Carl Theodor Körner

Theodor Körner
Black Jäger Lieutenant Körner; In his approval for the founding of the corps on 18 February 1813, King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm III ordered "that the corps, like the light troops, is used outside the line and only wears black mounts, but according to the regulations that are still to be given to them."
Birth name	Carl Theodor Körner
Birth date	23 September 1791(1791-09-23)
Place of birth	Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
Death date	⚔ 26 August 1813 (aged 21)
Place of death	Forest of Rosenow near Gadebusch, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Resting place	Wöbbelin
Allegiance	Kingdom of Prussia
Service/branch	Royal Prussian Freikorps (Königliches Preußisches Freikorps)
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	Wars of Liberation
Awards	Iron Cross (1813), 2nd Class

Carl Theodor Körner (23 September 1791 – 26 August 1813) was a German poet, officer and freedom fighter during the last phase of the Napoleonic Wars.

Life

Minna Körner, Theodor's mother

His beloved sister, talented artist Emma Sophie Körner (1788–1815), survived her brother Carl Theodor by two years, dying of a fever in Dresden four weeks after a visit to her brother's grave. She was buried next to him in Wöbbelin.

Blessing of the Lützow Freikorps in Rogau on 28 March 1813 before heading out into battle (Lied zur feierlichen Einsegnung des preußischen Freikorps)

Leutnant Friedrich Friesen (standing), Carl Theodor Körner (sitting, middle) and law student Heinrich Hartmann, all members of the Lützow Free Corps (Lützowsche Freischar), in an oak forest near Rosenow in the uniform of the Jäger and wearing the Iron Cross Second Class; all three fell in battle (⚔) against the French during the German campaign of 1813 (painting from Georg Friedrich Kersting, 1815).

Körner was born in Dresden in 1791 as the son of an Electoral Saxon councilor at the appeal court Dr. jur. Christian Gottfried Körner (1756–1831) and his wife Anna Maria Wilhelmine "Minna" Jakobine, née Stock (1762–1843), an artist (painter) and author. He grew up in a home where poetry, music and painting were cultivated. His parents were in contact with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich von Schiller, Heinrich von Kleist, August Wilhelm von Schlegel, Friedrich von Schlegel, Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis), Christoph Friedrich Nicolai, Alexander von Humboldt and Wilhelm von Humboldt as well as other personalities of the time. His mother was the daughter of the engraver Johann Michael Stock, from whom the young Goethe had learned drawing and etching. His father is the editor of the first complete edition of the works of his friend Friedrich von Schiller and the editor of the poetic legacy of his son Theodor Körner.

On 2 October 1791, he was baptized by court preacher Raschig in his parents' house on the Kohlmarkt in Dresden's Neustadt. The godparents were Dorothea von Kurland and Elisa von der Recke in Mitau. Theodor shared a deep sibling love with his sister Emma, ​​who was three years older than him. His father was a friend and supporter of Schiller, who lived with the Körners for a while. Like his father, Körner had musical talent. He had a talent for drawing like his mother and his sister Emma, ​​who created Theodor's last picture of him during his stay as a Lützow Jäger in April 1813. Both later sang at Zelter's Liedertafel and Theodor in Vienna in Streicher's choir. He also played a number of instruments, but his favorite was the guitar. His poetic talent became increasingly noticeable. Hardly any of Emma's friends were not wooed by him poetically: "To Augusten", "To Theresen", "To Henriette" are the titles of some of the poems.

After his Gymnasium years, Theodor Körner attended the mining academy in Freiberg in the Erzgebirge for two years. His first volume of poetry was published in 1810. He moved to the university in Leipzig, where he studied history and philosophy and was a member of the fraternity-like Corps Thuringia Leipzig. Körner's student life was, in keeping with the times, wild, and when there was a need to stand up to the aristocracy, he was always there. From 1810 to 1811 he served as senior of the Thuringia and, alongside his friend Flemming, the senior of Lusatia, was the leader of a fight against the “noble fencing society” (adelige Fechtgesellschaft) at the university, which he accused of “wearing cuffs” („wohl Manschetten zu tragen“) but not having the courage to back this up. The Landsmannschaften brought disrepute on the fencing society, which led to serious riots and fights in which the noble side also used pistols. Körner was given eight days in university arrest cell on suspicion of inciting a duel. Due to the threat of relegation after another forbidden duel, Körner moved to Berlin in 1811 and heard lectures from Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Schleiermacher and Barthold Georg Niebuhr. In Berlin, he was one of the founders of the Corps Guestphalia I. He also sang in the Zelter Singing Academy in Berlin and performed gymnastics under Friedrich Ludwig Jahn and Friedrich Friesen.

An illness with a fever required a longer stay in Carlsbad. During this time, all universities in a compact relationship with Leipzig, including Berlin, were relegated. He wanted to go to Heidelberg, but the overly spirited student was now supposed to go to Vienna at his father's request. In Vienna he had friendly contacts with those he knew from his parents' house, in particular with Wilhelm von Humboldt, but also with Friedrich Schlegel, his wife Dorothea and their son Philipp Veit. He lived at Köllnerhofgasse 3, where a memorial plaque commemorates him. He found a friendly welcome in the salon of Baroness Henriette von Pereira-Arnstein, daughter of Fanny von Arnstein, where he often recited his poems or some of the horror stories that were popular at the time. He also met the poet Caroline Pichler there.

At first, he attended lectures, but his studies increasingly took a back seat to his dramatic work. Within a few months he had written several shorter plays, especially comedies, for the Burgtheater. Here he met the pretty and talented actress Antonie Adamberger, daughter of the late court singer Josef Valentin Adamberger, who was highly valued by Mozart. A deep passion seized him, and in 1812 the two became engaged. In the summer of 1812, Körner wrote his greatest drama, Zriny. The parallel between the Hungarian heroic fight against the Turkish conquerors and the fight for freedom against French rule was unmistakable. A brilliant career as a playwright seemed to be open to him, as he received employment contracts as a playwright from both Prince Lobkowitz and Count Ferdinand Pálffy. Körner decided to take the position at the Burgtheater and as such received the title of k. k. court theater poet (k. k. Hoftheaterdichter).

But Körner was a warrior at heart, and he hated the French for destroying the First German Empire. He resigned from this position in March 1813 when Prussia called its people to arms in the fight against Napoleon. Although a Saxon, his heart his heart beat for Prussia, the last true stronghold of the German will to freedom (Deutsche Freiheit). On 10 March 1813, he wrote to his father and explained his actions, trusting that he would understand them. Days later, his father answered, but carefully, knowing that letters were sometimes intercepted and read by the French:

Dear son!

For now just a few words. You weren't wrong about me. We agree. Our old Silesian friend, or the younger friend to whom I recommended you in Berlin, will take care of all your needs until I can do it myself directly. Give us news soon, either through the regular channels, as soon as you are sure that communication is open again, or through your cousin, by simply heading your letter Patri! The cousin will take care of it. — Everyone sends warm greetings, especially the mother.

Farewell happily!

Your faithful father.

While traveling from Vienna to Breslau via Neustadt in March 1813, he saw a Prussian border eagle (Grenzadler; originally written Gränz-Adler) near Kunzendorf, which inspired him to write the poem The Border Eagle. For the 100th anniversary of Körner's border crossing in the Kunzendorf forest near Neustadt (1913), a memorial post with a tin eagle and a memorial plaque with the text of the poem The Border Eagle was decided.

War of the Sixth Coalition

As an already prominent poet, Körner joined the Lützow Free Corps on 19 March 1813, the famous volunteer corps of Major von Lützow (de), which was just forming in Breslau, and met old acquaintances such as Jahn and Friesen among the patriots enrolled there. On 25 April 1813, he was promoted to Lieutenant by election through his peers. He was later appointed 2nd adjutant, Friesen was 1st adjutant.

Körner, who was used to tiring marches through previous day-long hikes in Bohemia and Saxony, was initially assigned to the infantry, which took up quarters in Zobten, Silesia. Refresh, you Jäger, free and nimble, and he wrote other poems in quick succession, and they were already being sung by his comrades to well-known melodies. A chorale written by him was heard at the consecration of the corps in the church in Rogau on 27 March 1813. The following day the troops moved towards Saxony. On the way he wrote an “Appeal to the Saxons” and had it distributed as a leaflet. Saxony had previously been occupied by allied troops. On 6 April 1813, the poet, who preceded his corps as marching commissioner, reached Dresden and visited his family.

The Lützowers moved north via Leipzig, where the well-known poem Lützow's Wild Hunt (Lützows wilde Jagd) was written on the Schneckenberg, and so they had no opportunity to take part in the fighting that took place primarily further south. The energetic poet, who had now been promoted to lieutenant, reported home disgruntled: "Meanwhile I'm sitting here on the Elbe and reconnoitering and finding nothing, looking over to Westphalia and seeing nothing, loading my pistols and not shooting anything." One of the poems he wrote there was called “Displeasure” (Missmut). The further march north in support of Count von Wallmoden's (de) corps ended when Hamburg was abandoned. Lützow turned south again. On 24 May 1813, the poet joined the cavalry because he hoped to find tasks that would satisfy his thirst for action, and became Lützow's adjutant. In fact, there were now frequent skirmishes and attacks on smaller enemy units. In one stroke, Körner robbed the famous stud farm in Wendelstein an der Unstrut of its horses which were kept ready for the French army. On 8 and 9 June 1813, the Lützow Jäger set up their camp in Eichigt in the Saxon Vogtland on the Husarenwiese next to the church; an attack on Hof in Upper Franconia was planned. While Lützow was welcomed by Pastor Johann Christian Wirth, Körner was in the camp. For this reason, the linden tree standing in the meadow was given the name Körnerlinde. It was only on 9 June 1813 that Lützow found out, initially only vaguely, about the armistice that had been concluded between the Allies and Napoleon, and it was not until 14 June that he was certain. According to the regulations, the corps should have been on Prussian soil two days earlier. Instead of moving to neutral Bohemia, which was only a few hours away, Lützow had the Freischar march north via Gera and Zeitz, but with Saxon march commissioners to be on the safe side. On 17 June 1813, the Lützower Jäger moved into camp near Kitzen (southwest of Leipzig). Württemberg troops under General Normann opposed them. He assured Lützow, who had ridden ahead accompanied by Körner, that he had no hostile intentions and also referred to the commanding French General François Fournier-Sarlovèse. However, the French general hurled at them: “L’armistice pour tout le monde, excepté pour vous!” [“The ceasefire applies to everyone but you!”] The attack by the enemy cavalry caught the Lützow Jäger unprepared; they were literally beaten to death by the overwhelming force. Körner received a saber blow over the head. Seriously wounded, he managed to make his way to Großzschocher, where he hid in a wood. Near death, he wrote the sonnet "Farewell to Life".

In mid-June 1813, the Lützow Freikorps was ambushed by Napoleonic troops near Kitzen due to a delay in an agreed troop withdrawal despite an armistice. 105 Lützowers fell, 90 were captured and 300 fled, including Lützow, Friesen and the seriously wounded Körner, who dragged himself to Großzschocher, about 11 km away. Various monuments in the region bear witness to these days. Farmers who were supposed to guard the wood to repair the magpie weir found the poet and took him to the nearby estate gardener's house in Großzschocher.

Major von Lützow had received official information of the armistice concluded at Plauen on 4 June. Without expecting to meet with any opposition, he chose the shortest route to rejoin the infantry of his corps, having received assurance of safety from the enemy's commanding officers, and proceeded, without interruption, back to Kitzen near Leipzig; but here he found himself surrounded and menaced by a very superior force. Körner was despatched to demand an explanation; but, instead of replying, the French General François Fournier-Sarlovèze struck at him with his sword, and ordered a general attack be made on the three squadrons of the Lützow cavalry. Several were wounded and taken, and others dispersed in the surrounding country; but Major von Lützow himself was saved by the assistance of a squadron of Uhlans, who had been in advance with the Cossacks. He reached, with a considerable number of his troops, the right bank of the Elbe, where the infantry of his corps, and a squadron of its cavalry, were already collected. Körner had received the first blow, which he was not prepared to parry, as he approached the enemy's commanding officer to deliver his message, and was severely wounded in the head. He managed to escape on his horse to a nearby forest. After he had assisted a wounded comrade, he noticed an enemy troop that was in pursuit of him, and called with a loud voice, "Fourth squadron,—Advance!" His ruse succeeded—the enemy drew back, and he was able to retreat farther into the forest. The pain of his head wound had become very severe.

After one night, with the help of the Körner family's friend Kunze, he was taken by water to the doctor Wendler in Leipzig (occupied by the French) and cared for there. The scattered Lützowers, who Napoleon contemptuously called “brigands noirs,” “black bandits,” because of their black uniforms, were still being hunted down. When he had stabilized somewhat, Körner was directed from friend to friend to Carlsbad. He also spent a night with his foster sister Julie von Einsiedel at Gnandstein Castle. In Carlsbad he was cared for by his godmother Elise von der Recke. There was no reunion with his parents, who were staying nearby in Teplitz, in order to spare his suffering mother.

On the way to his corps, Körner was a guest of his godfather, Count von Geßler, in Reichenbach, where he met Freiherr vom Stein, Ernst Moritz Arndt, General of the Cavalry von Blücher and Gneisenau. Via Berlin he reached his troops now fighting in northern Germany, which had lost its independence and had been assigned to the Wallmoden Corps. Small forays were continually carried out. Körner spent the evening of 25 August 1813 with a patrol under Lützow on the Gottesgabe manor. He is said to have sat here at the piano and recited the “Sword Song” that he had written two days earlier.

Death

In the early morning of 26 August 1813, an engagement took place at the nearby forest of Rosenow near Gadebusch, in which Körner fell. He had been in pursuit of a group of the enemy, when the riflemen, who had found a rallying-place in some under-wood, sent forth a shower of balls upon their pursuers. By one of these Körner was wounded in the abdomen, the liver and spine were injured, and he was immediately deprived of speech and consciousness. He was carried to a neighbouring wood, but could not be revived. He was buried under an oak in the village of Wöbbelin, about 8.5 km from Ludwigslust. A tomb has since been placed over his remains, and enclosed by a wall. Körner died at the age of twenty-one.

Eyewitnesses

Anton Probsthan

On 25 August, on Lützow's orders, around 150 Lützow riders, who had volunteered, set out from the village of Barsow in order to bypass Marshal Davoust's corps near Schwerin and to remain hidden on the country road leading from Gadebusch to Schwerin and to take away provisions transports coming from Hamburg. Approximately an equal number of Cossacks joined our cavalry. After a very accelerated march, we arrived at a country estate in the evening, where we all stayed the night and then moved to the Nahe country road on 26 August. A halt was made in a forest that consisted of tall pine trees on one side and a very dense forest on the other. Part of the cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant Lützow, a brother of the major, was tasked with attacking any enemy that might come along, while the other part, along with the Cossacks, was tasked with cutting off his route to Schwerin. Perhaps after two hours a wagon train approached from Gadebusch and when it came near the forest, the escort consisting of gendarmes and musketeers from the 105th French Line Infantry Regiment was attacked. Incomprehensibly, part of this escort managed to throw themselves into the defense and now send their bullets from a covered position, which soon hit a hussar and a lancer.

By chance I met the 70-year-old Rittmeister Fischer, who was extremely excited about the failure of the attack and assured me that he had never in his life seen anything as stupid as what had been done here. After I received this message, Körner came to meet me and said: "The major has ordered the French to be driven out of the reserve and I should come with him to join those he has already collected." This happened and at a place where there were some pine trees, perhaps 100 paces opposite the forest, we gathered, while Körner stood diagonally in front of us, his right side facing the forest. While we were talking about the impossibility of breaking into the very dense reserve and driving the French out of it, a shot was fired and Körner shouts, "They hit me well," puts his hand on his right side, leans backwards to the right, falls off his horse and dies instantly. Lieutenant Fischer and Oberjäger [NCO] Helfritz took the dead man's valuable belongings and then we carried him to one of the captured wagons, where we tried to bed him as well as possible. While we were still busy doing this, some Cossacks unearthed the body of a young, beautiful man, a Count Hardenberg, who had joined Colonel Tettenborn's Cossack corps and was shot in the head. I am the only living witness to Körner's death and I tell the truth!

Wilhelm Heinrich Ackermann

I lay on my bed of straw on the night of 26 to 27 August. Everything around me was asleep, only I couldn't find sleep. From the village you could hear the rattling of wagons and our gymnastics father Jahn's voice in between. As little as the latter was noticeable, I jumped up again to see what Jahn was doing in the village at midnight. The moon had risen and I saw a long procession of loaded wagons coming from the village, accompanied by several of our hussars. I asked the first person who approached me what she was bringing; He said that they had been lucky enough to take over the entire transport of 40 wagons of rusks from the French, but unfortunately they had lost their lieutenant in the process. At first I wasn't particularly interested in this, as I only had a few acquaintances among the cavalry, but I asked for the name. When the hussar told me the name Körner, I didn't even think that it could be our Theodor. To my further question: "Which Körner?" the hussar pointed to the next wagon and said: "There he is, you can see for yourself!" - It was the poet! - At that moment Jahn hastily came up to me: "It's nice for me to find you, you became an officer today, I'm hereby handing over these 40 wagons and the prisoners on them to you, have the wagons brought up, surround them with crew and be responsible for their safety until the morning comes!” He was gone again, old Jahn. Fulfillment of duty now took the place of pain. I had the wagons drive as close together as possible; in several of them there were dead German black hussars and in others there were wounded Frenchmen. Now I hurried to Körner's wagon. I didn't think it was possible that he would be taken away from us forever. I thought that perhaps he was badly wounded, was sleeping or fainted, and would probably be preserved for us again, just as it had been after every terrible blow that had already sunk it into a deep unconsciousness at Leipzig. [...]

There were two carpenters in the company in which Körner had last served as a lieutenant. They immediately got some oak wood in the village and set about making a coffin for him that night. The shepherd's house was close to our camp. Körner's body was brought in there and placed on a long table of oak leaves in the middle of the hallway. In addition to Körner, Theodor Graf von Hardenberg, who had taken part in this expedition as a volunteer, and about seven of our hussars died. These were also placed on oak leaves on the floor of the hallway around the long table on which our young hero lay. They were all suddenly killed by well-aimed shots and were therefore frozen with the expressions on their faces that they had had at the moment of their death. It was a horribly animated scene, these talking corpses lying around on the ground. Körner's expression was calm; Such seemed to be his mind at the moment of death.

Poems (small selection)

Lützow's Wild Hunt

"Lützow's Wild Hunt" (German: Lützows wilde Jagd) is a patriotic German poem and song. It was set to music by Carl Maria von Weber and became very popular. It praises the deeds of the Freikorps that became an essential part of Germany's national identity in the 19th century due to its famous members. Besides Körner, "Turnvater" Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the famous poet Joseph von Eichendorff, the inventor of the kindergarten Friedrich Fröbel, and Eleonore Prochaska, a woman who had dressed as a man in order to join the fight against the French, served in the Corps. The tune was also adopted as the regimental march of the 1st Surrey Rifles, a Volunteer unit of the British Army.

Initially 1,000 men, then 1,500 men made up Lützow's corps, and after heavy fighting in June 1813 around 800 men were still able to fight: Infantry, Russian Cossacks (in exchange for Oberjäger Beuth, who knew his way around northern Germany, the corps received a detachment of 50 Cossacks from General Ferdinand von Wintzingerode), Uhlans, Hussars (four squadrons of mounted Jäger) and Jäger.

Theodor Körner, writing the poem "Sword Song" (Schwertlied) near Gadebusch on 25 August 1813, not even a day before his death.

Körner after the French ambush at Kitzen

Was glänzt dort im Walde im Sonnenschein?

Hör’s näher und näher brausen.

Es zieht sich herunter in düsteren Reihn

Und gellende Hörner schallen darein,

Erfüllen die Seele mit Grausen.

Und wenn ihr die schwarzen Gesellen fragt:

Das ist Lützows wilde, verwegene Jagd!

Was zieht dort rasch durch den finsteren Wald

Und streifet von Bergen zu Bergen?

Es legt sich in nächtlichen Hinterhalt,

Das Hurra jauchzt, die Büchse knallt,

Es fallen die fränkischen Schergen.

Und wenn ihr die schwarzen Jäger fragt

Das ist Lützows wilde, verwegene Jagd!

Wo die Reben dort glühen, dort braust der Rhein,

Der Wütrich geborgen sich meinte.

Da naht es schnell mit Gewitterschein

Und wirft sich mit rüstigen Armen hinein

Und springt an das Ufer der Feinde.

Und wenn ihr die schwarzen Schwimmer fragt:

Das ist Lützows wilde, verwegene Jagd!

Was braust dort im Tale die laute Schlacht,

Was schlagen die Schwerter zusammen?

Wildherzige Reiter schlagen die Schlacht,

Und der Funke der Freiheit ist glühend erwacht

Und lodert in blutigen Flammen.

Und wenn ihr die schwarzen Reiter fragt:

Das ist Lützows wilde, verwegene Jagd!

Was scheidet dort röchelnd vom Sonnenlicht

Unter winselnde Feinde gebettet?

Es zucket der Tod auf dem Angesicht,

Doch die wackeren Herzen erzittern nicht,

Das Vaterland ist ja gerettet!

Und wenn ihr die schwarzen Gefall’nen fragt:

Das ist Lützows wilde, verwegene Jagd.

Die wilde Jagd und die deutsche Jagd

Auf Henkersblut und Tyrannen!

D'rum, die ihr uns liebt, nicht geweint und geklagt!

Das Land ist ja frei, und der Morgen tagt,

Wenn wir's auch nur sterbend gewannen.

Und von Enkel zu Enkel sei es nachgesagt:

Das war Lützows wilde, verwegene Jagd.

What glistens there in the forest sunshine?

Hear it roaring nearer and nearer.

It comes down this way in dark rows,

And blaring horns sound in it,

And fill the soul with terror.

And if you ask the black fellows:

That is Lützow's wild daredevil hunt.

What moves quickly there through the dark forest

And streaks from mountains to mountains?

It settles down for a night ambush,

The Hurrah rejoices and the gun bangs,

The French bloodhounds fall.

And if you ask the black hunters:

That is Lützow's wild daredevil hunt.

Where the grapes glisten there, there roars the Rhine,

The scoundrel thought himself hidden.

Then it approaches quickly, looking like a thunderstorm,

And throws itself in with vigorous arms,

And springs onto the enemy's riverbank.

And if you ask the black swimmers:

That is Lützow's wild daredevil hunt.

Why roars there in the valley the loud battle,

Why do the swords strike one another?

Wild-hearted riders attack the fight,

And the spark of freedom has awakened, glowing,

And smolders in bloody flames.

And if you ask the black riders:

That is Lützow's wild daredevil hunt.

What departs there, rattling, from the sunlight,

Put to bed among whimpering enemies?

Death twitches across the face;

Yet bold hearts do not waver,

For the fatherland is indeed saved!

And if you ask the black fallen ones:

That was Lützow's wild daredevil hunt.

The wild hunt, and the German hunt,

Upon hangmen’s blood and tyrants!

Therefore, those who love us, no weeping and lamenting;

For the land is free, and morning dawns,

Even if we only won this by dying!

And from grandchildren to grandchildren be it said:

That was Lützow's wild daredevil hunt.

Song of the Black Jäger

"Song of the Black Jäger" (German: Lied der schwarzen Jäger) was written 1813 and appears in Leyer und Schwerdt (p. 42):

Ins Feld, ins Feld! Die Rachegeister mahnen.

Auf, deutsches Volk, zum Krieg!

Ins Feld, ins Feld! Hoch flattern unsre Fahnen,

Sie führen uns zum Sieg.

Klein ist die Schar; doch groß ist das Vertrauen

Auf den gerechten Gott!

Wo seine Engel ihre Vesten bauen,

Sind Höllenkünste Spott.

Gebt kein Pardon! Könnt ihr das Schwert nicht heben:

So würgt sie ohne Scheu;

Und hoch verkauft den letzten Tropfen Leben!

Der Tod macht alle frei.

Noch trauern wir im schwarzen Rächerkleide

Um den gestorbnen Mut;

Doch fragt man euch, was dieses Roth bedeute:

Das deutet Frankenblut.

Mit Gott! – Einst geht, hoch über Feindesleichen,

Der Stern des Friedens auf;

Dann pflanzen wir ein weißes Siegeszeichen

Am freien Rheinstrom auf.

Into the field, into the field! The spirits of revenge urge.

On, German people, to war!

Into the field, into the field! Our flags flutter high,

They lead us to victory.

The band is small; but the trust is great

In the just God!

Where his angels build their fortresses,

Are infernal arts mockery.

Give no quarter! Can't you lift the sword:

So strangle them without timidness;

And sell high the last drop of life!

Death sets everyone free.

We are still mourning in the black avenger's dress

Over the courage that died;

But if you are asked what this red means:

That's means [West] Frankish blood.

With God! – Once will rise, high above enemy corpses,

The star of peace;

Then we plant a white victory sign

On the free flow of the Rhine.

Farewell to Life

"Farewell to Life" (German: Abschied vom Leben) was "written in the night of the 17th and 18 June, as I lay, severely wounded and helpless in a wood, expecting to die." Original version, literal translation and English version:

Die Wunde brennt. — die bleichen Lippen beben. —

Ich fühl's an meines Herzens matterm Schlage,

Hier steh ich an den Marken meiner Tage. —

Gott, wie du willst, dir hab' ich mich ergeben. —

Viel goldne Bilder sah ich um mich schweben,

Das schöne Traumlied wird zur Todtenklage! —

Muth! Muth! — Was ich so treu im Herzen trage,

Das muß ja doch dort ewig mit mir leben! —

Und was ich hier als Heiligthum erkannte,

Wofür ich rasch und jugendlich entbrannte,

Ob ich's nun Freiheit, ob ich's Liebe nannte,

Als leichter Seraph seh ichs vor mir stehen, —

Und wie die Sinne langsam mir vergehen,

Trägt mich ein Hauch zu morgenrothen Höhen.

My wounds burn, my pale lips quiver.

I feel it in my heart's dull beat,

Here I stand at the milestone of my days,

God, whatever You want! I've resigned myself to You.

I saw a myriad golden images floating around me;

The beautiful dream has become a dirge.

Courage! Courage! That which I faithfully carry in my heart

Must still live there with me forever!

And that which I regarded as sacred here on earth,

That which in my rash and youthful zeal I pursued,

Whether I called it freedom, or whether I called it love,

I see those things before me now in the form of a shining angel

And as my senses slowly fade,

A breath lifts me on high in the red glow of morning.

My deep wound burns;—my pale lips quake in death,—

I feel my fainting heart resign its strife,

And reaching now the limit of my life,

Lord, to thy will I yield my parting breath!

Yet many a dream hath charm'd my youthful eye;

And must life's fairy visions all depart;

Oh surely no! for all that fired my heart

To rapture here, shall live with me on high.

And that fair form that won my earliest vow,

That my young spirit prized all else above,

And now adored as freedom, now as love,

Stands in seraphic guise, before me now.

And as my fading senses fade away,

It beckons me, on high, to realms of endless day!

Honours (excerpt)

Körner with his fiancée Antonie Adamberger

Theodor Körner Monument in Dresden (Georgplatz), bronze statue by Ernst Julius Hähnel

Theodor Körner Monument in Vienna

In numerous cities, streets, squares and facilities are named after Theodor Körner. The Infanterie-Division „Theodor Körner“ was a division of the Wehrmacht in 1945 during WWII. The Bundeswehr has Theodor Körner barracks in Leipzig, Lüneburg and Aachen.

Museums

• Körner Museum of the Municipal Collections in Dresden, destroyed in 1945
• Körner Museum in Wöbbelin near Schwerin. The memorial also commemorates Theodor Körner and the former Reiherhorst concentration camp.
• Körner House in Großzschocher, where Körner was hidden from the French for one night (built in 1734/35) with a memorial plaque to the poet (installed in 1865), restored since 2000 by the citizens and support association “Körnerhaus Großzschocher” as a clubhouse, museum and Archive of the history of the Lützow Freikorps

In art

• Körner monument in Bremen by sculptor Johann Andreas Deneys, unveiled on November 26, 1865
• Statue in Dresden by sculptor Ernst Hähnel, unveiled on October 18, 1871 (anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig)
• Statue in Chemnitz by sculptor Heinrich Epler, unveiled on October 18, 1901 (dismantled and destroyed in 1946)
• Statue in Breslau by sculptor Alexander Kraumann, unveiled on August 26, 1913 (destroyed)
• Schiller-Körner monument in Dresden-Loschwitz, 1912–1913 by sculptor Oskar Rassau and architect Martin Pietzsch
• Körner Cross on the Harrasfelsen near Braunsdorf, erected in 1864
• Körner monument on Körnerstrasse in Frankfurt am Main
• Körner monument in (Wuppertal-) Barmen (destroyed in air raids during the Second World War)
• Körner stone in the Elsteraue in the “Die Schönen” forest near Großzschocher, where Körner was found after being wounded near Kitzen (built in 1913)
• Körner stone on the Zanzenberg in Dornbirn
• Körner memorial plaque at the opera house in Leipzig (at the back towards the swan pond)
• Memorial stone in Leipzig commemorating the house of Dr. Wendler reminds
• Memorial plaque on the former manor house in Kahnsdorf
• Memorial stone to the right of the entrance to Gnandstein Castle
• Körner relief next to the church in Frankenberg/Sa., created in 1913/2002
• Memorial stone in Eichigt, erected in 2003
• Memorial stone on the state crown near Görlitz
• Körner memorial stone near Kitzen
• Körner monument in Kitzen
• Memorial stone in Plau am See (no longer exists)
• Memorial stone at the St. Anne's Cemetery in Dannenberg (Elbe)
• Memorial plaque on the Untermarkt in Freiberg
• Memorial plaque at the Kirnitzschtalklinik in Bad Schandau
• Körner bust in Wöbbelin, 1879 by sculptor Hermann Hultzsch
• Körner grave in Wöbbelin, 1814 based on a design by Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer (Dresden) and Körner's father
• Körner stele and memorial stone at the place of Körner's death in the forest near Rosenow, relief 1913 by sculptor Wilhelm Wandschneider
• Körner bust in the Körner House at Körnerplatz 16 in Chemnitz
• Körner monument in Asch (Bohemia), built in 1913 (today the Czech Republic)
• Körner monument at the house at Döblinger Hauptstraße 83 in Vienna, where Körner lived in the summer of 1812 (commemorative plaque from the original building lost)
• Körner stele in the forest cemetery in Marschendorf (Horní Máršov), Freedom on the Aupa (Giant Mountains), built in 1913
• Körner monument on the table spruce (Smrk) in the Jizera Mountains (1124 m), built in 1909; Renewed bronze cast of the portrait created by sculptor Juliana-Jaksch-Neuwinger in Vienna around 1914, installed on the 200th anniversary of her death on September 21, 2013 by Peter M. Wöllner, CiS systems s.r.o., Nové Mesto pod Smrkem
• Körner monument in the park of Villa Klinger in Neustadt on the table spruce (Nové Mesto pod Smrkem), copy of the bronze created by sculptor Juliana Jaksch-Neuwinger around 1914, which was intended for the table spruce
• Körner monument in Ober-Tannwald (Jizera Mountains); Körner hiked the Jizera Mountains when he was a student in Freiberg.
• Körner relief (larger than life) on Hohlstein (Dutý kámen) in northern Bohemia
• Memorial plaque on the house at Domstrasse 18 in Ratzeburg, where Theodor Körner wrote his last letter
• Memorial plaque on the house at Schweidnitzer Straße 5 in Zobten
• Theodor-Körner-Hütte (1466 m) on the west side of the Gosaukamm in the Hallein district (Tennengau) in the Austrian state of Salzburg

In nature

• Körner oak in Freiberg from 1863
• Körner oak and memorial stones in Lautertal (Odenwald), at Borstein
• Körner oak and Körner memorial stone in Bautzen in the Schilleranlagen, planted or erected on August 26, 1863 (stone and oak close to each other, tree 13–14 m high)
• Körner oak at the Spießberghaus near Friedrichroda in the Thuringian Forest, planted on the 50th anniversary of his death (26 August 1863)
  • The majestic tree has been protected as a natural monument of the Gotha district since 1968.
• Körner oak in Lichtenwalde, opposite the Harrasfelsen (no longer exists)
• Körner oak in Wöbbelin
• Körner lime tree in Eichigt
• Körner oak in Thalheim/Erzgeb. from 1891
• Körner oak and memorial stone in the city forest of Frankfurt am Main
• The Theodor Körner pear variety is named after him.
• Körner oak in Dallwitz, a suburb of Karlsbad, Bohemia

Gallery

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External links

• Carl Theodor Körner, epoche-napoleon.net (Archive)
• Works by or about Theodor Körner at Internet Archive

Letters

• Historical sources for the year 1813 (Archive)
  • Letter from Theodor Körner to his father Christian Gottlieb Körner about his decision to join the Prussian volunteers in Breslau, dated 10 March 1813, Vienna

Postcards

• Körner motifs on postcards – A documentation

Videos

• Lützows wilde verwegene Jagd, YouTube