THE TWO SOULS OF GERMANY

 Napoleon at Waterloo

HISTORY is key to understanding the stories of our ancestors life's.  History is where we live and how we maneuver around and through.  Like Dickens said of his times: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct of Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of compassion only."  Dickens is writing about the times of the French Revolution. And that is somewhat where I want to start.  For it was times such as these history that life is made of. 

Just like Catherine Heigel was from France and Conrad Leithmann was from Germany.  Their life's are intermingled with Frances history, with Napoleon, and Germany's relationship with Metternich, Bismarck and the Thirty Years War and the Wars of Liberation.  For as you understand the turmoil of the times for politics, property, nationality, religion, and of course economically and socially as well, you will see who these people were and what mattered to them by the fact that they left their country in hope of a New County. 

As a consequence of the ravages of war that came on Germany during the Thirty Years War, 1618 to 1648, Germans turned against statism and authoritarianism and anything foreign.  The war with France had cause deep scars and hatred due to the severe famine, starvation and disease which had killed so many Germans. 

Due to Germany's loss of self-assurance the war had cause her to fall under French rule and influence for over a century.  The French had influenced German culture and German morale.  The French had mocked everything German, including its language.  Some historians suggest that it was from this humiliation that the Germans developed an inferiority complex turning the Germans into extreme haters of everything French, also turned them against Western Civilization generally.

Nevertheless, it was due to France's soldiers and ideas that killed off the old order in Germany but this actually had the consequence of causing Germany to unify with all her provinces. The French influence had modernized German nonetheless.

It was at Waterloo (in Belgium) that Germany turned the tide and defeated France both politically and militarily.  Although it was the strong and determined Prussians that won that battle and sent Napoleon's army running.

But it was the War of Liberation that won Germany freedom from France in 1813.  Consequently the provinces of Germany united in a common cause; and sparked a strong Nationalism in its wake. 

The German Revolution of 1848 was a revolt against the ideas of the French Revolution (rationalism, liberalism and legalism).  This caused the beginning of a revival of discovering ancient Germanic culture.  The War of Liberation was the awakening of intolerance of all other nations.  War was waged against the Danes and threatened to Germanize the Czechs and the Polish.

It was at this point of time that there was a decisive split within Germany.  Germany became more nationalistic while it began searching for its roots in folk (Volk) histories to renew their German culture.  But there were many Germans that did not despise the high culture of France nor french things.  It was at this time 1840s that many had to decide freedom or the beginnings of authoritarian rule with a rejection of all international civilization.  Nationalism and Folk Culture was at its core Germany's new religion. 



It was at this time that many Germans emigrated and look for freer lands to raise families and find work and worship how they wished.  It was at this time that Gloria Alice's German family, Conrad Leithmann, left the old country in search of a better life in the busy city of New Orleans.