The Reception of the “Battle of the Teutoburg Forest” 
from Early Modernity on

For several centuries the events of the year AD 9 have repeatedly given rise to the most intense interest and to this day are instrumentalized in the most diverse ways, but especially for nationalistic aims. On the one hand, this is manifest from the still unbroken chain of publications on the location of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, publication which thus far number nearly 700. This interest found its national zenith in Emperor Wilhelm I’s dedication of the Hermann Memorial. The stylization of the Cheruscan prince Arminius as the German national hero Hermann is still present today in conservative-nationally minded circles.

This is made evident, on the one hand, by the censorious reaction to the more recent scientific literature that has appeared since the end of the 1960s and has changed the image of the radiant liberator of Germania considerably—Dieter Timpe’s work is especially worthy of mention here. On the other hand, it is shown by the letters, telephone calls, and journalistic commentaries concerning the current excavations at Kalkriese. By way of a few selected examples, the following page is intended to give an impression of how the “Battle of the Teutoburg Forest” has been dealt with over the past centuries. For further reading, the following texts are especially recommended:

Rainer Wiegels and Winfried Woesler, eds. Arminius und die Varusschlacht. Geschichte–Mythos–Literatur. Paderborn/Munich/Zurich 1995.

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in a woodcut by Ambrosius Holbein, circa 1520 (detail).

Harminius, the Liberator of Germania, 1698.

Etching by Sandrart. In: Lohenstein’s “Großmüthiger Feldherr Arminius” (The Magnanimous Leader Arminius), 1689.

“Hermanns Schlacht” (Hermann’s Battle). Etching after Schnorr von Carolsfeld. In: Klopstocks Sämmtliche Werke, 1823.

“Die Hermannschlacht” (Hermann’s Battle), etching by Carl Mayer. In: Böttinger, Geschichte des deutschen Volkes und des deutschen Landes, 1836.

Die Hermannsschlacht. Etching, mid-nineteenth century.

“Hermann. Entwurf eines kolassalen Denkmals” (Hermann: Plan for a Colossal Monument), chalk drawing by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, circa 1814-15.

Leipzig Professors Donate Money for an Arminius Monument, 1841.

“Festszene bei der Einweihung des Hermannsdenkmals. Nach der Natur aufgenommen von Knut Ekwall” (Festival scene at the dedication of the monument to Hermann. Realistically rendered by Knut Ekwall). In: Die Gartenlaube. Illustriertes Familienblatt, 1875.

“Hermann the Cheruscan Prince,” before 1875.

Pasquini and Hasse, Arminio Dramma per Musica / Hermann, Ein Singe-Spiel, 1745.

Heinrich von Kleist, Die Hermannsschlacht, written 1808.

Hermannsäule, Sketch by the archivist Knoch, circa 1785.

Hermann’s battle on the face of the northern gable of the Walhalla, 1835.

Hünenring-Festspiele an der Grotenburg, 1911.

Die Varus-Schlacht. Neueste Serie! Höchst originell! (The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Newest series! Extremely entertaining!) Postcards, 1929.