Nagelgraf
The nail count in Hamm was a nail figure made of oak wood during a war nailing operation . It showed an idealized picture of Count Adolf I von der Mark , the founder of the city of Hamm and the county of Mark . The sculpture was made by the Düsseldorf sculptor Leopold Fleischhacker in 1915 and inaugurated on January 2, 1916 on the market square of the city of Hamm.
Historical context
Very soon after the beginning of the First World War , the patriotic custom arose in Austria-Hungary of including the civilian population on the home front in supporting the fighting troops by giving them the opportunity to make their own contribution to the war by donating money . Such expressions of solidarity with the fighting troops or the relatives of the fallen soldiers soon found supporters in the German Empire .
Figures or objects made of wood, which represented local or national symbols , were set up in prominent, mostly historical locations . The population then had the opportunity to drive nails (mostly made of iron , occasionally bronze , silver or gold ) into them for a more or less high donation . The amounts collected in this way were mostly donated to charitable purposes and thus relieved the state budget, which was strained by the war .
The origin of the whole thing is likely to lie in the " Wehrmann in Eisen ", which was set up in Vienna in 1914 for the same purpose.
Origin in Hamm
Hamm was one of many cities with a nail figure , such as the Iron Hindenburg in Berlin and the Bergische Löwe in Düsseldorf . In September 1915 the hammer publisher Emil Griebsch , the editor Adolf Lindemann and the rector Wilhelm Terbrüggen called a meeting in the hall of the widow Hallermann, in which they suggested that such a nail statue be erected for Hamm as well. It should be an "iron" symbol figure. The attribute "iron" does not primarily refer to the material used - after all, the figure was ultimately made of oak - but to ancient Greek mythology . This knows the Golden Age , a time of peace, the Silver Age , a time of work, and the Iron Age , a time of war. The design of an "iron" figure should correspond to this model as an identification of the war. The reference to iron was finally established by the fact that the population was supposed to nail metal signs onto the statue, partly with the help of iron nails, through which the count's iron armor gradually emerged.
Grammar school teacher Hermann Eickhoff finally made the proposal to design the statue based on the model of the city founder of Hamm, Count Adolf I. von der Mark . Especially in the Isenberg turmoil, Adolf had distinguished himself as a warlord. In the dispute over the Altenaic inheritance, he had succeeded in defeating Dietrich von Altena-Isenberg , the son of the murderer of Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne , Friedrich von Isenberg , and almost the entire Altenaic area, which was destroyed by the division of the estate of 1175/1180 had been split, to reunite in one hand. Dietrich von Altena-Isenberg was only granted remnants, the later county of Limburg , while Count Adolf established the beginnings of the county of Mark on the reunited Altenaic properties . On this basis, Count Adolf was transfigured into the “Iron Count”, who corresponded to the identification of the war that was sought.
In contrast to other Counts von der Mark , who were portrayed by painters, there is no lifelike portrait of Count Adolf. The portrayal of the nail count was therefore left to the imagination of the artist from the start, who was encouraged to create a symbolic figure for nationalist projections. The initiators wanted to benefit from the solemn nimbus of the almost mythical city founder . The fictional character therefore had little in common with the historical count apart from the name. Since there was a lack of reliable knowledge about the life of Adolf I, the figure of the nail count developed its own legends and legends.
For example, when the Nagelgrafen was set up on Hammer Marktplatz in early 1916, Count Adolf was not only associated with the founding of Hamm and the war, but also with the then ruler of the German Empire, Kaiser Wilhelm. II. His life resembles in many ways that of our now ruling Emperor Wilhelm was to be read in the press on January 3rd. Equating Count Adolf with the Emperor was also merely symbolic. Due to the lack of reliable knowledge about the count, similarities in properties, behavior or political decisions could not be determined. The comparison thus had no objective substance and served to glorify the emperor on the one hand and Count Adolf on the other, from whom it was intended to capitalize.
These connections are also made clear in the following verses of the working committee:
Count von der Mark in iron defense
are after all a symbol of our days,
we shall forever be remembered,
grandchildren as an incentive and honor.
Be you, who founded the city here,
who also proclaims to the more distant generations
that our citizens are at home
showed the times, the great ones, worth themselves.
The ability of the Count to defend himself was a symbol and reminder of the great time of the city's foundation:
The tall figure of the Count von der Mark rises out of German oak, gnarled, powerful, as Westphalen is. raved the press after the statue was erected.
production
A single person donated 3,000 marks for the production of the "Iron Count", so that the sculptor Leopold Fleischhacker could soon be commissioned. Fleischhacker had already created well-known works of art in the city of Hamm, including the bronze figure group Father and Son (also: The Swimmer ) from 1913, which was initially set up at the Stadtbad and is now in the Maximare . Later he created a grave stele for Isidor Lauter . It is noteworthy that the works of the Jewish artist, including the nail count, remained untouched during the entire period of National Socialist rule.
Fleischhacker first made a plaster model. This was initially in the possession of the editor Adolf Lindemann and, after an adventurous detour, came to the Gustav-Lübcke-Museum in Hamm, where it has been preserved. The district head of the Hamm-Uentrop district found it in a museum in Berlin. There he managed to arrange the transfer of the sculpture to Hamm. The model of the nail count is only a good meter high, while the executed sculpture was 2.5 meters tall, with a base even more than 2.7 meters, and weighing between 13 and 14 quintals . The statue, carved from a block of oak ( German oak), appeared defenseless, clad in knight armor from the 13th century; Chain mail with a coat of arms on it, a helmet on his head, a second in the form of a pot helmet , which was probably put on the worn one, at his feet, propped up on his shield , the sword belted. The cloak is held together by a fibula .
inauguration
The completed figure was finally placed in the north corner of the market square, covered by a temple-like pavilion . This also happened in a symbolic place. This is exactly where the figure of Germania stood from 1876 to 1914 , which was to commemorate the German successes in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871. So here the culture of remembrance was continued, which legendarily grew around the idea of the “Iron Age”.
The statue was inaugurated on January 2, 1916. Looking back, the Westfälische Anzeiger reported on an impressive opening ceremony under a blue sky with tens of thousands of visitors. A large crowd gathered on the corner of Hohe Strasse and Bahnhofstrasse. Drummers, whistlers and the band of the 130 regiment led a march that led through Große Weststraße to the market square. The path was lined with flags and dense rows of people. The actual inauguration ceremony began at around 11:30 am, accompanied by musical performances on a podium that had been specially set up for musicians and singers. Georg Wilhelm Vogel (1842–1916) wrote a few lines on the occasion that were read by the reciter August Dotter . At the same time, the statue was unveiled.
Then Professor Hermann Eickhoff (1853–1934) delivered the Weiherede, in the context of which he remembered Count Adolf:
His whole life went through battle and victory! - as well as that of the emperor.
The speech was enthusiastically received by the Hammer population and was accompanied by cheers. The visitors sang the imperial hymn with joy and then the song Deutschlandlied .
Towards the end of the event it was “nailed” for the first time. Lord Mayor Richard Matthaei attached the badge of honor for the city of Hamm to the figure.
The nail ritual
With pathetic words, the residents of Hammer were asked to buy nails in the portico of the town hall. The proceeds of this public donation would benefit the bereaved of those who died in the First World War.
Well then, you citizens of Hamm, you residents of the old county of Mark, show yourself worthy of the expensive sacrifices!
In the future, metal signs were nailed to the wooden figure with different types of nails . This gave the impression of slowly emerging metal armor. The signs cost 150 marks or more if they were bought together with gold nails, 25 marks in the case of silver nails and between 50 pfennigs and 10 marks in the case of iron nails. A small iron nail was already available for 50 pfennigs. The city's wire industry donated 5,000 marks each, while the Trier mining company, which u. a. the Radbod colliery operated for 1,500 marks. But clubs, schools, private individuals and the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 130 also took part in the fundraising process and raised an impressive 61,000 marks within just one year.
The ritual of nailing served on the one hand to support the wives and children of fallen soldiers, but on the other hand also to justify the war. In many places it was the urban bourgeoisie that often seemed intoxicated by the feeling of national community , the historian Ludger Grevelhörster later described the mood at the beginning of the war, which was generally understood as a war of defense. The envy of the enemy had destroyed the golden peace, the enemy was to blame, it was he who forced our peace-loving people to take up arms , it was said in the Westphalian Gazette.
It was difficult to escape the national frenzy that the war generated if one did not want to damage one's own, painstakingly built, bourgeois reputation. Again and again the newspaper called for participation. Anyone who had attached signs and nails to the wooden figure received a so-called nail card in return as proof and as a souvenir . A copy can still be found today in the Hammer city archive.
Remarkably, there was also a sign of the Hammer Synagogue Community on the statue . As a sign of solidarity, she had put lines from the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied on the sign that she nailed onto the statue:
Synagogues = Hamm community
Unity and justice and freedom
Are the pledge of happiness,
Blossom in the splendor of this happiness
Blossom German fatherland!
On the evening of January 2, 1916, a charity concert was held in the Buschkühle hall by the string orchestra of the 130 regiment with the support of some soloists . In addition to pieces by Edvard Grieg and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , the song Count Adolf von der Mark was also given . Iron, defensive, German and strong was the text sung by Ludwig Nolte and written by Adolf Lindemann .
Further whereabouts
In 1925 the statue was moved to the stairwell of the new town hall (town hall) on Museum Street. It remained there until it was partially destroyed on December 5, 1944 by an Allied bombing raid during the Second World War . The nail count was also lost. It was not until 1949 that the statue was found in the rubble of the town house. Since the head of the statue had been destroyed, the city decided to completely dispose of the statue, so that nothing remains of it today.
Years later, the district chairman of the Hamm-Uentrop district found the plaster sculptural design made by the artist in a museum in Berlin , which was initially in the possession of the editor Adolf Lindemann. The district chairman managed to bring the plaster statue to Hamm, where it is now on display in the Gustav Lübcke Municipal Museum .
Today's image of the nail count and plans for the future
On the east side of the Alte Mark restaurant in Hamm, next to the Pankratius Church, there is a window that shows a detailed image of the nail count. Seen from the outside, the picture appears mirror-inverted.
The Friends of Burg Mark Hamm e. V. plans to have a contemporary replica of the nail count made on the basis of the plaster draft. Since there is currently no memorial in Hamm in memory of the city's founder, Count Adolf I. von der Mark , it should be made available to the city of Hamm to commemorate the events of the First World War and the founding of its city.
literature
- Hermann Eickhoff: The Iron Count in Hamm. A year of sacrifice , Hamm (Westphalia): Griebsch 1916.
- Sabine Fischer: The wooden count. The support association "Burg Mark" would like to erect a memorial for Adolf I. The plaster draft of a wooden sculpture from the First World War serves as a model. In: Westfälischer Anzeiger from January 2, 2010.
- Maria Perrefort: The iron nail count . Symbolic figure for heroism and war. In: Heimatblätter, history, culture and customs in Hamm and Westphalia , part 24 of December 2009 (part 1) and part 1 of January 2010 (part 2).
- Andreas Skopnik: Count Adolf as a nail statue. For widows and orphans, there was nailing in the First World War. In: Westfälische Heimatblätter , year 1998, No. 21 (from September 8, 1998).
- Heinrich Thomas in: Our Westphalia , year 2002, page 49.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Maria Perrefort in the December issue of Heimatblätter
- ↑ Westfälischer Anzeiger, November 27, 1915.
- ↑ Westfälischer Anzeiger of January 20, 1916.
- ↑ Maria Perrefort, December issue of Heimatblätter
- ↑ Personal conversation with Björn Pförtzsch
- ↑ Westfälischer Anzeiger of January 3, 1916
- ↑ Westfälischer Anzeiger of December 31, 1915.
- ↑ Westfälischer Anzeiger of February 21, 1916