Latest / The History of Germany: Kingdoms, War, and Rebuilding Europe — Fexingo History / The Wartburg Festival: Germany's Student Protest That Changed Everything
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the Vormärz period — the crackdowns, the writers, the Hambach Festival. But I think there's one event that really kicked off that whole era of student-led protest, and it happened a full fifteen years before Hambach: the Wartburg Festival of 1817. Luna: Right, I've heard of it — wasn't that where they burned books? Lucas: Exactly, that's the most famous image. But it's way more interesting than just a bonfire. So, October 1817 — about five hundred students from across the German states gathered at Wartburg Castle near Eisenach. They were mostly from the Burschenschaften, those liberal student fraternities we covered in episode 75. And the date was chosen deliberately: it was the fourth anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig, where Napoleon was defeated, and also the three-hundredth anniversary of Luther's Ninety-five Theses. So they're wrapping themselves in German national pride and Reformation symbolism. Luna: So they're linking military victory and religious reform — that's a powerful combo. Lucas: Absolutely. And the key figure behind it was Friedrich Ludwig Jahn — Turnvater Jahn, the father of gymnastics. He was a huge proponent of German unity and physical fitness as a way to build national spirit. His students, guys like Heinrich von Gagern, organized the whole thing. The festival was meant to celebrate German unity and protest the political reaction that had set in after the Congress of Vienna. Luna: So what actually happened there? Besides the book burning. Lucas: Well, they had speeches, songs, church services — all very patriotic. They marched up to the castle with black, red, and gold flags, which became the colors of German liberalism. But the highlight, or lowlight depending on your view, was the symbolic burning of books. Not just any books — they burned works by reactionary authors, like August von Kotzebue, who we talked about — he was assassinated later by a Burschenschafter. They also burned a corporal's cane, a French uniform, and a copy of the Code Napoléon, symbolizing their rejection of French influence and authoritarian rule. Luna: Wait, they burned a French uniform? That's pretty theatrical. Lucas: Very theatrical. And the whole thing was meant to echo Luther's burning of the papal bull. So they're casting themselves as reformers, fighting against oppression. But the authorities did not see it that way. Metternich, the Austrian chancellor, was horrified. He saw this as a direct challenge to the conservative order. And he used the festival as justification for the Carlsbad Decrees in 1819, which cracked down hard on the Burschenschaften, censored the press, and put universities under strict surveillance. Luna: So the festival actually backfired in a way? It gave Metternich an excuse to tighten control. Lucas: Exactly. The festival itself was peaceful, but it scared the establishment. And then two years later, when a Burschenschafter named Karl Ludwig Sand assassinated the writer Kotzebue, that was the final straw. The Carlsbad Decrees were passed, and the liberal movement went underground. But the symbols and the ideas didn't die — they resurfaced at Hambach in 1832 and ultimately in 1848. Luna: So the Wartburg Festival is kind of the first act of the German democratic movement. Lucas: I think that's a fair way to put it. It's the moment when students — young, educated, idealistic — took the stage and said, 'We want a united, free Germany.' And they did it in a very German way: with history, symbolism, and a bit of drama. Luna: And it's interesting that the black red gold flag first appears here in a big way. Lucas: Right. The colors came from the uniforms of the Lützow Free Corps, a volunteer unit in the Napoleonic Wars. But at Wartburg, they became the emblem of the Burschenschaften, and later of German democracy. So when you see those flags at modern protests in Germany, they're drawing on that tradition. Luna: Now, I have to ask — you mentioned Heinrich von Gagern was there. He was at Wartburg? Lucas: He was. Heinrich von Gagern was a young student at the time, and he gave a speech at the festival. Later, of course, he became the president of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848. So there's a direct line from that student protest to the first all-German parliament. The same ideas, the same colors, even some of the same people. Luna: That's a pretty remarkable continuity. Lucas: It is. And it shows how long these currents were building. The Wartburg Festival wasn't just a one-off — it was a seed. And even though it was suppressed, it kept growing. Luna: I want to circle back to the book burning. Was there any criticism at the time? Lucas: Oh yes. Even among liberals, some thought it was too extreme. Heinrich Heine, the poet, was famously critical. He later wrote that 'where they burn books, they will also burn people.' That line is often quoted about Nazi book burnings, but Heine was actually referring to the Wartburg Festival. He saw it as a dangerous precedent — the same authoritarian impulse, just on the other side. Luna: That's a chilling insight, especially in hindsight. Lucas: Exactly. Heine was prescient. And it's a reminder that the festival was complicated. It had noble goals — unity, freedom, democracy. But it also had darker undertones: nationalism that could become exclusionary, and a willingness to silence opponents. Luna: So what happened to the Burschenschaften after the Carlsbad Decrees? Lucas: They were officially banned, but they didn't disappear. They went underground, reformed as secret societies, and kept the flame alive. They also became more radical in some cases. And they continued to be a force in German politics, especially in the 1848 revolutions. After 1848, many Burschenschafter were elected to the Frankfurt Parliament. Luna: So the festival's legacy really is that it gave a generation of future leaders a shared experience and a set of symbols. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's still remembered today. There are annual commemorations at Wartburg Castle. The Burschenschaften still exist, though they've evolved — some became quite conservative, even nationalist in a problematic way. But the 1817 festival is seen as a foundational moment for German democracy. Luna: If today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that's right. No ads, no sponsors, just people who find value in digging into history this way. So if you're one of those, the link is simple. Luna: And it really does help keep us going. Lucas: Anyway, back to the Wartburg Festival — one last detail that I love: after the festival, many students went home carrying black red gold ribbons. It was a quiet act of defiance, and it spread the symbol across Germany. Luna: So even before social media, they had viral symbols. Lucas: Exactly. Ribbons, flags, songs — that's how ideas traveled. And it worked. The colors became so associated with liberalism that when the Frankfurt Parliament finally designed a national flag in 1848, it was black, red, and gold. Luna: So the Wartburg Festival is really the birthplace of the German flag as we know it. Lucas: In a way, yes. Not legally, but symbolically. And that's often more powerful. Luna: I'm glad we covered this. It fills in a gap I had about how the Vormärz protests started. Lucas: Glad to help. And it's a good reminder that history isn't just big events — it's also festivals, speeches, and a bunch of students with ribbons.