This eagle sitting on a sphere (not a world sphere just a ball) is watching over a war memorial for the fallen of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71. He doesn’t look happy maybe because he was a visionary seeing more wars to come.
Monday Portrait
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I’ve always been skeptical about war memorials. They usually reek of pathos if not bathos and I question the motives behind them.
I came across this rather odd war memorial in Bad Dürkheim. It’s in memory of the participants of the Franco-Prussian war. The participants – not the fallen as is more common – are listed with their military regiment, and a curt “gefallen” if they didn’t return. Even worse, in my mind, is the use of the ditto mark ” – not just for the same regiment but also for the word “gefallen” as if in such a monumental glorification set in stone they had to economise with letters.
On one side the non-combatants are listed, I suppose these are the financiers of this war. But what is even more disconcerting to me is the fact that this memorial was erected 40 years after the war, which resulted in the formation of the German empire, only three years before the next one, the so-called “Great War”. Almost as if a new generation was being prepared for the ultimate sacrifice. Of course, I say this with hindsight but it gives the impression of a fractured relationship with history.
The Cosmic Photo Challenge: In Memory
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This soldier of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870/71 was a minor celebrity in his town when they looked for a model for the war memorial which was erected in 1890. He was a miller by profession and considered the most beautiful man around. Not long afterwards he emigrated to the US, apparently smuggling valuables in the nappies of his numerous children. If that is true I don’t know but he came to wealth in the US and his family not only grew to riches but also in numbers. To this day the town of Weinheim hosts descendants of this beautiful man about once a year when they come and want to see what their great-great-great-grandfather looked like.
I’ve featured him before here.
And here is a slightly fuzzy close up of him – jugde for yourself if he conforms with your idea of beauty.
For One Word Sunday: Famous. More photos of famous people can be found here.
This war memorial – commemorating the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 – stands in front of the St Laurentius Church in Weinheim. As in many towns all over Germany, memorials went up to celebrate this particular war and Kaiser Wilhelm I. A German historian talked of this as the epidemic of monuments brought forth by Germany’s boastful besottedness with national ideals (file:///C:/Users/nukman/AppData/Local/Temp/12240-21601-1-PB.pdf) and I am not at all fond of these glorifications of war.
There is a humorous side note to this particular one. Johann Wilhelm Goos, a miller in town, was considered to be the epitome of manhood and chosen to be the model for the charging soldier. He later emigrated to America with his family, where he became wealthy. To this day, descendants of Johann Goos come to Weinheim and want to see what their ancestor looked like.
This is a more comprehensive look of the church overlooking the market square.
For A Photo a Week Challenge: Light the Night. More lit up nights can be found here.
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