Eskimo tragedy

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As Eskimo tragedy one was fire disaster known, on February 18 1881 in Munich occurred, arrived at the nine actors in a theater fire killed.

Background and process

That evening , a carnival event with a theatrical performance took place in “Kil's Colosseum”, a vaudeville and dance hall, the largest in the city at the time, in the Glockenbachviertel . The theme of the carnival ball was “A Journey Around the World”, with the theater group, which was made up entirely of students from the Academy of Fine Arts , opted for the theme “Antarctica”. The students in Professor Max Wiedemann's sculpting class made polar bear and Eskimo costumes from jute, white cotton wool and sheepskin for this performance. The fact that there are neither polar bears nor Eskimos in Antarctica did not detract from the joy of playing and costume. There was also a paper mache igloo on the stage, icebergs made of wood and plaster of paris, and herrings were to be fried on tallow candles.

At the beginning of the performance, the costume of one of the actors caught fire briefly, but was quickly extinguished and the play continued. At around midnight, however, the 32-year-old Adolf Görke from Breslau came too close to the flames, so that his costume ignited. This time, however, the flames couldn't be knocked out easily. The other eleven actors rushed to his aid, and the flames then spread to their costumes and ignited them. The buckets of water placed on the stage for safety were forgotten in the spreading panic. The press later quoted an eyewitness:

"As fast as the thought, the whole man stands in blazing flames from head to toe, in no time a second one [sic!] - two columns of fire fall into the hall, spreading a huge shower of sparks."

Although some of the audience tried to help the actors and showered them with their drinks, for example, many did not recognize the seriousness of the situation or thought it was a planned interlude. Most of the 3,000 people in the hall did not even notice the whole incident, the music continued to play loudly, and there was no panic among the spectators. The fire brigade intervened quickly and was able to extinguish the fire quickly, but help came too late for most of the actors. After four minutes the incident was over. While the carnival party went on, six of the sculptors died in front of the door, three more later in the hospital.

consequences

After this incident, further carnival events in Munich were canceled in 1881. As a consequence, the city of Munich tightened fire protection and safety requirements. Seven of the burned were buried in a common grave in the old south cemetery (today grave field 20). Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria , Johannes von Widenmayer , and Prussian and Saxon ambassadors also took part in the funeral procession through Munich .

To commemorate the victims of the Eskimo tragedy, the artist, Stefan Lenhart , organized a “performative re-enactment” in spring 2015.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 111 places in Munich that tell a story; Rüdiger Liedtke; Emons Publishing House; 2015; Page 48
  2. ↑ Munich Secrets; Eva-Maria Bast , Heike Thissen; Edition Münchner Merkur; 2015; Page 135
  3. ↑ Munich Secrets; Eva-Maria Bast, Heike Thissen; Edition Münchner Merkur; 2015; Page 135
  4. ↑ 111 places in Munich that tell a story; Rüdiger Liedtke; Emons Publishing House; 2015; Page 48
  5. ↑ https://www.merkur.de/lokales/muenchen/stadt-muenchen/serie-muenchner-geheimnisse-eskimo-tragoedie-sich-5969985.html
  6. ↑ Munich Secrets; Eva-Maria Bast, Heike Thissen; Edition Münchner Merkur; 2015; Page 135
  7. ↑ http://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/inhalt.faschings-gaudi-endet-im-drama-die-eskimo-tragoedie-das-flammende-inferno.96385b8f-6d06-46d3-8d8e-2779a3bb19f7.html#
  8. ↑ http://www.adbk.de/de/veranstaltungen/755-eskimotragoedie-von-muenchen.html
  9. ↑ http://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/inhalt.die-eskimotragoedie-eine-erinnerung-an-den-feuertod.1507a048-2ced-4c22-ae89-f51fc9ad4d6b.html

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