Heidelberg asparagus meal

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The Heidelberger Spargelessen (also: Heidelberger Spargelaffäre , Heidelberger Mockage ) was a series of public statements by Heidelberg Corps students directed against Adolf Hitler from May 21, 1935 in Heidelberg , which accelerated the dissolution of the student associations in the National Socialist German Reich . Members of the Corps Saxo-Borussia criticized Adolf Hitler and National Socialism.

prehistory

Since the takeover of power by the National Socialists , which entered the decisive phase with the appointment of Hitler as Reich Chancellor on January 30, 1933, there has been a relationship between the student associations on the one hand and the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) and its student offshoot, the National Socialist German Student Union (NSDStB) On the other hand, the relationship was divided: on the one hand, numerous fraternity students were supporters of National Socialist ideas, goals or views; On the other hand, the ties to tradition of the connections contradicted the revolutionary habitus of the National Socialists, their elitist orientation to the idea of ​​the national community , their internal self-administration to the Führer principle and their independence to the National Socialist efforts to harmonize .

This led to inconsistent procedures: While some connections submitted to the NSDStB's claim to sole representation and gave up the old connection system, others sought open confrontation with the new rulers; still others tried to ease the pressure through an adaptation strategy and thus secure their survival by standing still. Above all, the corps were seen as reactionary , that is, opposed to the intentions and wishes of the NSDStB to be brought into line. The Göttingen riots in June 1934 and the Göttingen maypole affair in mid-May 1935 were used by the Nazi regime and state institutions to promote a ban on corporations.

event

On May 21, 1935, members of the Corps Saxo-Borussia entered the Corps' regular pub in Heidelberg, the "Seppl" , while Hitler's "Peace Speech" , given on May 17, 1933 in the Reichstag, was broadcast on the radio . They disrupted the transmission with loud roaring, told each other in an overly loud tone Hitler jokes and blew melodies on an empty champagne bottle, to which they sang songs of derision about the National Socialists.

The following day, voices were raised that they had behaved improperly and that they had disturbed the guests in the “Seppl” when they heard the speech. Thereupon the Corps Saxo-Borussia apologized to the NSDStB in Heidelberg and the student body dominated by it and their leader Gustav Adolf Scheel (member of the Association of German Students in Tübingen) and to the Rector of the University Wilhelm Groh ( old man of the Corps Suevia Freiburg ), who accepted the apology and took no further action.

Further provocations were carried out by the outrage published in the press that was switched on in the following days: For example, on May 26, 1935, members of the same corps talked over an asparagus meal in the Heidelberg restaurant “ Hirschgasse ”, the traditional dining hall of the Heidelberg connections "The leader of asparagus with knife, fork or paws" and generally ate according to the comments; Finally, the students in the corps agreed that Hitler had "such a big mouth that he could eat the asparagus across".

consequences

Immediately after the events was Corps Saxo-Borussia prohibited the corps students involved were from the University relegated , the senior Henning v. Quast was temporarily arrested. Other connections reacted differently: While in some places their own actions were carried out - for example the appearance of a Hitler impersonator on the terrace of a Marburg corp house or the affixing of a Hitler image on the fencing dummy of a connection - other connections expressed outrage at the displays, in part Conviction, partly out of fear of being affected by the expected repression. The German singers said:

“While singers in brown shirts do their hard work in the camp for people and nation, corps students in full coat celebrate the reception of a fox over champagne and wine. While singers in the border region contribute with the song on their lips to close the gap that once developed between people and students, drunken corps students roam the streets and disrupt the holy speech of our Führer to all fellow citizens ! "

In newspaper articles and caricatures, frat students in general and Corps students in particular were portrayed as "reactionary", "stupid" and " bourgeois ". The Reich Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach published an "Appeal and Order" in which he stated:

“False Altheidelberg romanticism and anti-working class feudalism are the ideals of these so-called corporations. They stand outside the national community and are enemies of the socialist nation.
The Hitler Youth cannot reconcile it with its honor as an ideological educational community of the creative German youth to continue to recognize such institutions that repeatedly prove to be unworthy of our German people and leader. In particular, the incidents that occurred in Heidelberg in the last few days and led to the suspension of the Saxo-Borussia corps, give a terrible picture of brutality and indecency, even profound meanness, of a small clique of corporation students who make noise and drink while Germany is working. If such elements, in their depravity, do not even stop at the Fiihrer's holy person, they judge themselves. But we also draw the line between them and us, the line between reaction and socialism. "

Subsequently, on July 7, 1935, he ordered all members of the Hitler Youth (HJ) who also belonged to a student union to leave either their corporation or the HJ. Membership in a connection was no longer possible as a HJ member.

On July 15, 1935, Hitler himself spoke out in favor of the "slow death" of the connections. In quick succession, associations and their umbrella organizations were banned and terminated.

Web links

literature

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Kurt Bauer: Hitler's "Peace Speech" of May 1933: Speech by the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler on May 17, 1933 in the Reichstag. (PDF; 134 kB) Course “Key texts and documents on the history of National Socialism”, University of Vienna, Institute for Contemporary History, WS 2008/09. In: kurt-bauer-geschichte.at. Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
  2. ^ Martin Hempel: The political situation of the association. In: DS 5 (1935), pp. 143–151, here p. 144.
  3. ↑ Quoted from: Baldur von Schirach: The Reich Youth Leader orders: HJ or corporation! In: Kreuzzeitung . July 7, 1935, archived from the original on July 23, 2012 ; accessed on May 21, 2020 (reproduced on the website of the Association of Alter Herren im Coburg Convent ).