“The ministers sent a delegation to present him with the document and remove him from power. He tried to escape but was arrested a short time later and put under house arrest. The following day, King Ludwig and a friend were found floating facedown in a nearby lake. The death was ruled as either accidental or suicide, but most people believed that Ludwig had been murdered to stop him from creating further embarrassments. Within six weeks of his death, the still uncompleted Neuschwanstein Castle was opened to the public. It instantly became a huge tourist attraction, and Mad Ludwig’s ‘lavish excesses’ now provide the single largest source of income for the Bavarian royal family.”
Young Hans stopped and folded his paper. “I have more to say about the castle, but I think it is best if we do that after we reach the castle, so that will be all for now.” With great solemnity he bowed once and took his seat.
Inga turned around to Frau Ballif. “Do you plan to visit the castle tomorrow? You are welcome to join us so that you can continue with the . . . lecture.” She was smiling, but with pride as well as amusement.
There was instant disappointment. “No. My husband’s brother is coming to Hohenschwangau, but not until tomorrow afternoon. We will wait and see the castle with him.”
“Then we wish you a good holiday, and perhaps will see you in the village.”
June 23, 1908
When Hans Otto had returned to school after his birthday and told the schoolmaster about their upcoming trip, Herr Holzer had gathered books on King Ludwig and his architectural masterpieces, which Young Hans had devoured. It said much for his shrewdness that he had said nothing of this to his family, holding the surprise for when they were a captive audience on the train.
But to the clear annoyance of their tour guide, Young Hans kept interrupting her to either correct what she was saying or add to it, which did nothing to endear him to either the guide or the others in the group.
In a way, the visit was a disappointment to Inga, especially considering the price they had had to pay for tickets. If Ludwig had been allowed to finish the castle, there would have been about 200 rooms in all. Even though they were lavishly done, only fifteen rooms and halls had been finished, so the family really didn’t get to see that much of the castle. But Young Hans was enchanted and prattled on until even his father surprised Inga by suggesting that Young Hans just listen for a time.
Outside they were allowed to wander around the grounds at their leisure, and there it was Inga who was enchanted. Perched atop its own mountain, the castle had a spectacular view of the Hohenschwangau Valley to the southwest. It was enough to make even Bavarians, who lived with magnificent vistas on every side, exclaim aloud in wonder. Spread out below them were emerald-green meadows stitched together by the darker thread of hedgerows. Off to the south, beyond the village, were two lakes—the Alpsee and the Schwansee—whose blue waters were even bluer than the sky. And all of this was framed by pine-clad mountains. It was enough that even Young Hans was momentarily speechless.
As Inga let her gaze slowly sweep across the view below her, the daughter of the Schweinehirt from Unterammergau was once again struck with a deep sense of wonder. What if she had not been indentured to the Kleindiensts? What if Herr Kleindienst had not put her to work in his store as a clerk? What if she had not been there to meet Hans Eckhardt at the Christkindlmarkt in Oberammeragau that day? Where would she be now? Back in Unterammergau feeding pigs? She shook her head in reverential awe. One thing was for sure. She certainly would not be here at the castle of Mad Ludwig with her husband and children.
That pensive mood was still on her when Hans Senior came over and told her that he had something he wished to say to the family before they returned to the village. It took her aback a little, but she smiled her encouragement and called for Anna and Young Hans to assemble in one of the courtyards behind the castle. Hans had Inga sit on a stone bench and placed the two children on the ground in front of her.
He waited until they were settled and then solemnly cleared his throat. “I have something I wish to say, especially to Hans Otto.” Then, to everyone’s surprise, he reached inside his jacket and withdrew a folded piece of paper.
Inga straightened. He wanted to say something to his own children and he was going to read it from a piece of paper? That meant he had been planning this before they ever left home.
She frowned as a shadow seemed to pass across her vision.
Clearing his throat, Hans smiled nervously as he unfolded the paper. Then he decided perhaps a word or two of introduction was in order and lowered it again. “As we all know, our Hans Otto celebrated his twelfth birthday a few months ago. This is the age when a child is no longer a child but becomes an adult.”
He looked at Inga and frowned. “As you all know, when Hans Otto was born, I wanted to call him Otto von Bismarck Eckhardt, but your mother thought it was too pretentious, too much for a little boy just come into the world.”
“That’s not what I—”
He hurried on. “She thought that our new little one looked much like me—and as we see now, she was right—and so she insisted on calling him Hans, for his father.”
“I like being named after you, Papa,” Young Hans broke in.
Thank you, son. Inga could have kissed him for that one. As Hans glanced at his paper, Inga’s puzzlement deepened. Where are you going with this?
“I then suggested that we call him Hans Otto von Bismarck Eckhardt, but that was still too much for his mother. She worried that such a name might lead him to become a great soldier like Bismarck was.”
“I only wanted to—”
His smile, which was a little pinched, cut her off again. “It’s all right, Schatzi. I see now that you were right. Hans Otto Eckhardt is sufficient for our son.”
“I tell everyone that I am named for Otto von Bismarck, Papa,” Young Hans sang out. “They think it is a very important name for me.”
“It is a very important name,” his father agreed solemnly. “A very important name.”
Inga winced. Probably a third of the boys in his school were named Otto, but only her son turned it into a name of grandeur.
“Which brings me to what I would like to say.” Hans raised the paper and began to read. “Today we are here in Hohenschwangau to complete the celebration of the twelfth birthday of Hans Otto Eckhardt. Our son—” he glanced down at Anna, “and your brother—was named after Otto Eduard Leopold, prince of Bismarck, commonly known as Otto von Bismarck. It is a noble name, made so by the accomplishments of this man who almost singlehandedly was responsible for the creation of the German Empire.”
He glanced at his wife and then looked away and went on. “Over a hundred years ago, Franz Joseph Haydn, one of the many brilliant composers that Germany has produced, wrote a hymn for the emperor of the time. Years later, another man wrote words to that hymn, which has now become the national anthem of our Fatherland.”
“Deutschland, Deutschland über Alles,” Young Hans sang out.
His father smiled down at him. “Yes. Germany above all. We all know the words well, but as an introduction to what I am about to say, I would like to read them to you again.”
He straightened, holding the paper out in front of himself, and for a moment Inga thought he was going to sing to them. But he didn’t. He read the words slowly and with great feeling.
Germany, Germany above all,
Above everything in the world.
When always, for protection,
We stand together as brothers.
From the Maas to the Mernel,
From the Etsch to the Belt1—
Germany, Germany above all,
Above everything in the world.
Germany, Germany above all,
Above everything in the world.
Sitting behind her children, Inga couldn’t see their faces, but she sensed they were deeply moved, as she was. It was a song that inspired the soul, and she had sung it in her mind as Hans had read the words. But she was still
completely baffled as to where he was going with all this.
“As we all know, Otto von Bismarck took the Fatherland from a backward, medieval society to a great empire and made Germany part of the modern world. By the power of one man, we can now truly sing, ‘Germany above all.’ As Bismarck recently said to the Reichstag, ‘We fear God, but nothing else in the world.’ How wonderful it is that our glorious leader has brought us to this point in history.”
Inga looked away. This was for her. Young Hans might understand, but Anna would likely not. This was his way of saying, “You should have let me name our son Otto von Bismarck Eckhardt.” But, gratefully, he didn’t say it out loud.
He lowered the paper and looked up at the towering walls and graceful minarets that pierced the sky above them. But only for a moment. He lowered his head and began to read again.
“And now today, we are here to admire the works and accomplishments of another man whose name was also Otto.” He looked at his son. “Did you know that, Hans Otto? That King Ludwig’s full name was Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm?”
Young Hans shook his head. “I did not, Papa. Is that really true?”
Laughing, Hans looked at Inga. “Mark this day well, Schatzi. I know something that my learned son does not.”
“Amazing,” she said, smiling back at him.
“So, my son, you bear the name of two great men, von Bismarck and King Ludwig. Both accomplished great things. Both are still honored in Germany today. But—” He leaned forward, his voice turning sharp. “But to which of these shall you look as your mentor and example? Shall you be a Bismarck, who formed a new nation and forever changed the destiny of our Fatherland? Or shall you be like the king, who shunned his responsibilities to rule and built fairy-tale castles in the sky, only to end up being murdered by the hands of those he trusted?”
The boy was stunned by the sudden fierceness in his father. “I shall be like von Bismarck, Papa,” he stammered.
“Yes, you shall!” He almost shouted it. He took a step forward, looking down at his son. “Hans Otto, you have greatness within you. I feel it. Your mother feels it.” There was a fleeting smile. “Oh, we don’t expect you to be Germany’s future chancellor. Or even someone of great fame and fortune like these two men were. But you will make a difference. You must make a difference. You must rise to your full potential and become all that you can be.”
“Yes, Papa.”
“I want you to never forget this day.”
“I won’t, Papa.”
Hans turned to Inga. “Nor shall we.” He folded the paper and put it away as Inga just stared at him. “I have spent much time with Herr Holzer at the school of late, Inga.”
So that was it, she thought. The schoolmaster had helped him write his speech. “Yes?” she said slowly.
“Starting this fall, he has agreed to tutor Hans Otto after school and to prepare him for university when he graduates.”
“What?”
“He has agreed to do so in exchange for three marks per week plus providing his family with milk, cheese, and butter from this time forth.”
“But, Hans . . .” She trailed off, too astonished to find words.
“Herr Holzer has important contacts at the University of Munich. He assures me that he can find a sponsor who will pay for Hans Otto’s room and board and tuition.” Before she could answer, he turned back to his son. “So come September, son, you will no longer have chores around the farm. Your every effort is to be devoted to your studies, to preparing for university. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Papa.” But now there was joy and amazement in his voice. “Of course, Papa. Thank you.”
As Inga saw the eagerness in his eyes, it all came together for her. This was what the speech about von Bismarck and Mad Ludwig was all about. Perhaps this was even the ultimate motivation behind the trip. To set her up. To soften her up. How long had her husband been negotiating this with Herr Holzer? The bitterness was bile in her mouth. “And will he ever return to the farm?” she asked. She couldn’t bear to look at her daughter or wonder what her two eldest would think when they heard this.
Anger darkened her husband’s face. “No, not in the way you mean. But the farm will always be his.” He reached down and gripped the boy’s shoulders and shook him roughly. “Do you hear me, Hans Otto? You shall never give up the farm. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a Milchbauer for the rest of your life. After you graduate from university, you will make enough money to pay others to run the farm for you.”
He turned to Anna as a thought hit him. “You, lovely daughter, shall marry a strong man who loves the land, just as your older sisters have done. They shall run the farm for us when we are too old to run it ourselves. And Hans Otto will pay them so they do not want during hard times.”
To Inga’s surprise, Anna was nodding. She leaned over and touched Young Hans’s arm. “When you are rich and famous, can we come and visit you, Hans?”
“Of course,” he said, grinning broadly. “But I shall be very busy, I’m sure. You won’t be able to stay for a long time.
“Where do you think I shall live after university?” Hans asked his father. “In Munich?”
“Of course not in Munich. Berlin will be your home. That is where all men of influence gather.” He shook a finger at his son. “I expect perfect marks on your exams when you graduate from high school. You cannot disappoint Herr Holzer. This is a great thing he is doing for us.”
“I won’t, Papa. I promise.”
Inga wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, whether to yell at Hans and try to make him see what he was doing to their son or to embrace Hans Otto and tell him how lucky he was to have a father with such vision.
In the end she got to her feet, moved around to face her son, and then pulled him up to face her. She drew him close to her and held him tight, bending down to kiss the top of his head. Finally, in a choked voice, she whispered in his ear. “Your father is right, Hans. You can go far if you work hard at it. It is up to you.”
“Thank you, Mama. I will.”
The tears started again, and Inga quickly turned away as Anna moved in to congratulate him. Three marks per week? Twelve marks lost out of their income each month? Are you mad, Hans? But she said nothing more as she turned and started back toward where the carts that had brought them up to the castle were waiting.
Suddenly, she spun around and walked back to her son. Startled, Anna stepped back. Hans Senior was instantly wary. She ignored them all. Taking Young Hans by the shoulders, she shook him gently. “Listen to me, son. What your father has done for you is a great honor. But you must never, never start thinking that you are better than other people. You are the son of a Milchbauer. You come from a long line of people of the soil. That is your heritage, and there is no shame in that. If going to university makes you ashamed of who you are, then I shall ever regret what has happened here this day. Do you understand me?”
“Inga, I . . .”
She ignored her husband even as he stepped forward. Lifting her son’s chin, her eyes bored deep into his. “Do you understand me, Young Hans?”
“I . . . Yes, Mama.”
“You are the son of a Milchbauer. Never forget that. NEVER!”
_______________
Chapter Notes
Bismarck’s statement about fearing God and nothing else was made in Berlin in the German parliament on February 6, 1888 (see People’s Chronology, 586).
Deutschlandlied (Song of Germany), also known as Deutschland Über Alles, from the lines of the first stanza, did not become the German national anthem until 1922. The music was written by Joseph Haydn in 1797, but the words “Deutschland, Deutschland, über alles, über alles in der Welt (Germany, Germany, above all, above all in the world) were written by August Heinrich Hoffmann in 1841. This was at a time when there were thirty-five independent monarchies and four German republics. Hoffman’s lyrics were a call to unify this hodgepodge of fragmented states into a unified German Empire.
&
nbsp; During the Nazi era, the first stanza was the only one sung, but it was sung at events of great national significance. In the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin, a chorus of 3,000 Germans sang the song as Hitler and his entourage entered the Olympic stadium. Thus, the song became closely associated with the Nazi party.
At the end of World War II the Allies banned the song, along with other symbols of the Third Reich. But in 1952, it was made the national anthem again, with the third stanza being the only one sung at official occasions. The lyrics for the third stanza are:
Unity and justice and freedom
For the German Fatherland!
For these let us strive
As brothers with heart and hand!
Unity and justice and freedom
Are the pledge of fortune;
Flourish in this fortune’s glory,
Flourish, German Fatherland!
Flourish in this fortune’s glory,
Flourish, German Fatherland!
“Unity and justice and freedom,” the opening line of this stanza, is now widely considered to be the national motto of Germany. It is found engraved on the two-Euro coins minted in Germany (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschlandlied#Historical_background).
^1 These are geographic features that defined the breadth of land in which German-speaking peoples lived at the time it was written.
April 18, 1910—Oberammergau Secondary School, Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany
Hans Otto? Please. Would you stay behind for a few moments?”
Friedrich Rhinehart jabbed him with his elbow and sniggered as he stepped around him. “Told you not to pass that note to Ulla,” he whispered.