Lichtgedanken 05

Rubrik 41 05 | LICHT GEDANKEN Field post to Professor Cartellieri The First World War ended 100 years ago leaving deep scars behind at the University of Jena, too. Three out of every four male students interrupted their studies to go and fight as soldiers. In the courtyard of the Main Universi- ty Building, large memorial plaques hang in remembrance of their fate. 15 April 1917, somewhere in Russia. Hans Müller’s unit has been fighting Russian soldiers, whose nation has been shaken by the end of the tsarist regime, for days. Suddenly, Russi- an infantrymen rise from their tren- ches waving white handkerchiefs and approach the wire entanglement of the Imperial German army. The Germans soon realize what is going on. Their op- ponents want to celebrate Easter with them. Müller feels like he is in a »child- like dream«: the soldiers unanimous- ly throw their weapons to the ground and shake hands. Unfortunately, this moment of peace was short-lived. The Russian artillery fired on their own tro- ops and forced the soldiers to continue the fighting. This remarkable report from Hans Mül- ler is part of a collection of written cor- respondence that the students sent from the front lines to Jena Professor Alexan- der Cartellieri. The conservative histo- rian stored the documents and sent the senders sweets and small gifts in re- turn. Today, the letters can be found at Thuringia University and State Library. The letters represent important docu- ments from the period as they provide first-hand accounts of a war in which three out of four men enrolled at the University took part in between 1914 and 1918. Among other things, they tell of the atrocities of the struggle, the ri- gours of marching, and how soldiers spent their time between operations. Above all, the letters show how diffe- rently people perceived the experience of being on the frontline. Ernst Bischof, for example, claimed that he had never experienced »a purer, deeper joy« than in the trenches. He enthusiastically de- scribes heroic deeds. Following a bomb explosion, he was the only surviving of- ficer in his battalion and believed it to be a »divine intervention«. Meanwhile, the words of Heinrich Si- mons, who was deployed in France, express disillusionment. Following his deployment, he dreamt »of battles and charges, of man-on-man fights«. The re- ality was a life with the fear of ending up as »cannon fodder«. Teaching severely restricted during the war years The young soldiers remained enrolled at the University of Jena to keep up ap- perances of a functioning operation. But in reality, the University was sever- ely constrained during the war years. Events were cancelled and the general scarcity of resources meant that fun- ding for heating, lighting, and labora- tory costs was slashed. This status only changed following the German defeat and the end of the First World War on 9th November 1918—a date that also marked the transition from a monarchy to the democracy of the Weimar Repub- lic. The real student numbers rose once again and reforms of the University life were introduced. The various different war experiences and interpretations ha- ving been expressed in the letters had a strong effect on the political conflicts which went hand in hand with these re- forms. The end of the war in 1918 came too late for over 400 students. They never returned to Jena from the batt- lefields of the First World War. In re- membrance of their fate, the memorial plaques were installed in the courtyard of the Main University Building.  BY TILL BAYER Memorial plaques remind us of the Jena students who lost their lives in the First World War. Calendar