We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 October 2020
THE BALLAD “Was zieht dort zur Brigittenau” (What's On the March to Brigittenau) is a historical song documenting the death of Robert Blum. It was written by the Oldenburg author Adolf Stahr (1804–76) as an immediate reaction to the execution of Blum, one of Germany's leading democrats, on November 9, 1848, near Vienna. The politician was a delegate in the Frankfurt National Assembly and a charismatic speaker, and his death unleashed indignation throughout the whole of Germany. Stahr's song was one of many written at that time expressing consternation at Blum's murder. In twentieth-century reception, however, this situation changed: after coming back into circulation around 1960 in the GDR, “Was zieht dort zur Brigittenau” was the only prominent Robert Blum song to feature in the repertoires of the Liedermacher and groups of the new West German folk movement of the 1970s.
The origin of the song is directly connected to the historical course of events: in October 1848 Blum had traveled to Vienna with a delegation of democrats from the Frankfurt National Assembly to bring a message of support to the rebels there. The Vienna insurgency in October was the last uprising of the Austrian revolution of 1848. Impressed by the revolutionary zest of the Viennese, Blum actively took part in the military defense of the city, which was under siege by the Imperial troops. After the storming of Vienna by the counterrevolutionary forces, Blum was arrested on November 4 and—despite his immunity as a member of parliament—was executed five days later in Brigittenau near Vienna. The shooting of Robert Blum aroused a wave of anger in Germany that resulted in numerous funeral services being held throughout the whole country. With regard to the service in Bremen on November 19, 1848 (fig. 12.1), Adolf Stahr wrote the text “Was zieht dort zur Brigittenau” to the melody of the popular song of the time “Schier dreißig Jahre bist du alt.” Born in Prenzlau, Stahr had a doctorate in literary history and, since 1836, had been vice principal of a Gymnasium in Oldenburg. He published on a variety of themes and was active in the literary and political life of the period. His “Brigittenau” song first appeared in the Bremer Zeitung on Saturday November 18, 1848, the day before the memorial service for Robert Blum.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
