Johann Gottfried Kinkel (11 August 1815 – 13 November 1882) was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

with the help of his friend

Carl Schurz Carl Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He immigrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent member of the new ...

Early life

He was born at Oberkassel (now part of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

). Having studied theology at Bonn and Berlin, he established himself at Bonn in 1836 as a ''

Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...

'', or theology tutor, became master at the

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

there, and was for a short time assistant preacher in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. Changing his religious opinions, he abandoned theology and delivered lectures on the history of art, in which he had become interested on a journey to Italy in 1837. In 1843, he married Johanna Mockel (1810–1858), a writer, composer and musician who assisted her husband in his literary work and revolutionary activities. They had four children. In 1846 he was appointed extraordinary professor of the history of art at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

Revolutionary

In 1848, with his wife and

, he started a newspaper, the ''Bonner Zeitung'', mostly devoted to following revolutionary activities, but also providing the traditional material such as musical and theatrical reviews that people expected then from a full-service newspaper. Gottfried Kinkel Escape

Kinkel joined the armed rebellion in the Palatinate in 1849, believing himself to be acting legally in obedience to the directives of the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

. In a battle he was wounded and arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment.Biographical note contained in the ''Collected works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 11'' (International Publishers: New York, 1979) p. 708. Although the authorities originally sentenced him to be incarcerated in a fortress where he would have been able to pursue some semblance of his professional activities,

Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

found this sentence to be illegal since he was not sentenced to death and “graciously” commuted it to lifetime imprisonment in a reformatory where his head was shaved, and he had to wear prisoner's garb and spend his time spinning wool. He was eventually transferred to

Spandau Prison Spandau Prison was located in the borough of Spandau in West Berlin. It was originally a military prison, built in 1876, but became a proto-concentration camp under the Nazis. After the war, it held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nurem ...

in Berlin, where his friend and former student Carl Schurz helped him escape the prison at Spandau and reach London, England in November 1850.

Exile

London

In London, he joined the

Communist League The Communist League (German: ''Bund der Kommunisten)'' was an international political party established on 1 June 1847 in London, England. The organisation was formed through the merger of the League of the Just, headed by Karl Schapper, and the ...

. Later he became involved with the

August Willich August Willich (November 19, 1810 – January 22, 1878), born Johann August Ernst von Willich, was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of communism in Germany. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility. He later ...

Karl Schapper Karl Friedrich Schapper (December 30, 1812, Weinbach – April 28, 1870, London) was a German socialist and labour leader. He was one of the pioneers of the labour movement in Germany and an early associate of Wilhelm Weitling and Karl Marx. Youn ...

group within the League and came out against

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Frederick Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Kinkel visited the United States to raise funds for a “German National Loan” that was to fund revolutionary activities in Germany. Although he was enthusiastically received, and met with President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

, he raised very little money. Returning to London in 1853, he taught German and public speaking for women, and lectured on

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

, art, and the history of culture. In 1858, he founded the German paper, ''Hermann''. Johanna Kinkel lost her life in late 1858 when she fell or threw herself out of a window. In 1860, Kinkel married Minna Emilia Ida Werner, a

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

er who was living in London. In 1863, he was appointed examiner at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and other schools in England.

Switzerland

In 1866 he accepted a professorship of archaeology and the history of art at the Polytechnikum in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, where he died 16 years later. He was never able to return to Germany. The 1920

Encyclopedia Americana ''Encyclopedia Americana'' is a general encyclopedia written in American English. It was the first major multivolume encyclopedia that was published in the United States. With ''Collier's Encyclopedia'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclo ...

speculates that it was probably his love of his native country that brought him to Zürich.

Writings

In the estimation of

1911 Encyclopædia Britannica A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

, Kinkel's popularity was out of proportion to his talent. The ''Britannica'' of 1911 characterizes his poetry as of the sweetly sentimental type in vogue in Germany in the mid-19th century. Kinkel's ''Gedichte'' first appeared in 1843, and went through several editions. His best works were the verse romances, ''Otto der Schütz, eine rheinische Geschichte in zwölf Abenteuern'' (1846), which by 1920 had gone through over 100 editions, and ''Der Grobschmied von Antwerpen'' (1868). Among his other works were the

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

''Nimrod'' (1857), and ''Geschichte der bildenden Künste bei den christichen Völkern'' (A history of visual arts among Christians, 1845), ''Die

Ahr Ahr () is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at an elevation of approximately above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle of Blankenheim. After it crosses fro ...

: Landschaft, Geschichte und Volksleben'' (Landscape, history and life of the people along the Ahr, 1845), and ''Mosaik zur Kunstgeschichte'' (1876).

Media

Kinkel's escape from Spandau is briefly dramatized in the third part (“Little Germanies”) of Engstfeld Film's four-part series ''Germans in America'' (2006).

Notes

References

* * This work in turn cites: ** A. Strodtmann, ''Gottfried Kinkel'' (2 vols., Hamburg, 1851). **

Otto Henne am Rhyn Otto Henne am Rhyn (August 26, 1828 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, St. Gallen – April 30, 1914 in Weiz) was a Swiss people, Swiss writer. He was a son of Josef Anton Henne called "von Sargans". After marrying Elisabeth am Rhyn, a member of the im ...

, ''G. Kinkel, ein Lebensbild'' (Zürich, 1883). * *

, (3 vols., New York: McClure Publ. Co., 1907). Volume One has a detailed description of Kinkel's revolutionary activities in Bonn and his subsequent trial, imprisonment and escape from the Prussian authorities. His life in exile is also discussed in some detail up to 1852 when Schurz left Kinkel and England to emigrate to the United States.

External links

* * ''Epicorum graecorum fragmenta'', Godofredus Kinkel (ed.)
vol. 1
Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1877. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinkel, Gottfried 1815 births 1882 deaths Writers from Bonn People from the Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine People of the Revolutions of 1848 German poets University of Bonn faculty German revolutionaries German male poets 19th-century German poets 19th-century German male writers ETH_Zurich_faculty Politicians from Bonn Member of the Prussian National Assembly