a closed group of political "doers of conviction".

Personalities

  • Paul Follen (1799–1844), lawyer, writer and farmer, founder of the " Giessener Emigration Society "
  • Friedrich Münch (1799–1881), pastor, winemaker, politician and writer, founder of the " Giessener Emigration Society "
  • Gustav Bunsen (1804–1836), surgeon, leader of the Frankfurt Wachensturm and fighter in the Texan War of Independence
  • Theodor Engelmann (1808–1889), lawyer, journalist and newspaper publisher
  • Gustav Körner (1809–1896), lawyer and judge, brigadier general, diplomat and statesman, US ambassador to Spain and vice-governor of Illinois, author and editor of the " Belleville Zeitung "
  • Ferdinand Lindheimer (1801–1879), botanist (" father of Texan botany "), journalist and newspaper publisher

literature

  • Rudolph L. Biesele: The History of the German Settlements in Texas 1831–1861. Verlag Von Boeckmann-Jones, Austin 1930. - New edition 1964.
  • Douglas Hale: Wanderers Between Two Worlds. German Rebels in the American West, 1830-1860. Xlibris, 2005. ISBN 1-4134-4592-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Sabine Freitag: Friedrich Hecker (biography of a republican) . transatlantic historical studies vol. 10. Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GmbH, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-515-07296-9 , pp. 194, 378 ( limited preview in Google Book search).