Langemarck myth

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Langemarck Cross of the Veterans Association of the XXVI. Reserve Corps , 1933

The Langemarck myth or the myth of Langemarck is a political myth that focused on the transfiguration of a loss-making military conflict during the First World War in the German Reich . The battle took place on November 10, 1914 near the Belgian town of Langemarck north of Ypres .

origin

After the lost battle of the Marne in September 1914, the German army withdrew behind the Aisne . Began with this retreat on the Western Front trench warfare . In the so-called race to the sea , the German troops, as well as their French and British opponents, tried in the following two weeks to encircle the other side on the north flank and to gain favorable starting positions for later attacks on the way to the coast. It was planned on the German side to advance to Calais . In a wide arc that spanned the Belgian city ​​of Ypres from north to south-east , between Dixmuide and Wytschate , the so-called First Battle of Flanders broke out in the last third of October 1914 and ended with the front solidifying from mid-November.

On the German side, mainly newly formed reserve corps , some of which were previously unserved (such as volunteers and reserve reservists ) and a large percentage of older members of the Landwehr , were deployed in this battle . A German breakthrough attempt on November 10, 1914 cost about 2000 men losses. The attack of that day took place six kilometers northwest of Langemarck between Noordschote and Bixschote and was carried out by the XXIII. Reserve Corps executed. The German attackers were only able to advance a few kilometers. The exhausted French defenders succeeded in repelling the onslaught of the poorly trained and equipped German reserve regiments. The German attacks finally stopped in mid-November without any significant land gains, and years of trench warfare began in Flanders as well.

The following day the Supreme Army Command commented on the events of November 10, 1914 with a momentous report, which was printed on the first page of almost all German newspapers:

“To the west of Langemarck, young regiments advanced against the first line of enemy positions to the chant 'Deutschland, Deutschland über alles' and took them. Around 2,000 French line infantry were captured and six machine guns captured. "

- OHL communiqué , November 11, 1914.

The report was obviously formulated in a propaganda style. “West Langemarck” was given as the scene. Not supported by sources is a main topos of the criticism of the myth, according to which the German and distinctive sounding and the typically Prussian-German perceived " Bismarck " place name "Langemarck" was deliberately preferred to the more precise but less advantageous "Bixschote". In the first third of November 1914, the failure of the German attempts to encircle Ypres became apparent. The meager result of the attack of November 10th, which was bought with heavy losses on the German side, was ignored; instead, a victory over French infantry was reported. Instead of the exact names of the associations involved, the young regiments wrote more generally and meaningfully .

This report was received uncritically by large parts of the German public and sparked the creation of a myth about the heroic sacrifice of young soldiers : “The origin of the Langemarck myth is the first significant example of various successful attempts in this war to translate military defeats into moral victories . "

Between November 11th and 17th, the Linsingen group (to which the XV Army Corps under General Berthold von Deimling and the 30th and 39th Divisions were subordinate) attempted to attack the extensive forests around Schloss Hooge with mass between the canal and Gheluvelt. Against the bitter resistance of the British 1st Corps , no breakthrough could be forced here until November 17th . The attack of the southern group Fabeck against the French XVI. Corps in the direction of the Kemmelberg only advanced about a kilometer. All further efforts only led to the front bulging of the now forming Wytschaete arch.

In this action, General von Deimling is said to have attacked four regiments with a total of 12,000 men with regimental music and playing the "Deutschlandlied", of which almost half are said to have survived.

→ First Battle of Flanders - attack on November 10th

The Langemarck monument

Dedication of the Langemarck monument on July 10, 1932

Sandstone blocks frame the entrance to the Langemarck Memorial ( 50 ° 55 ′ 12.58 ″  N , 2 ° 55 ′ 2.46 ″  E ) inaugurated on July 10, 1932 at the German military cemetery in Langemark . The names of those who fell there are carved on oak panels in the hall . One with was located at the front of the cemetery poppy planted honor room . There are still three former concrete shelters there. The battle front that once ran there is represented by a line with 52 stone sarcophagi that bear the inscriptions of student associations and units involved. A paved path leads along them. The honor room was enclosed by a wide moat.

On the occasion of the inauguration of the monument on July 10, 1932, Josef Magnus Wehner , who had been wounded on the Western Front himself, gave a speech that was later widely used and underpinned the Langemarck myth. At the same time commemorations took place throughout the German Reich.

Evolution of the Myth

First World War and Weimar Republic

Meeting of the Waffenring in Munich for a Langemarck memorial service in December 1931, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria with his wife and son welcomed veterans during the memorial service.
Langemarck celebration in the tennis hall on Fehrbelliner Platz in Berlin in November 1932, with Oskar Prince of Prussia with son Burchard

On the first anniversary of the fighting north of Ypres, numerous German newspapers published articles about the events at Langemarck, with the death of many of those involved being discussed for the first time and glorified as a sacrifice . The call for a Langemarck Day was also formulated. The fallen Langemarck fighters were also commemorated in school celebrations , with the deceased often portrayed as exemplary:

“Langemarck's Day will always be a day of honor for German youth. […] Whole sheaves fell on him from the prime of our youth […]; but the pain for the brave dead outshines the pride in how they knew how to fight and die. "

- German daily newspaper, November 11, 1915.

The correctness of individual aspects of the communication was questioned soon after the end of the war. Singing in particular has been the subject of doubt and controversy. This aspect made unbelievable, "that attacking soldiers who run after days of exhausting fighting over the wet, heavy clay soil of Flemish beet fields should sing a patriotic song." On the other hand, not only the weight of their almost 30 kg heavy equipment, but also the slow one, speaks for itself Marching song inappropriate rhythm of the song. For the song it was stated that it could have served to differentiate friend from foe and to avoid self- fire by the artillery (which, however, could not have been heard by the gunners standing about four kilometers further back). It could also have served to communicate with the neighboring battalions or the rear lines. The song became an integral part of the Langemarck myth because of the gap between the experienced war reality and the heroic image in which enthusiastic young soldiers "cheered and sang in the tradition of martyrs as they gave their lives for the fatherland". After further reports, attempts were made to imitate Langemarck's model , so that English sources also report of German military bands that allegedly played " Germany, Germany above everything " during attacks . Even Adolf Hitler described his first war experience in this way; There, too, the truth of the matter is questioned, especially since as a member of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment he was not there himself.

After the end of the war lost by the German Reich, the desire for hero worship was evidently particularly strong. From 1921 onwards, student organizations, youth associations and veterans' associations combined to form the "Langemarck Committee for University and Army" organized annual Langemarck celebrations. In 1924, around 2000 members of youth groups met on the Rhön to witness the unveiling of a Langemarck monument. The writer Rudolf Binding later wrote in a memory of the celebration:

“That event, however, no longer belongs to history, where it would one day be frozen and buried, but to the incessantly generating, incessantly rejuvenating, incessantly living power of myth. The death of the brave has already proven to be such, since the German youth seized it as the symbol and archetype of youthful elevation, for which in truth only they among all the peoples of the earth are entitled. "

- Rudolf G. Binding : German Youth Before the Dead of War, 1924.

Since 1926, Stahlhelm university groups have been formed, which in 1929 were removed from their subordination under the respective local Stahlhelm Association and merged in the Stahlhelm-Studentenring Langemarck . The student engagement makes it clear that the phrase “young regiments” from the OHL report was soon interpreted in the sense of students and high school students .

In 1928 the German student body decided to expand the " German Military Cemetery No. 123 " near Langemarck in West Flanders (Belgium). The "Langemarck donation of the German student body" was established to finance the donation, with the help of which the cemetery could be completed by 1932. On the occasion of the inauguration of the cemetery on July 10, 1932, a text by the Munich writer Josef Magnus Wehner , who was himself wounded on the Western Front, was read out at the German universities as part of Langemarck celebrations . Since 1928, the German student body has held “Langemarck celebrations” at all German universities and a central Reich celebration in Berlin every November.

National Socialism

Langemarck celebration, Berlin university auditorium, General Labor Leader Wilhelm Decker at the lectern , November 11, 1936
Reichssportfeld, Olympic Summer Games 1936, Langemarckhalle on the right in front of the Berlin bell tower

The Langemarck myth was only taken up by the National Socialists from 1928, on the one hand in the Hitler Youth and on the other in the National Socialist Student Union. One emphasized the national community character of the Langemarck fighters , who were now represented as young workers, merchants, farmers and students. Accordingly, the Langemarck donation from the German student body was converted into a donation from the German youth in 1934 .

During National Socialism, Langemarck formed - according to the Austrian cultural historian Thomas Macho - a "counterpart" to Weimar and an opposition to the November Revolution in terms of date policy .

Already on November 9, 1933 , the heroic drama Jugend von Langemarck by the Bonn writer Heinrich Zerkaulen was premiered in several cities, including Dresden , Bremen , Kassel and Darmstadt . The enthusiasm of the National Socialists for this historical material can otherwise be measured by the fact that in autumn 1933 two more Langemarck plays (by Edgar Kahn and Max Geißler-MONTO) celebrated their premiere, the experience report Der Sturm auf Langemarck. By someone who was there between 1933 and 1942 in nine editions. The veterans' association of the former XXVI. Reserve Corps , which was mainly deployed in the above-mentioned battles, donated the so-called Langemarck Cross as an unofficial badge of honor with Adolf Hitler's approval .

On the Reichssportfeld in Berlin, a Langemarckhalle was built in 1936 below the bell tower of the Olympic bell ("Führerturm") in honor of the regiments involved in the battle. On the occasion of the Olympic Games, the architect of the Olympic Stadium Werner March wanted to bring together the cult of physical exercise and the cult of sacrifice of soldier courage . In the same year, the Langemarck memorial was inaugurated in Ludwigshafen- Mundenheim , which was created on the initiative of the local war club . In Zwickau , too, there was a memorial by the sculptor Hermann Alfred Raddatz for the fallen of Langemarck from 1934 until it was destroyed in a bomb attack in 1943 .

Adolf Hitler himself reported in Mein Kampf that on October 29, 1914, as a soldier in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 16 near the West Flemish village of Geluveld, he experienced his first deployment with enemy fire. On the one hand, he stylizes this incident as a “ baptism of fire ”, but on the other hand he also takes up themes from the Langemarck myth: “damp, cold night in Flanders”, enemy fire and contempt for death, inexperienced soldiers storm over beet fields, “the song reached us too , and we passed it on again: Germany, Germany above everything, above everything in the world! "," They knew how to die like old soldiers. "Nevertheless, Hitler paid little heed to the Langemarck myth . Greetings that he wrote for Langemarck memorials and on other occasions were always conspicuously short and distant "and never neglected to downplay the importance of the students in favor of the workers and enthusiasm in favor of determination."

When Belgium and France were militarily defeated in the early summer of 1940, the Nazi regime celebrated this as “the true end of the First World War [...], whereby the leadership could be sure of the approval of most Germans.” Military commemorations in Verdun and on the The Langemarck military cemetery was supposed to symbolize the new end of the First World War in autumn 1940 . One commemorated the fallen under the motto "And you have won."

In the city of Bonn and before the corporation houses distributed HJ - leaflet (June 1934), verbal assault on the Catholic student associations

In the end, "Langemarck" was not only appropriated and instrumentalized by the National Socialists, but also standardized and transformed across the Reich, right up to the " Langemarck degree ", which should prepare workers, craftsmen and farmers without a high school diploma within three semesters for university studies, provided they corresponded to the ideological criteria of "racial purity" and National Socialist commitment: "In the Langemarck course we consistently carried out the idea of ​​a National Socialist selection for the university for the first time."

The great importance assigned to the Langemarck myth during the Nazi era is shown by Albert Speer's plans for the construction of the “ World Capital Germania ”. These provided for a “University of Adolf Hitler”, to which the Reichssportfeld with the Olympic Stadium in Berlin would later have been added. A gigantic Langemarckhalle was then to be built as an architectural highlight, which would have put the existing one in the shade.

A division of the Waffen-SS set up from volunteers in occupied Belgium during World War II was called "Langemarck" .

post war period

After the catastrophic defeat of the German troops in World War II and the Nazi crimes, the population's attitude towards war changed, and nationalist-militarist myths such as the von Langemarck myth gradually lost their meaning. However, a public discussion about the naming of public streets, squares and facilities that came from earlier times came relatively late. In Bremen , on the occasion of the Langemarck celebrations on November 11, 1937, Große and Kleine Allee as well as Meterstraße, a main street in the Neustadt district, were renamed Langemarckstraße . The Neustadt district council decided in 2006 to set up a history trail instead of renaming it (see web links). Langemarckstraße also exist in Augsburg , Bad Wildungen , Bedburg , Bergisch Gladbach (Langemarckweg), Bonn , Donauwörth , Dormagen (Langemarkstraße), Eislingen / Fils , Essen , Freiburg im Breisgau , Korbach , Kitzingen , Rastatt , Lahr , Münster , Neuss , Oberhausen ( Langemarkstraße), Prüm and Sankt Augustin . There is a Langemarckpark in Düren . A Langemarckplatz exists in Erlangen , for example , as well as in Heidelberg (today: Universitätsplatz ) and Koblenz , the latter borders on the Langemarck barracks , and a Langemarckstraße in Eschwege (Hesse) also leads to what was then an armored barracks, later maintained by the BGS . There was a Langemarckplatz in Nordhorn since the late 1920s, but after intensive discussions in the city it was completely redesigned by the American artist Jenny Holzer and has been called the Black Garden since 1995 . There are also several Langemarkstraten in Flanders .

One of the memorabilia of the German Armed Forces for the alarm post separation call results in the acronym "Langemark" or a variant of it.

  • Memorial wall in the interior of the Langemarckhalle at the Berlin Olympic site

  • Description Langemarckhalle, bell tower / Olympic site memorial

  • Langemarck monument in Ludwigshafen- Mundenheim

  • A gateway made of red Weser sandstone to the German military cemetery in Langemarck in 2006

  • Commemorative plaque, inscription: “I called you by your name. You are mine. Isa 43.1 - 44,061 German soldiers from the 1914/18 war rest in this cemetery ” ; 2006

  • Burial ground of the military cemetery, 2006

literature

  • Uwe-K. Ketelsen : "The youth of Langemarck". A poetic-political motif from the interwar period. Herbert Lehner on his 60th birthday. In: Thomas Koebner , Rolf-Peter Janz, Frank Trommler (eds.): “The new times are moving with us”. The myth of youth. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1985, ISBN 3-518-11229-5 , pp. 68-96.
  • Karl Unruh: Langemarck. Legend and reality. Bernard and Graefe, Koblenz 1986, ISBN 3-7637-5469-5 .
  • Herbert Lehnert: Langemarck - historical and symbolic. In: Festschrift for Bengt Algot Sörensen (= Orbis Litterarum, Vol. 42, No. 3–4). Copenhagen 1987, pp. 271-290.
  • Reinhard Dithmar (Hrsg.): The Langemarck myth in poetry and teaching. Luchterhand, Neuwied 1992, ISBN 3-472-01047-9 .
  • Bernd Hüppauf : Battle myths and the construction of the “new man”. In: Gerhard Hirschfeld , Gerd Krumeich, Irina Renz (eds.): "Nobody here feels like a person any more". Experience and impact of the First World War. Klartext, Essen 1993, ISBN 3-88474-004-0 , pp. 43-84.
  • Rainer Ludwig: "Plant the pillars of the empire in the decay of the world!" On the history and conception of the German war cemetery Langemarck-Nord. In: Burschenschaftliche Blätter , Volume 119, 2004, Issue 4, pp. 117–122.
  • Rik Opsommer : Kemmelbergweg, Langemarckstein, Becelaerekaserne, Ypresstraße en Flanders sports ground: onbekend, onbemind. Vlaamse propagandist toponiemen in Duitsland na de eerste wereldoorlog (= Ieperse historical studies , 9). Stadsarchief, Ieper 2003.
  • Harald Lönnecker : Langemarck and the German fraternity. In: Burschenschaftliche Blätter, Volume 119, 2004, Issue 4, pp. 129–137.
  • Gerd Krumeich : Langemarck . In: Etienne François , Hagen Schulze (ed.): German places of memory III. Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47224-9 , pp. 292-309.
  • Jens-Markus Sanker: "Stahlhelm our symbol, black-white-red the ribbon". The Stahlhelm student ring Langemarck. University policy in Feldgrau 1926–1935. Würzburg 2004, ISBN 3-930877-38-4 .
  • Arndt Weinrich: cult of youth - cult of the victim. The Langemarck myth in the interwar period . In: Historical Social Research / Historical Social Research 34 (2009), No. 4: Premature Death: Patterns of Identity and Meaning From a Historical Perspective / Premature Death: Identity and Meaning in Historical Perspective , pp. 319–330 ( JSTOR 20762415 ).

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ As an example, the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 211 states as personnel: 166 active soldiers 299 reservists 970 volunteers (of which certainly not all were students or pupils) 1499 soldiers 1 substitute reservist
  2. ↑ Quotation from: Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the "new man" . 1993, p. 45.
  3. ↑ Gerd Krumeich: Langemarck (lit.), p. 294
  4. ↑ Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the "new man" . 1993, p. 47.
  5. ^ Reichsarchiv
  6. ↑ which would have been more than the maximum mobilization stock
  7. ↑ Nothing of this is mentioned in the “Reichsarchiv”.
  8. ↑ Curt Badinski : From a great time. Reminder sheets of the Jäger-Feld-Battalion No. 9. World War 1914–1918. Vol. 1. Lauenburgischer Heimatverlag, H. H. C. Freystatatzky's Buchdruckerei, Ratzeburg 1932.
  9. ↑ Quotation from Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the “new man” . 1993, p. 46.
  10. ↑ Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the "new man" . 1993, p. 47 and endnote 8 on p. 80.
  11. ↑ Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the "new man" . 1993, endnote 8 on p. 80.
  12. ↑ Here, too, the narrators' imagination ran away - in practice this is not feasible, a military band has never been found in the front row during an attack
  13. ↑ Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the "new man" . 1993, p. 47f. and endnote 9 on p. 80f.
  14. ↑ Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf . Munich 1943, p. 180f .; see: Joachim Fest: Hitler. A biography. Spiegeledition 2006/2007, ISBN 978-3-87763-031-0 , first book, end note 104: “The regimental history notes that the troops during the attack on Ypres did not, as always claimed, the Deutschlandlied, but 'Die Wacht am Rhein 'I sang'; see. also Konrad Heiden: Adolf Hitler. A biography . Vol. 1: The Age of Irresponsibility . Europa-Verlag, Zurich 1936, p. 55.
  15. ↑ Printed in: Werner Kindt (Hrsg.): Grundschriften der deutschen Jugendbewegung . Diederichts, Düsseldorf 1963, pp. 431-435, here p. 431.
  16. ↑ See Jens-Markus Sanker: "Steel helmet our symbol, black-white-red the ribbon ...". The Stahlhelm student ring Langemarck. University politics in field gray 1926–1935 . Würzburg 2004, p. 42.
  17. ^ Hermann Thimmermann (d. I. Fred Hildenbrandt ): The storm on Langemarck. From someone who was there . 1st edition. Knorr & Hirth, Munich 1933 (9th edition 1942). See Wilhelm E. Süskind:  Hildenbrandt, Fred. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , p. 133 f. ( Digitized version ).
  18. ↑ Website on the Langemarck Cross
  19. ↑ Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf . Munich 1943, p. 180f.
  20. ↑ Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf . Munich 1943, p. 180f. See Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the “new man” . 1993, pp. 54f.
  21. ↑ Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the "new man" . 1993, p. 55.
  22. ↑ a b Gerhard Hirschfeld: The First World War in German and International Historiography. In: From Politics and Contemporary History . B29–30 / 2004, pp. 3–12 ( PDF ), here p. 5f.
  23. ↑ Dr. Scheel: The fourth year of the Langemarck course has opened . In: Völkischer Beobachter of December 10, 1938. Quoted from: Bernd Hüppauf: Battle myths and the construction of the “new man” . 1993, p. 57f.