Honour ( German : Die Ehre ) is an 1889 play by the German writer Hermann Sudermann . It tells the story of the conflicts and love affairs between two families, one wealthy and one poor. When the wealthy father has an affair with a daughter in the poor family, her brother challenges the rich man to a duel, only to be laughed off.
121-529: The play was Sudermann's debut as a dramatist. It became an immediate success, launching Sudermann into literary stardom in Germany, and was widely performed during the Wilhelmine period . Later, after naturalist literature and the influence of Henrik Ibsen had become more commonplace, the play lost much of its initial status. The American literary critic James Huneker wrote in his 1905 book Iconoclasts : Yet it
242-506: A Wild West -style gunfight on 30 November 1900 made him very popular, long after his capture, trial, and execution for their murders in 1902. According to German forensic scientist Mark Benecke , however, Mathias Kneißl never saw himself as a Robin Hood figure and was, in reality, "just a man who went astray with no way of getting back." In 1891, the Imperial Capital of Berlin witnessed
363-641: A revival known as the Erweckung , or Awakening . In 1806, Napoleon's invasion of Germany promoted Rationalism and angered German Lutherans, stirring up a desire among the people to preserve Luther's theology from the Rationalist threat. Those associated with this Awakening held that reason was insufficient and pointed out the importance of emotional religious experiences. Small groups sprang up, often in universities, which devoted themselves to Bible study, reading devotional writings, and revival meetings. Although
484-549: A world power ( Weltmacht ). The desire for a "place in the sun" as coined by Foreign Secretary Bernhard von Bülow and was shared by a large number of German citizens and intellectuals. Pan-Germanism achieved a short-lived high point after the German colonial empire expanded in Africa, China, New Guinea, and in the South Seas and became the third largest colonial empire after those of
605-463: A Chancellor's policy objectives and is one of the only people who can forcibly remove an overly ambitious Chancellor from power. For these reasons, the last Kaiser believed that he had every right to be informed before Bismarck began coalition talks with the Opposition. In a deeply ironic moment, a mere decade after expelling religious orders , banning Catholic schools , and demonizing all members of
726-471: A blunt and jerky effect ... It is clear that a definite attempt is being made to use the language in a new way, an attempt to cure it of certain vices." Even though it is widely associated with the later plays of Berthold Brecht , the Second Reich also witnessed the iconoclastic invention of modern theatrical staging by Catholic poet and playwright Reinhard Sorge and stage director Max Reinhardt , under
847-571: A century of vitality, the Pietist theologians Philipp Jakob Spener and August Hermann Francke warned that orthodoxy had degenerated into meaningless intellectualism and formalism , while orthodox theologians found the emotional and subjective focuses of Pietism to be vulnerable to Rationalist propaganda. In 1688, the Finnish Radical Pietist Lars Ulstadius ran down the main aisle of Turku Cathedral naked while screaming that
968-654: A desire for its restoration continued to exist. During the Weimar Republic , the German National People's Party ( DNVP ) and it's paramilitary wing Der Stahlhelm , openly sought to restore the Monarchy but instead found itself manipulated, outmaneuvered, sidelined, and then banned outright by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party . During the same era, the death squad Organisation Consul , which considered both
1089-564: A naval, imperial, and colonial power. This neo-Baroque style was particularly exemplified by the grandiose Siegesallee , a boulevard of what were intended to be heroic-looking marble statues of the last Kaiser's ancestors in the Tiergarten of Berlin. Even though the Siegesallee was widely ridiculed by the infamously irreverent and sarcastic Berliners of the era as die Puppenallee , 'The Boulevard of Dolls' and as an alley where, "even
1210-615: A particular emphasis on the Eucharist , or Lord's Supper, although Eastern Lutheranism uses the Byzantine Rite . Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology , divine grace , the purpose of God's Law , the concept of perseverance of the saints , and predestination , amongst other matters. The name Lutheran originated as a derogatory term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Johann Maier von Eck during
1331-493: A peasant outlaw, copkiller, and poacher in the Dachau District of Kingdom of Bavaria witnessed the local Bavarian peasantry overwhelmingly cheering him on as a John Dillinger -style folk anti-hero . Policemen were assigned from other regions of Bavaria and often could not speak or understand the local dialect. What was worse, police corruption was considered so common in the region that Kneißl's slaying of two cops during
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#17328844773171452-599: A physical material" and, "honed down syntax to its bare essentials." Citing Stramm's fondness for "fashioning new words out of old," Adler has also written that, "what James Joyce did on a grand scale for English , Stramm achieved more modestly for German ." Adler has also written that August Stramm's "essential innovation (still too little recognized in Germany) was to create a new, non-representational kind of poetry," which is, "comparable," to Pablo Picasso 's creation of abstract art and to Arnold Schoenberg 's revolution in
1573-529: A reform movement beginning in 1830. He also wrote about 1,500 hymns, including God's Word Is Our Great Heritage . In Norway , Hans Nielsen Hauge , a lay street preacher, emphasized spiritual discipline and sparked the Haugean movement, which was followed by the Johnsonian Awakening within the state-church as spearheaded by its namesake, dogmatician and Pietist Gisle Johnson . The Awakening drove
1694-462: A return to the orthodox theologians of the 17th century and opposed modern Bible scholarship. As editor of the periodical Evangelische Kirchenzeitung , he developed it into a major support of Neo-Lutheran revival and used it to attack all forms of theological liberalism and rationalism. Although he received a large amount of slander and ridicule during his forty years at the head of revival, he never gave up his positions. The theological faculty at
1815-478: A rival of orthodoxy but adopted some devotional literature by orthodox theologians, including Arndt, Christian Scriver , and Stephan Prätorius . Rationalist philosophers from France and England had an enormous impact during the 18th century, along with the German Rationalists Christian Wolff , Gottfried Leibniz , and Immanuel Kant . Their work led to an increase in rationalist beliefs, "at
1936-510: A survey of their readers by Quick magazine about who would be the most honorable person to become President of the Federal Republic of Germany , the last Kaiser's grandson and heir, Prince Louis Ferdinand , the only one of twelve candidates who was not a politician, won with 39.8% before Carlo Schmid and Ludwig Erhard . In a similar survey by the tabloid Bild , readers chose Louis Ferdinand by 55.6%. In an interview with Quick ,
2057-450: A theological and historical defence against the historical criticism of the Bible. Dissenting Lutheran pastors were often reprimanded by the government bureaucracy overseeing them, for example, when they tried to correct Rationalist influences in the parish school. As a result of the impact of a local form of rationalism, termed Neology , by the latter half of the 18th century, genuine piety
2178-407: A universe of [the] mind, and the individual scenes are not replicas of three-densional physical reality, but visualizes stages of thought." Tragically and in an added parallel to the many other nations experiencing similar cultural ferment during the same era, many of Germany's most gifted and innovative poets, writers, artists, and intellectuals were soon to die prematurely upon the battlefields of
2299-574: Is a carrier of the "Word of God", or that only the communion of the Bishop of Rome has been entrusted to interpret the "Word of God". The Reformation in Sweden began with Olaus and Laurentius Petri , brothers who took the Reformation to Sweden after studying in Germany. They led Gustav Vasa , elected king in 1523, to Lutheranism. The pope's refusal to allow the replacement of an archbishop who had supported
2420-421: Is a simple, but disorienting trick of stagecraft, whose imaginative spatial reversal is self-consciously theatrical. So the audience is alerted to the fact that they are about to see a play and not a 'slice of life.'" According to Walter H. Sokel, "The lighting apparatus behaves like the mind. It drowns in darkness what it wishes to forget and bathes in light what it wishes to recall. Thus the entire stage becomes
2541-531: Is characterised as Germany's ship of state going dangerously off course, leading directly to the carnage of the First and Second World Wars. According to Bismarck apologists, in foreign policy the Iron Chancellor had achieved a fragile balance of interests between Germany, France and Russia. Peace was allegedly at hand and Bismarck tried to keep it that way despite growing popular sentiment against Britain (regarding
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#17328844773172662-405: Is easy to admire Honour . It contains, notably in the two acts of the "hinter haus," real strokes of observation and profound knowledge of human nature. ... The motive of Honour is not alone the ironic contrast of real and conventional ideals of honour—it shoots a bolt toward Nietzsche 's land where good and evil blend in one hazy due. Sudermann, here and in nearly all his later pieces, challenges
2783-590: Is known that meetings took place in which Prince Heinrich XIII sought the covert assistance of the Russian Federation 's diplomats and foreign intelligence services, the Russian Government has repeatedly denied involvement in the coup plot. While reporting on the arrests for The Spectator , journalist Katja Hoyer commented, "While this kind of extremism is still rare, there has long been residual monarchism in Germany. Around 10 percent of Germans support
2904-597: Is possibly an allusion to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor , while the dog possibly refers to Peter Canisius . Another figure interpreted as a snail carrying a church tower is possibly a metaphor for the Protestant church. Also on the rock is the number 1599 and a phrase translating as "thus gets in the world". The historical period of Lutheran Orthodoxy is divided into three sections: Early Orthodoxy (1580–1600), High Orthodoxy (1600–1685), and Late Orthodoxy (1685–1730). Lutheran scholasticism developed gradually, especially for
3025-464: Is required to meet regularly with the monarch to explain his or her policies and intentions within the Government. A Chancellor in a constitutional monarchy also cannot afford to make an enemy of the monarch, who represents the only real check and balance against a Chancellor's otherwise absolute power . This is because a constitutional monarch has plenty of means at his or her disposal of quietly blocking
3146-546: Is seen as God's Word because it has the same meaning as the original Hebrew and Greek. A mistranslation is not God's word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority. Historically, Lutherans understand the Bible to present all doctrines and commands of the Christian faith clearly . In addition, Lutherans believe that God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer of ordinary intelligence, without requiring any special education. A Lutheran must understand
3267-567: The Reichsbürger , 'Citizens of the Reich'; movement, which considers the Federal Republic of Germany to be both illegal and illegitimate, and allegedly anti-Semitic "Patriotic Union" organization. The Patriotic Union, whose members included doctors, police officers, at least one judge, and many active duty German armed forces personnel, sought to violently overthrow the government of
3388-636: The Battle of Verdun in 1916, collected and published the collected works of Hölderlin in 1913 and succeeded in gaining for the Swabian poet in death the literary recognition that always eluded him in life. Norbert von Hellingrath is why Hölderlin is now widely considered one of the greatest poets ever to write in the German language. Jeremy Adler has written that war poet and playwright August Stramm , who began publishing his poetry in early 1914, treated, "language like
3509-605: The British Empire . Ironically, Germany during the Wilhelmian era was, on the other hand, distinguished by escalating secularization and growing belief in progress among intellectuals, in response to recent medical and scientific advances and the enormous prosperity of the heavily-industrialized German Empire, but which was at polar odds with the last Kaiser's belief in both Lutheranism and social conservatism . Even so, Otto von Bismarck's Anti-Socialist Laws were not renewed and
3630-697: The Catholic Church in Germany as ( German : Reichsfeinde , "traitors to the Empire") during the Kulturkampf , Bismarck decided to start coalition talks with the all-Catholic Centre Party. He invited that party's leader in the Reichstag, Baron Ludwig von Windthorst , to meet with him and begin the negotiations. The Kaiser, who always had a warm relationship with Baron von Windthorst, whose decades long defence of German Catholics, Poles, Jews, and other minorities against
3751-777: The Church Ordinance , should rest was "The pure word of God, which is the Law and the Gospel". It does not mention the Augsburg Confession . The priests had to understand the Holy Scripture well enough to preach and explain the Gospel and the Epistles to their congregations. The youths were taught from Luther's Small Catechism , available in Danish since 1532. They were taught to expect at
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3872-659: The German Social Democratic Party continued to expand its base and became the largest political party elected to the Reichstag during the 1912 national elections . Despite the party's stronger influence, internal developments were characterised, similarly to the Labour Party in Great Britain, by an increasing loyalty of the party leadership towards both the Monarchy and the German colonial empire . This attitude
3993-589: The German colonial empire ) and especially against Russia. With Bismarck's dismissal, the Russians allegedly expected a reversal of policy in Berlin, so they quickly negotiated a military alliance with the Third French Republic , beginning a process that by 1914 largely isolated Germany. In contrast, historian Modris Eksteins has argued that Bismarck's dismissal was actually long overdue . According to Eksteins,
4114-469: The Imperial German Flying Corps following the advent of aerial warfare. The most successful World War I flying aces such as Max Immelmann , Oswald Boelcke , Manfred von Richthofen , Werner Voss , and Karl Allmenröder , were regarded as national heroes and, if they fell, as martyrs. Their fellow World War I flying ace Hermann Göring was once similarly regarded, until his heroic image
4235-706: The Inner Mission focused on renewing the situation home. Johann Gottfried Herder , superintendent at Weimar and part of the Inner Mission movement, joined with the Romantic movement with his quest to preserve human emotion and experience from Rationalism. Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg , though raised Reformed, became convinced of the truth of historic Lutheranism as a young man. He led the Neo-Lutheran Repristination School of theology, which advocated
4356-654: The Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Roman Catholics followed the traditional practice of naming a heresy after its leader, thus labeling all who identified with the theology of Martin Luther as Lutherans. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran , preferring the term evangelical , which was derived from εὐαγγέλιον euangelion , a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. " Gospel ". The followers of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other theologians linked to
4477-721: The Prussian Union of Churches . The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the Schism of the Old Lutherans . Many Lutherans, called " Old Lutherans ", chose to leave the state churches despite imprisonment and military force. Some formed independent church bodies, or " free churches ", at home while others left for the United States, Canada and Australia. A similar legislated merger in Silesia prompted thousands to join
4598-784: The Reformation in 1517. Lutheranism subsequently became the state religion of many parts of Northern Europe , starting with Prussia in 1525. In 1521, the split between Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church was made public and clear with the Edict of Worms , in which the Diet condemned Luther and officially banned subjects of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating Luther's ideas, facing advocates of Lutheranism with forfeiture of all property. Half of it would be then forfeited to
4719-625: The Reformed tradition also used that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed . As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped. Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Anabaptists and Calvinists . In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined
4840-578: The United Kingdom and the Third French Republic . Meanwhile, European diplomatic relations deteriorated. In 1890, Germany refused to prolong the secret Reinsurance Treaty with the Russian Empire that had concluded by Bismarck in 1887, and Germany had to witness the forming of the Franco-Russian Alliance , which presenting a new threat of a two-front war . The distinctive spiked helmet,
4961-756: The University of Erlangen in Bavaria became another force for reform. There, professor Adolf von Harless , though previously an adherent of rationalism and German idealism , made Erlangen a magnet for revival oriented theologians. Termed the Erlangen School of theology, they developed a new version of the Incarnation , which they felt emphasized the humanity of Jesus better than the ecumenical creeds. As theologians, they used both modern historical critical and Hegelian philosophical methods instead of attempting to revive
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5082-519: The higher critical method. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center surveyed 1,926 adults in the United States that self-identified as Lutheran. The study found that 30% believed that the Bible was the Word of God and was to be taken literally word for word. 40% held that the Bible was the Word of God, but was not literally true word for word or were unsure. 23% said
5203-598: The state religion of numerous states of northern Europe , especially in northern Germany , Scandinavia , and the then- Livonian Order . Lutheran clergy became civil servants and the Lutheran churches became part of the state. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century as the monarchs of Denmark–Norway and Sweden adopted the faith. Through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia . It also began spreading into Lithuania Proper with practically all members of
5324-472: The Americas usually agree to teach in harmony with the entire Lutheran confessions. Some Lutheran church bodies require this pledge to be unconditional because they believe the confessions correctly state what the Bible teaches. Others allow their congregations to do so "insofar as" the confessions are in agreement with the Bible. In addition, Lutherans accept the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of
5445-401: The Bible was the written Word of God, and the only infallible guide for faith and practice. He held that every passage of Scripture has one straightforward meaning, the literal sense as interpreted by other Scripture. These teachings were accepted during the orthodox Lutheranism of the 17th century. During the 18th century, Rationalism advocated reason rather than the authority of the Bible as
5566-509: The Bible was written by men and not the Word of God. 7% did not know, were not sure, or had other positions. Although many Lutherans today hold less specific views of inspiration , historically, Lutherans affirm that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of plenary, verbal inspiration, the direct, immediate word of God. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with
5687-826: The Federal Republic and place Prince Henrich XIII of the House of Reuß upon the throne as the new Kaiser of a Fourth Reich. The Patriotic Union intended, however, for the Fourth Reich to be a restoration of the Second Reich as it existed prior to the November Revolution of 1918, rather than as a continuation of the Third Reich . The coup was prevented only by nationwide arrests by the German Federal Criminal Police ( BKA ) , followed by multiple prosecutions. While it
5808-423: The German people or their government were incapable of laughing at their own military or their own actions towards it. On 16 October 1906, former convict Wilhelm Voigt secretly dressed himself in an elite Prussian Guards Captain's uniform, the elements of which he had purchased from different second hand shops. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Voigt bluffed a group of Imperial German Army enlisted men into placing
5929-405: The Great War. The Wilhelmian era ended in the November Revolution of 1918 , which had very close parallels to the February Revolution which had toppled the House of Romanov from the throne of the Russian Empire . First, riots broke out in the Imperial Capital, the last Kaiser announced his intention to divert troops from the battlefield to restore order, and found to his shock that he had lost
6050-423: The Iron Chancellor have since attracted high praise and comparisons to Irish nationalist statesmen Daniel O'Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell , was furious to hear about Bismarck's plans for coalition talks with the Centre Party only after they had already begun. After a heated argument at Bismarck's estate over the latter's alleged disrespect for the Imperial Family, Wilhelm stormed out. Bismarck, forced for
6171-474: The Iron Chancellor's efforts to renew them were the catalyst for his forced resignation at the last Kaiser's insistence. The final break between the Iron Chancellor and the last Kaiser came when Bismarck initiated discussions with the opposition to form a new parliamentary majority without consulting with the monarch first. The Kartell , the shifting coalition government that Bismarck had been able to maintain since 1867, had finally lost its majority of seats in
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#17328844773176292-437: The Iron Chancellor, in his need for a scapegoat , had demonized Classical Liberals in the 1860s, Roman Catholics in the 1870s, and Socialists in the 1880s with the highly successful and often repeated refrain, "The Reich is in danger." Therefore, in order to divide and rule , Bismarck ultimately left the German people even more divided in 1890 than they had ever been before 1871. In interviews with C.L. Sulzberger for
6413-453: The King or Queen would stop and wait at traffic lights, Louis Ferdinand stated that if the House of Hohenzollern were ever restored to the German throne during his lifetime, this same informality was a quality he fully intended to emulate. Even after German Reunification in 1990, nostalgia continues. For example, the rebuilding of cities in the former East Germany which remained devastated by World War II bombing raids has often involved
6534-466: The Lithuanian nobility converting to Lutheranism or Calvinism , but at the end of the 17th century Protestantism at large began losing support due to the Counter-Reformation and religious persecutions . In German-ruled Lithuania Minor , however, Lutheranism remained the dominant branch of Christianity. Lutheranism played a crucial role in preserving the Lithuanian language . Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen . Under
6655-468: The Mayor of Köpenick and city treasurer of under arrest for political corruption . Voigt then "confiscated" more that 4,000 marks from the city treasury, changed back into civilian clothing, and disappeared. Following a police and military investigation, Voigt was arrested, convicted of forgery , impersonating an officer , and false imprisonment , and incarcerated. The case was cited by British writers such as G.K. Chesterton to criticize what they saw as
6776-448: The Munich-based Der Blaue Reiter ( The Blue Rider ) group. In addition to witnessing the birth of modern art, the same era also witnessed the introduction of the Symbolist movement into German literature and the creation of the modern German literary language by passionately Francophile poet Stefan George and the George-Kreis , the circle of younger poets and writers that surrounded him. Among many other examples of
6897-416: The November Revolution and the Versailles Treaty to be treasonous, routinely targeted political leaders involved with both for assassination. Even when they were caught and prosecuted, Organisation Consul members tended to receive lenient sentences from judges sympathetic to their views. Even after the Second World War , nostalgia for the Wilhelmian era continued. In 1968 Der Spiegel reported that in
7018-408: The Old Lutheran movement. The dispute over ecumenism overshadowed other controversies within German Lutheranism. Despite political meddling in church life, local and national leaders sought to restore and renew Christianity. Neo-Lutheran Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe and Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn both sent young men overseas to serve as pastors to German Americans , while
7139-502: The Pietist movement's drive to right social wrongs and focus on individual conversion. The Neo-Lutheran call to renewal failed to achieve widespread popular acceptance because it both began and continued with a lofty, idealistic Romanticism that did not connect with an increasingly industrialized and secularized Europe. The work of local leaders resulted in specific areas of vibrant spiritual renewal, but people in Lutheran areas became increasingly distant from church life. Additionally,
7260-399: The Reformation era. The doctrinal positions of Lutheran churches are not uniform because the Book of Concord does not hold the same position in all Lutheran churches. For example, the state churches in Scandinavia consider only the Augsburg Confession as a "summary of the faith" in addition to the three ecumenical creeds. Lutheran pastors, congregations, and church bodies in Germany and
7381-399: The Reichstag due to the Anti-Socialist Laws fiasco. The remaining powers in the Reichstag were the Catholic Centre Party and the Conservative Party. In most parliamentary systems , the head of government depends upon the confidence of the parliamentary majority and has the right to form coalitions to maintain a majority of supporters. In a constitutional monarchy , however, the Chancellor
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#17328844773177502-427: The Roman Catholic Church with regard to the authority of the institutional church , ex opere operato effectiveness of the sacraments, and the divine authority of clergy. Unlike Catholics, however, they also urged complete agreement with the Book of Concord . The Neo-Lutheran movement managed to slow secularism and counter atheistic Marxism , but it did not fully succeed in Europe. It partly succeeded in continuing
7623-409: The Wilhelmian era also seethed with radical innovation, literary, artistic, and cultural ferment inside the literary coffee houses, theatres, and bohemian urban quarters of Berlin, Munich, and many other German cities. Meanwhile, the Dresden -based artist's group Die Brücke ( The Bridge ) was one of two groups of iconoclastic German painters fundamental to expressionism , the other being
7744-435: The Word of God and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible. Because of this, Lutherans confess in the Formula of Concord , "we receive and embrace with our whole heart the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the pure, clear fountain of Israel". The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures are confessed as authentic and written by the prophets and apostles. A correct translation of their writings
7865-514: The acceptance of its teaching. This teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a dead letter, but rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it. Scripture does not compel a mere intellectual assent to its doctrine, resting on logical argumentation, but rather it creates the living agreement of faith. As the Smalcald Articles affirm, "in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with
7986-492: The beginning of this Awakening tended heavily toward Romanticism, patriotism , and experience, the emphasis of the Awakening shifted around 1830 to restoring the traditional liturgy, doctrine, and confessions of Lutheranism in the Neo-Lutheran movement. This Awakening swept through all of Scandinavia except Iceland . It developed from both German Neo-Lutheranism and Pietism. Danish pastor and philosopher N. F. S. Grundtvig reshaped church life throughout Denmark through
8107-502: The bird-shit is made of marble", the neo-Baroque statues received Royal Assent in Kaiser Wilhelm's Rinnsteinrede ( German for 'gutter speech'), which was also a very harsh criticism of the recent birth of German modernist art which the last Kaiser considered degenerate art, at the formal unveiling of the Siegesallee on 18 December 1901. Foreign policy was founded on Kaiser Wilhelm's support for both his Government's colonialist ambitions and their efforts to establish Germany as
8228-413: The birth of organized crime in Germany in the form of oath bound secret societies for former convicts called the Ringvereine (Sporting Clubs"). The Ringvereine often carried romantic sounding names such as Immertreu ("Forever True"), Felsenfest ("Firm as a Rock"), Nordpiraten ("Northern Pirates"), and Apachenblut ("Apache Bloods") and completely dominated both racketeering , prostitution , and
8349-485: The book The Fall of Eagles , Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia , grandson and heir of Kaiser Wilhelm II, further commented, "Bismarck was certainly our greatest statesman, but he had very bad manners and he became increasingly overbearing with age. Frankly, I don't think his dismissal by my grandfather was a great tragedy. Russia was already on the other side because of the Berlin Congress of 1878. Had Bismarck stayed he would not have helped. He already wanted to abolish all
8470-452: The clergy. While this effectively granted official sanction to Lutheran ideas, Lutheranism did not become official until 1593. At that time the Uppsala Synod declared Holy Scripture the sole guideline for faith, with four documents accepted as faithful and authoritative explanations of it: the Apostles' Creed , the Nicene Creed , the Athanasian Creed , and the unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530. Mikael Agricola 's translation of
8591-424: The desire of both the bride and groom to keep things modest and low key, "Germany's own Royal wedding" between Prince George Friedrich of Prussia , the last Kaiser's great-great grandson and heir, and Princess Sophie of Isenburg was televised live and widely covered by the German news media. A less benign form of nostalgia for the Wilhelmian era was on display in the 2022 German coup d'état plot , by members of
8712-536: The disgrace of Finnish clergymen would be revealed like his current disgrace. The last famous orthodox Lutheran theologian before the rationalist Aufklärung , or Enlightenment , was David Hollatz . Late orthodox theologian Valentin Ernst Löscher took part in the controversy against Pietism . Medieval mystical traditions continued in the works of Martin Moller , Johann Arndt , and Joachim Lütkemann . Pietism became
8833-451: The doctrine that scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith. This contrasts with the belief of the Roman Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent , which contends that final authority comes from both Scripture and tradition . Unlike Calvinism , Lutheranism retains many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Western Church, with
8954-401: The end of life: "forgiving of their sins", "to be counted as just", and "the eternal life". Instruction is still similar. The first complete Bible in Danish was based on Martin Luther's translation into German . It was published in 1550 with 3,000 copies printed in the first edition; a second edition was published in 1589. Unlike Catholicism, Lutheranism does not believe that tradition
9075-720: The end of the Thirty Years' War , the compromising spirit seen in Philip Melanchthon rose up again in the Helmstedt School and especially in theology of Georgius Calixtus , causing the syncretistic controversy . Another theological issue that arose was the Crypto-Kenotic controversy. Late orthodoxy was torn by influences from rationalism , philosophy based on reason, and Pietism , a revival movement in Lutheranism. After
9196-421: The excessive militarism of the Second Reich and the blind obedience and subservience to authority in German culture . In contrast, the German people overwhelmingly found the exploit both clever and hysterically funny. Eventually the last Kaiser, who also admired Voigt's cleverness and boldness, pardoned him and ordered his early release from incarceration. Voigt then spent many years giving public lectures about
9317-627: The expense of faith in God and agreement with the Bible". In 1709, Valentin Ernst Löscher warned that this new Rationalist view of the world fundamentally changed society by drawing into question every aspect of theology. Instead of considering the authority of divine revelation, he explained, Rationalists relied solely on their personal understanding when searching for truth. Johann Melchior Goeze (1717–1786), pastor of St. Catherine's Church in Hamburg , wrote apologetical works against Rationalists, including
9438-711: The exploit to paying audiences and abandoned his former life of crime. Meanwhile, relations with Britain were badly strained by the Scramble for Africa and, even more so, by the Anglo-German naval arms race . Wilhelm's fascination with the Royal Navy , which led him to give his full support to Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz 's ambition to see the Imperial German Navy established as an instrument of national prestige, were still reflected in everyday German culture long after
9559-555: The final source of knowledge, but most of the laity did not accept this Rationalist position. In the 19th century, a confessional revival re-emphasized the authority of the Scriptures and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions. Today, Lutherans disagree about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Theological conservatives use the historical-grammatical method of Biblical interpretation, while theological liberals use
9680-613: The first Finnish New Testament was published in 1548. After the death of Martin Luther in 1546, the Schmalkaldic War started out as a conflict between two German Lutheran rulers in 1547. Soon, Holy Roman Imperial forces joined the battle and conquered the members of the Schmalkaldic League , oppressing and exiling many German Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the Augsburg Interim . Religious freedom in some areas
9801-611: The first time in his career into a crisis that he could not twist to his own advantage, wrote a blistering letter of resignation, decrying the Monarchy's involvement in both foreign and domestic policy. The letter was published only after Bismarck's death. In later years, Bismarck created the "Bismarck myth"; the view (which some historians have argued was confirmed by subsequent events) that Wilhelm II's successful demand for Bismarck's resignation destroyed any chance Imperial Germany ever had of stable government and international peace. According to this view, what Wilhelm termed "The New Course"
9922-458: The flying aces of the Great War, Richthofen, in particular, is seen as embodying the best traditions of the officer corps of the last Kaiser's Germany. Even though the German people are traditionally stereotyped as law-abiding and subservient to the authority of the police and the courts, this stereotype does not fit the Wilhelmian era. For example, the 1900-1902 manhunt for Mathias Kneißl ,
10043-622: The growth of foreign missions in Norway to non-Christians to a new height, which has never been reached since. In Sweden, Lars Levi Læstadius began the Laestadian movement that emphasized moral reform. In Finland, a farmer, Paavo Ruotsalainen , began the Finnish Awakening when he took to preaching about repentance and prayer. In 1817, Frederick William III of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming
10164-545: The illegal drug trade of Berlin. As early as 1895, the Ringvereine were having their first "business" dealings with the American Mafia , but their power and political influence only reached its height after the November Revolution of 1918. Only the secret police forces of Nazism and postwar Stalinism , who shot both real and suspected Ringverein members en masse and sent many others to concentration camps without requiring
10285-428: The imperial government and the remaining half to the accusing party. The divide centered primarily on two points: the proper source of authority in the church , often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of justification , the material principle of Lutheran theology. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by Grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone",
10406-479: The influence of Stefan George, Friedrich Nietzsche , and Richard Dehmel . Sorge's The Beggar was written during the last three months of 1911. According to Michael Paterson, "The play opens with an ingenious inversion: the Poet and Friend converse in front of a closed curtain, behind which voices can be heard. It appears that we, the audience, are backstage and the voices are those of the imagined audience out front. It
10527-485: The invading forces opposing Gustav Vasa during the Stockholm Bloodbath led to the severing of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy in 1523. Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås [ sv ] , the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church properties, as well as the church appointments and approval of
10648-482: The language that scriptures are presented in, and should not be so preoccupied by error so as to prevent understanding. As a result of this, Lutherans do not believe there is a need to wait for any clergy, pope, scholar, or ecumenical council to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. Lutherans confess that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates
10769-486: The last Kaiser's home in exile and ultimate burial place, Huis Doorn in the Netherlands, opened its doors as a historic house museum in 1956. It remains an annual site of secular pilgrimage on the anniversary of the last Kaiser's death, which are organized by German monarchist organisations, such as Cologne -based Tradition und Leben , whose members often attend wearing period costumes. In August 2011, despite
10890-562: The middle of the 16th century. These finally ended with the resolution of the issues in the Formula of Concord . Large numbers of politically and religiously influential leaders met together, debated, and resolved these topics on the basis of Scripture, resulting in the Formula, which over 8,000 leaders signed. The Book of Concord replaced earlier, incomplete collections of doctrine , unifying all German Lutherans with identical doctrine and beginning
11011-529: The moral law—Ibsen's loftiest heron feather—and if any appreciable theory of conduct is to be deduced from his works, it is that the moral law must submit to the variations of time and place, even though its infraction spells sin, even though the individual in his thirst for self-seeking smashes the slate of morality and perishes in the attempt. The play was adapted for film twice in Germany. Urban Gad 's Frontstairs and Backstairs , starring Asta Nielsen , premiered in 1914. An adaptation directed by Richard Oswald
11132-462: The name Wilhelm and traceable to an intellectual initiative of the German Emperor . Rather, it relates to the image presented by Wilhelm II and his demeanour, as manifested by the public presentation of grandiose military parades and self-aggrandisement on his part. The latter tendency had already been noticed by his grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I , while Wilhelm II's father, later Frederick III ,
11253-555: The niceties of evidence, broke the Sporting Clubs' power. In a December 1931 conversation in Frankfurt with journalist Heinrich Simon , Harry Graf Kessler was asked for the reasons why, despite being a descendant of the German nobility , he embraced the concept of Republicanism and opposed the post-1918 restoration of the House of Hohenzollern . According to Count von Kessler, "William II's downright perverse bad taste, I said,
11374-448: The obscuring of the Gospel teaching of justification by grace through faith alone. The Book of Concord , published in 1580, contains 10 documents which some Lutherans believe are faithful and authoritative explanations of Holy Scripture. Besides the three Ecumenical Creeds , which date to Roman times , the Book of Concord contains seven credal documents articulating Lutheran theology in
11495-430: The only presently available sources of divinely revealed knowledge, and the only infallible source of Christian doctrine. Scripture alone is the formal principle of the faith, the final authority for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy, and sufficiency. The authority of the Scriptures has been challenged during the history of Lutheranism. Martin Luther taught that
11616-513: The ornate Germania postage stamps, numerous government buildings and the Wilhelmine Ring housing areas of Berlin and many other German cities, the term is also used to describe an essentially-Neo-Baroque and prestige-oriented style of architecture. Similarly to the architecture of other European Capitols of the era, the Neo-Baroque was calculated to express Germany's ambitions to become and remain
11737-557: The orthodoxy of the 17th century. Friedrich Julius Stahl led the High Church Lutherans . Though raised Jewish, he was baptized as a Christian at the age of 19 through the influence of the Lutheran school he attended. As the leader of a neofeudal Prussian political party, he campaigned for the divine right of kings , the power of the nobility , and episcopal polity for the church. Along with Theodor Kliefoth and August Friedrich Christian Vilmar , he promoted agreement with
11858-729: The overthrow of the monarchy in 1918. Until the mid-20th century, young German boys were still dressed in sailor suits to impress them at an early age with the Navy's aura and prestige as the gentlemen's branch of the service. For this reason, the Imperial German Navy's most successful combat commanders of the Great War, such as Maximilian von Spee , Felix von Luckner , Karl von Müller , Hellmuth von Mücke , Otto Hersing , Otto Weddigen , and Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière , became widely revered national icons and, if they fell, martyrs. A very similar national iconization also took place within
11979-551: The people shouted; "We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore". Frederick's son was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death in 1533. However, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1536 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark–Norway . The constitution upon which the Danish Norwegian Church, according to
12100-578: The period of Lutheran Orthodoxy. In lands where Catholicism was the state religion, Lutheranism was officially illegal, although enforcement varied. Until the end of the Counter-Reformation , some Lutherans worshipped secretly, such as at the Hundskirke (which translates as dog church or dog altar), a triangle-shaped Communion rock in a ditch between crosses in Paternion , Austria. The crowned serpent
12221-489: The power and influence the George-Kreis wielded over Germany cultural and literary life, the scholarly and editorial skills of one member, Norbert von Hellingrath , were singlehandedly responsible for the revival of interest in the German romantic poet Friedrich Hölderlin , who had died unrecognized following decades of incarceration in a tower at Tübingen following a mental breakdown in 1806. Hellingrath, who later fell at
12342-625: The preceding outward Word". Lutherans are confident that the Bible contains everything that one needs to know in order to obtain salvation and to live a Christian life. There are no deficiencies in Scripture that need to be filled with by tradition, pronouncements of the Pope , new revelations, or present-day development of doctrine . Lutherans understand the Bible as containing two distinct types of content, termed Law and Gospel (or Law and Promises). Properly distinguishing between Law and Gospel prevents
12463-538: The prince indicated that he might accept the presidency but would not relinquish his claim to the Imperial or Prussian crowns. In interviews with C.L. Sulzberger for the book The Fall of Eagles , Prince Louis Ferdinand further expressed a deep sense of admiration for the informal bicycle monarchy and crowned republic style favored and used by the Dutch, Belgian, and Scandinavian royal families. Praising how vehicles carrying
12584-598: The purpose of arguing with the Jesuits , and it was finally established by Johann Gerhard . Abraham Calovius represents the climax of the scholastic paradigm in orthodox Lutheranism. Other orthodox Lutheran theologians include Martin Chemnitz , Aegidius Hunnius , Leonhard Hutter , Nicolaus Hunnius , Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand , Salomo Glassius , Johann Hülsemann , Johann Conrad Dannhauer , Johannes Andreas Quenstedt , Johann Friedrich König , and Johann Wilhelm Baier . Near
12705-723: The reconstruction of demolished historic buildings from the German Empire or even earlier. East German Premier Walter Ulbricht had ordered the demolition of both the Berlin Imperial Palace and the Garrison Church in Potsdam , sites which were closely associated with the former German Imperial Family and the ideology of the German Empire. Both buildings, however, are now being rebuilt, almost exactly as they were. Moreover,
12826-659: The reforms that had been introduced. He was aspiring to establish a kind of Shogunate and hoped to treat our family in the same way the Japanese shoguns treated the Japanese emperors isolated in Kyoto . My grandfather had no choice but to dismiss him." Subsequent Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow continued to implement legislation at the last Kaiser's insistence that favored industrial worker's rights to organized labor and collective bargaining, while still opposing Marxist ideas. Nevertheless,
12947-523: The reign of Frederick I (1523–1533), Denmark–Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he soon adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, the most significant of which was Hans Tausen . During Frederick's reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark. At an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by King Christian III in 1536,
13068-411: The restoration of the royals; among those under thirty-four, that number is nearly one in five." Lutheranism Bible Translators Theologians Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that identifies primarily with the theology of Martin Luther , the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched
13189-638: The revival movements were divided by philosophical traditions. The Repristination school and Old Lutherans tended towards Kantianism, while the Erlangen school promoted a conservative Hegelian perspective . By 1969, Manfried Kober complained that "unbelief is rampant" even within German Lutheran parishes. Traditionally, Lutherans hold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the only divinely inspired books,
13310-551: The so-called Pickelhaube had existed previously and not only in the German Empire, but it now symbolises Wilhelmian era and the Imperial German Army and Prussian Army -inspired militarism in general. (In fact, various sign languages still have the extended forefinger placed in front of the forehead, indicating the spiked helmet, as the sign for "German".) While men in uniform were still treated with enormous respect in German culture , it should not be pretended that
13431-625: The society, politics, culture , art, literature, and architecture of Germany. It also roughly coincided with the late Victorian and Edwardian eras in the British Empire , the Gilded Age in the United States , the Belle Époque in the Third French Republic , and the Silver Age in the Russian Empire . The term "Wilhelminism" ( Wilhelminismus ) is not meant as a conception of society associated with
13552-528: The support of the Generals, who all demanded his immediate abdication. In response to Paul von Hindenburg 's implied threat that the Imperial German Army would not protect the last Kaiser if he faced a similar death to that of his late cousin Tsar Nicholas II , Wilhelm II took Hindenburg's advice and requested political asylum in the neutral Netherlands . Nevertheless, nostalgia for the German Empire and
13673-540: The title Lutheran as referring to the true church. Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther , who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the Ninety-five Theses , divided Western Christianity . During the Reformation, Lutheranism became
13794-592: The writing of Classical music . In his 1985 book, The German Poets of the First World War , Patrick Bridgwater dubbed the literary movement inspired by Stramm's poetry, "the German variety of Imagism ." Shortly before the outbreak of war in 1914, T.E. Hulme heard the kind of poetry that Stramm had created and inspired being read aloud at the Cabaret Gnu in Berlin. Hulme later wrote, "Very short sentences are used, sometimes so terse and elliptical as to produce
13915-595: Was Crown Prince. Wilhelminism also characterizes the social, literary, artistic, and cultural climate of Wilhelm II's reign, which on the one hand was dominated by the rigidly- conservative opinions of the Prussian Junker aristocracy , those associated with the German Agrarian League , and of the German industrialists, which closely mirrored those of the British upper class during the parallel Victorian era in
14036-530: Was condemned as " revisionism " by its opponents, but ultimately culminated in the Burgfrieden policy of agreeing to support the war effort during the patriotic euphoria later dubbed the Spirit of 1914 . These developments, however, were closely mirrored by other Leftist parties in other nations. While "Wilhelmism" is equally applied to the last Kaiser's favored styles in both the visual arts and architecture, such as
14157-460: Was first tarnished and then destroyed completely by his role in later chapters of German history . The gravesites of Oswald Boelcke and Manfred von Richthofen, on the other hand, remain sites of secular pilgrimage for both officers and enlisted men of the 21st century Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany , which regards both World War I flying aces as their founding fathers. Furthermore, to many people worldwide who both admire and revere
14278-435: Was found almost solely in small Pietist conventicles. However, some of the laity preserved Lutheran orthodoxy from both Pietism and rationalism by reusing old catechisms, hymnbooks, postils , and devotional writings, including those written by Johann Gerhard , Heinrich Müller and Christian Scriver . Luther scholar Johann Georg Hamann (1730–1788), a layman, became famous for countering Rationalism and striving to advance
14399-409: Was more responsible than anything else. Bad taste in the selection of his friends and advisors; bad taste in art, literature, politics and his style of living; bad taste revealed by every word he uttered... A crowned barbarian who gave the whole German nation a reputation for barbarity ." Despite Count von Kessler's later contempt for the cultural life during the final decades of the German Empire ,
14520-533: Was released in 1925. Wilhelminism The Wilhelmine period or Wilhelmian era ( German : Wilhelminische Zeit, Wilhelminische Epoche ) comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm's abdication during the November Revolution . It represented an era of creative ferment in
14641-636: Was secured for Lutherans through the Peace of Passau in 1552, and under the legal principle of Cuius regio, eius religio (the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled) and the Declaratio Ferdinandei (limited religious tolerance ) clauses of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. Religious disputes among the Crypto-Calvinists , Philippists , Sacramentarians , Ubiquitarians , and Gnesio-Lutherans raged within Lutheranism during
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