Moi non plus

The subtitle of Professor Stefan Pfänder's lecture was, "It was a cultural shock for me!" That is what a French lady felt when, as a student, she met her future German husband in a Wohngemeinschaft (shared apartment).

In his sociological research, Prof. Pfänder has been documenting German-French couples on audio and video for years. With the examples he showed, his lecture was extremely colorful and lively. 

The novel "Hirishima mon amour" unfolds as a literary drama. By this I do not mean the amour fou between the Frenchwoman Elle and the Japanese man Lui, but rather her wartime experience as a girl.

In her youth, she had fallen in love with a German occupation soldier in Nevers. The two lovers had planned to leave France and get married in Germany. But then she had to watch as her lover was shot by a Résistance fighter in the street right in front of her house and saw him bleed to death before her eyes.

Red Baron still vividly remembers the filmic scene when the German, with blood pouring from his mouth, breathed his last. The girl was branded a collaborator, had her head shaved, was locked in a cellar, and finally sent to Paris for further treatment.

First impression of the Germans

In Franco-German zwischenleiblichen (interpersonal) relationships, painful, traumatic memories cannot be suppressed, as evidenced by the statement of a French woman: "And everything that was unpleasant, uncomfortable, or dangerous - that was always the German."

In 1946, when French troops occupied Baden, German girls fell for the men in uniforms and formed interlingual couples.

Here is a slide from Prof. Pfänder's lecture.

 

How does bilingualism change how people see themselves in the eyes of their partners?

Bilingual individuals develop a heightened metalinguistic sensitivity and experience identity as dynamic and negotiable.

Living between multiple languages promotes flexibility and reduces rigid national stereotypes.

And he continued, "How do bilingual, intercultural couples communicate?" How do they share stories - separately or together? What are the challenges of such a partnership? And what are its potential benefits? His answers were:

Intercultural couples more frequently report stress caused by differences in values, religion, and communication.

Intercultural couples develop new shared routines, forms of communication, and identities beyond their respective cultures of origin.

Acceptance or rejection by their families depends on language skills, cultural expectations, and migration experiences.

In fact, differing language skills generate feelings of exclusion, frustration, isolation, and cultural alienation. On the other hand, bilingualism changes self-perceptions and strengthens the ability to adopt multiple cultural perspectives simultaneously.

Red Baron found all these facts interesting, but since he's never had a French girlfriend, he can't contribute to the experience.

However, some of Prof. Pfänder's observations can generally be applied to multilingual environments, such as that of Red Baron, who has been working at CERN and communicating in Franglais for 32 years.

Here, somewhat out of context, I add some photos of the couple Franco-Allemand:

A historic embrace between two old men in Reims Cathedral.
Where's the champagne?

De Gaulle's pathetic speech: "My heart is overflowing, and my spirit is filled with gratitude now that I have just signed the Treaty on Cooperation between Germany and France with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. No one in the world can fail to recognize the immense significance of this act. Not only does it mark a turning point after a long and bloody history of struggle and war, but it also opens the door to a new future for Germany, France, Europe, and thus the world."

Chancellor Kohl and President Mitterrand, holding hands, stand over the graves at Verdun.

Chancellor Angela Merkel cuddles up to President François Hollande.

An embracing armistice between President Sarkozy and Merkel

French and Germans: a history full of "I love you" and "Not me anymore."

NB: As in previous years, Red Baron has again booked the French Summer University.

Entente cordiale between President Macron and Angela.
Merkel's husband, Professor Sauer, doesn't he look a little sour?

A couple enjoying a romantic moment in the Compiègne Forest.

In the Compiègne Forest, the armistice between the French Republic and the German Empire, which ended the First World War, was signed in a Wagon-Lits (?) on November 11, 1918.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel, reaffirmed the value of Franco-German reconciliation in the service of Europe and peace.

Back to the lecture. A man from Cognac gave his reasoning in nearly perfect German as to why his girlfriend moved to be with him:

That's just love - it does that kind of thing!

It wasn't only the director of the Freiburg Adult Education Center, Dr. Philine Weyrauch-Herrmann (holding the mic), who thanked Prof. Pfänder for his engaging lecture.

**

How France Became France

In the mid-16th century, France is a loose fabric of 22 provinces. Power in the country is divided among a powerful nobility and King François II of the House of Valois is merely primus inter pares. When a trend toward the concentration of power in the crown begins, the nobility is alarmed, as it urges to preserve its old regional rights and political autonomy. A polarization sets in across France.

A new religion comes to the nobility’s aid, for in Calvinism, there is no king anointed by God and thus “exalted.” This “new” faith offers the peers an ideological counterweight to the crown. Thus, a rebellious nobility creates its own networks and forges military alliances. In this way, religion becomes a tool of power politics.

When, on March 1, 1562, the leader of the Catholics, Duke François de Guise, ordered the killing of about a hundred Reformed worshippers in the Massacre of Wassy, a civil war between Catholics and Calvinists - the so-called Huguenot Wars - began.

The 27-year conflict reached its climax on the night of St. Bartholomew’s Day, from August 23 to 24, 1572, when thousands of Huguenots were murdered, first in Paris and then in other cities across France. The massacre took place under King Charles IX, who was strongly influenced by his mother, Catherine de’ Medici. From 1559 to 1588, she was effectively the ruler of France.

Catherine attempted to reconcile the country through ten edicts. But her attempts failed. Violence escalated. The Venetian ambassador reported: “The French people have become completely brutalized.”

In 1575, Catherine’s favorite son was anointed King of France as Henri III. Meanwhile, three power blocs face off in the country. Alongside the Catholic Holy League and the Huguenots, there is this gay, nomadic king Henri III, whose domain is limited to a few areas around Paris and who alternates between his 26 castles along the Loire and in Paris.

The situation changes abruptly when, on August 1, 1589, the religious fanatic Jacques Clément assassinates Henri II, and with the extinction of the House of Valois—despite Catholic opposition—the Huguenot King of Navarre, Henri IV, ascends to the French throne.

Professor Volker Reinhardt’s lecture "From the Civil War to the Court of Versailles" was a brilliant history lesson. Prof. Frick had not overpromised when introducing the speaker. Reinhardt, in turn, thanked him for the generous introduction and remarked that he could only live up to 10% of what Prof. Frick had promised, yet he exceeded expectations by at least 150%! 

His lively presentation style prompted me to watch the lecture recording and transcribe the following portion:

 
Thus, after 27 years of civil war, the showdown began. From the summer of 1589 onward, arms would definitively decide who would rule France and how, as well as the ecclesiastical and religious situation would be. Would there be a purely Catholic France through the murder or expulsion of the Huguenot religious minority—which had by then shrunk to about 8% of the population—or would there be a bi-confessional France through the legally regulated coexistence of two Christian churches and denominations in one country? The big question was: was that even possible? Could Catholics and Calvinists—or Reformed, which means the same thing—could Catholics, Calvinists even live together in a country, in a province, in a city, on a street, in a family, in a marriage?

In 1589, the answer was clear. It was not possible without constant murder and manslaughter. It was not possible without orgies of violence.

The key question is: What were the actual causes of more than a quarter-century of self-destruction through a civil war, accompanied by famines and epidemics, which ultimately cost the lives of about a quarter of France’s population at the time—18 million people—that is, about 4 million French citizens?

The Calvinists believed that man had no free will. The Catholics granted man this librium abitrium, this free will, provided he made proper use of God’s grace, which is always necessary but, with good intentions, also always available.

The Catholics, like the Lutherans, believe that the body and blood of Christ are truly present in the bread and wine during Mass; thus, when Catholics receive Communion, they become theophagists - those who eat God - while the Calvinists would call them God-munchers. The Reformed believed in a symbolic, spiritual presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

And then Prof. Reinhardt looked up to the audience and mourned:

But why on earth did people bash each other’s skulls in over such theological quibbles?

That is the question we must answer first.

In 1580, Michel Montaigne sought an answer to the question in his Essays: Why this self-flagellation? Montaigne’s answer was unequivocal. I quote him in my translation:

We, that is, the French, bring nothing but our interests and passions to this war. The justice that one party or the other claims for itself is nothing but a façade and a veil.

This justice is spoken of but not embraced or internalized. God owes his support to faith and religion, but not to our passions. Yet people use religion for their own purposes. It should be exactly the opposite. From this disillusioned assessment, Montaigne drew even more radical conclusions.

1. All forms of the Christian religion make people worse than they already are by nature. True religion, however, should have the opposite effect and ennoble humanity.

2. People are incapable of recognizing the truth. All philosophies are baseless babble; all religions degenerate in human hands into catalysts of violence.

3. Another quote. This is one of my favorite quotes from Montaigne: No conflict is as deadly as that among Christians,

If you’d like to hear another beautiful sentence. When I play with my cat, I very often wonder if my cat isn’t playing with me.

Religion is a stimulant, a drug of violence, an accelerant; this diagnosis by Montaigne is fully justified in the daily reality of the civil war

From the conflicts now raging, it can be concluded that for most people—for the overwhelming majority of people of the time—the daily practice of faith, with its rites and ceremonies, and the fear of salvation associated with the fear of their confiscation, was decisive.

Thus, the cause of the massacres that broke out with annual predictability in all major cities was always the same. The Catholics hold a procession. A Calvinist throws a flowerpot or a filled chamber pot at this procession, and suddenly a scuffle breaks out, which then ends in a massacre—and vice versa: it is the very ordinary that triggers the conflict.

Behind this slumbers a deep fear that God will severely punish the division of faith and thus, indeed, the betrayal of His truth - that is, that biconfessionalism means divine punishment.

The Calvinists had eliminated the saints as intercessors for humanity in heaven, abolishing them without replacement. This, too, was a major catalyst for violence.

Naturally, the Calvinists did not participate in any of the major Catholic saints’ feasts. Disturbances occur regularly, and bloody brawls break out. These grassroots conflicts are fiercely stoked by the preachers of both denominations.

Today, in the spirit of the ever-invoked but seemingly unattainable ecumenism, people treat one another with courtesy. Occasional slip-ups occur, such as when a pope says that the Reformed do not actually have a real Church, but these are exceptions.

Back then, they demonized one another in ways that are unimaginable today. The Calvinists referred to the pope as the Antichrist - that is, as evil incarnate, the worst of all evils - and vice versa; for Catholics, too, the Calvinists are the arch-heretics, the God-cursed spawn of hell, and this is now preached daily from the pulpits, which actually acts as a catalyst for this grassroots confessionalism and for the violence at the very foundation of society.

In the Battle of Yvry in 1590, the Huguenots prevail, and Henry IV gains charisma. In 1598, after 40 years of civil war, he succeeded in issuing the Edict of Nantes. Its most important provision is:
- The past is annulled.
- With certain restrictions, the Huguenots are guaranteed freedom of religious practice.

The king becomes the unifying figure of the nation. To achieve this, he must be elevated, for none of his rivals would challenge the monarch’s inviolability.

Unrestricted exercise of power is the only solution to prevent new civil wars. And power must be centralized. The state is an instrument of justice and peacekeeping.

Although the king already has 26 castles, a 27th is needed - the central, most magnificent one. People speak of the human zoo at Versailles. The people must see the glory; hence the self-staging: The king is the state, L’État, c’est moi.

The staff at Versailles consists of the nobility, 5,000 of whom are drawn to the court. The king becomes the tamer of the nobility. Every nobleman receives a role at court but no share of power. Louis XIV domesticates the nobility, keeping them in check.

Versailles is the formative phase of France. The state must present itself as sublime. The sublimity of the French state is celebrated to this day.

**

Superficial, Witty, Arrogant

Professor Ruth Florack began her lecture at the Samstagsunversität with a bang.

No, nothing at all - no, I don't regret a thing.

After 60 years of Franco-German friendship, the German sits across from the Frenchman, the former with his beer, the latter with his red wine, at a considerable distance. Indeed, when one considers the evolution of the relationship between the two countries, or rather their peoples, a banal status quo has become established over the years. But where are new impetuses? Where is a move toward closer cooperation? Rien de rien!

But first things first. German professors typically begin their lectures with definitions and explanations of terms, and Prof. Florack was no exception.

"STEREOTYPES are cognitive schemas" and "socially shared knowledge structures." 

They may or may not be linked to value judgments (positive or negative).

They serve to distinguish among different social groups (categorization).

And further:

The concept of a stereotype refers to "cognitive processes of differentiation and generalization," whereas 

the concept of a bias refers to "affective processes."

While the Roman historian Tacitus's work De origine et situ Germanorum, written in 98 CE, shaped the German stereotype, Caesar shaped the image of the French in his book De bello Gallico. Cesar's characterization can still be found in Nicolas de Fer's Carte de l'Europe, from 1695.

In the vignette on the right, we read the following in French, which takes some getting used to:

Les François sont d'une Taille avantageuse et de bonnes mine: la Testa belle, et l'air libre et dégagé. Les femmes ont tous les agréments qu'on peut défiler tant pour l'Esprit que pour le Corps, les uns et les autres sont fort Changeants pour les Modes. Propres et Magnifiques en leurs festins. Brave Soldats, fidèlles à leur Roy. et bons Catholiques. Il réussissent parfaitement bien dans leur Exercices, ainsi dans les Arts.

"The French are of fine stature and have a healthy complexion: their heads are handsome, and their demeanor is open and uninhibited. The women possess every charm one could wish for, both in mind and body; both men and women are highly fashion-conscious. They are neat and magnificent at their feasts. They are brave soldiers, loyal to their king, and devout Catholics. They excel in their military drills as well as in the arts."

The whole text reminds me of Obelix and Asterix, except that the French are no longer devout Catholics.

In the course of history, other stereotypes have emerged, such as "leger comme un Français" and, above all, "flighty in love".

It is believed that Columbus's sailors returning from the Americas brought syphilis to Naples, and that the disease spread rapidly starting in 1494 during the French siege of the city by Charles VIII. 

Two years later, the first cases of a previously unknown form of "evil smallpox" appeared in Freiburg. It was morbus gallicus, the French disease. At the Imperial Diet held in the city in 1498, many participants contracted the new affliction. Even the Imperial Chancellor and Archbishop of Mainz, Berthold von Henneberg, seriously ill, had to remain in Freiburg after the end of the Imperial Diet on September 4, 1498.

In the nineteenth century,  German perception of the French was deeply shaped by the France of Louis XIV.  But the military campaigns of the Sun King and, later, Napoleon - which spread the French way of life far into German lands - also had a lasting influence on how Germans viewed the French. 

People have always loved, and still love, to describe the character of others, as in the following account.

Prof. Florack singled out the "French" column and underlined some characteristics in red:

Yet I drew a "full" table and will compare Frantzoß and Teutscher:

Name Character Nature and Characteristics Intellect Expression of Characteristics Science Dress Selfishness Preferences Suffer from Their land is Virtues of war Worship Recognize as their lord Have an abundance Pass the time with Comparison with animals Their end of life

Frechman careless charming and talkative prudent childish matters of war inconsistent deceitful war  from pus well-cultivated cunning good a king of fruit fraud a fox in war

German open-hearted quite good witty always on hand secular affairs imitates everything wasteful drinking from gout good invincible even more reckless an emperor of grain drinking a lion in wine

It is striking that, based on their experiences during the Thirty Years' War and the raids by the French Sodateska on German territory west of the Rhine*, the Germans view the French here as warmongers, while they characterize themselves as drunkards.

*A scorched-earth policy that included the destruction of Heidelberg Castle

This lecture wouldn't be complete without the classical scene from Lessing's play, Minna von Barnhelm, in which it is not necessary to introduce the Chevalier Riccaut de la Marlinière as a Frenchman, for the audience knows already from the start that the carpetbagger does not cheat at gambling, but merely seeks to "corriger la fortune", correct his luck.

**

Black Diamond or Death Star

©Taxiarchos228/Wikipedia

Schwarzer Diamant oder Todesstern was the title of a lecture by Dr. Markus Schröter, Head of the Historical Collections, Digitization, and Preservation Department at Freiburg's university library.

On April 20, 1455, on the day of his accession to the throne, Pope Calixtus III gave Archduke Albrecht IV permission to establish a studium generale in his city of Freiburg, in quo aeris viget temperies, victualium ubertas ceterarumque rerum ad usum vitae humanae pertinentium copia reperitur.*

*where the air is mild, food is plentiful, and there are large supplies of other things that are useful to man. 

 Initially, seven professors taught 214 students in the four faculties customary at the time: Artes (the seven liberal arts), Theology, Jurisprudence, and Medicine. Theology, which deals with the salvation of the soul, took first place, while medicine, which deals with the health of the mortal body, took last place among the faculties. 

At that time, professors lectured* on the subject matter in Latin using the few available books and put forward theses, which the students then had to write down and debate.

*They read aloud. In German, a university lecture is still called Vorlesung

The motto of the Collegium Sapientiae was 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'
The building was destroyed in the air raid of November 27, 1944.
Spolia of the burse were integrated into the new construction (©Andreas Schwarzkopf†/Wikipedia).

The students lived in burses (boarding houses) under strict rules. A well-known burse was the Sapientia that, in 1400, issued the rules in a book: Statuta collegii sapientiae Friburgensis (The Statutes of the College of Wisdom of Freiburg). These rules are illustrated with many colorful engravings.

 One of them informs about De Claue liberarye et eius custode (the key to the library and its guardian).  The Bursa Sapaetia had its own library, and since books were expensive, these treasures were kept under lock and key. Above the entrance door to the library is written "alpha io" (I am the beginning [of all knowledge]).

 
Red Baron was annoyed by the speaker, who kept moving his head back and forth in front of the colored engraving. To illustrate my blog with a perfect photo, I asked ChatGPT to produce an image without the head.

Here is the remarkable result. Now, five bookworm colleagues of the custodes sit in the library. The latter enters the library with a book in his hand to join his peers. Above the entrance door is written: Admonitio (admonition).

Amazing, since the inscription has also been changed to De Claritate litterrarum et eius custode (On the clarity of scriptures and its guardian). It's all my fault. You must ask ChatGPT the right question.

Latin school on Herrenstraße next to the Bursa Sapentiae
©Andreas Schwarzkopf†/Wikipedia

Latin was the language of instruction, and students were required to communicate in Cicero's language even in private. Local Latin schools tried to provide the necessary language skills, which were frequently inadequate.

Gymnasium Academicum on Bertoldstraße

In 1572, Freiburg sought to raise the educational level of its first-year students by establishing a Gymnasium Academicum, as a precursor to university studies.

In the following years, the Jesuits frequently tried to take over Freiburg's university. On the eve of the Thirty Years' War, their demand became more urgent, especially since the neighboring universities of Basel, Tübingen, and Strasbourg had become Protestant.

On February 6, 1618, Archduke Maximilian III sent a government delegation to the University of Freiburg and wrote from Innsbruck about the Jesuits that it should not only believe these gentlemen, but also promote their values, both as a whole and each of its individual members, as their zeal for the propagation of the true, only saving religion would naturally inspire them. As usual, the university senate refused to accept the takeover, arguing that Freiburg was sufficiently Catholic and that there was no need for further religious planting.

When Maximilian suddenly died in November 1618, all resistance was futile in view of the insistence of his fanatical successor, Archduke Leopold V.

The Jesuits' certificate of introduction dated November 16, 1620 reads: With the current school year, the fathers of the “Society” will begin in the late autumn to fill all the lower schools and the Faculty of Philosophy at the university, as well as three of the five positions in theology with their teachers, in order to teach the true faith in Freiburg.

The Jesuit University. Left the Jesuit Church, which is now the Catholic University Church.
In the cartouche, a picture of the Gymnasium Academicum

After Louis XIV's troops conquered Freiburg in 1677, the city became part of France. The French crown provided financial support to the Jesuits for the establishment of a Studium Gallicum. In 1682, les Frères began construction of a college along Bertoldstraße opposite the Gymnasium Academicum. On the upper floor, they set up a Jesuit library with 6000 books in two rooms.

In 1773, Emperor Joseph II abolished the Jesuit Order in his territories. In the period following, all books were concentrated in the Old University building on Rathausplatz. The building is now part of Freiburg's town hall.

©Wikipedia

The premises soon became too small. So in 1783, the Gymnasium Academicum was converted into the university library. In 1825, historian Heinrich Schreiber described the interior as follows: "On the lower floor, there are two spacious, high, and bright halls on the right and left, whose ceilings are supported by columns. A wide staircase leads to the main hall above them and the front hall, which extends over two floors and is decorated with a row of columns running along all the walls and a gallery above. Adjacent to these are two smaller halls, furnished in the same manner, which are connected to the main hall by high, vaulted passageways."

With the number of books increasing, the University planned a new building.

The library was built on Rempartstraße and opened in 1902. Following the construction of Kollegiengebäude I in 1911, the Rempartstraße formed a small campus between the library and the faculty building. Indeed, the president of Harvard University, Charles William Eliot, once described a university library as the heart of the university. Admire the rare female student at that time.

In 1972, the students had to leave the building in a hurry because the library was in danger of collapsing due to being overloaded with books. 

©Stadtarchiv Freiburg

Fortunately, construction of a new library had already started. The building on Werthmannplatz was erected in the Brutalist style and became operational in 1978.

Major defects, such as refurbishment costs and asbestos contamination, led in 2006 to the decision to build a new library. The intention was to preserve parts of the old, which meant that only the three underground cellars, i.e., the book storage areas and the elevator shafts of the old building, were retained from the superstructure.

The new UB opened on July 23, 2015. Extra 3, the satirical program on Norddeutscher Rundfunk, gave the building the title "The craziest university library in Germany." One deficiency was the blinding effect due to reflected sunlight.

The other reason for the "crazy" title was that, with 10,000 students per day, the reading rooms proved too cramped. Students stood in line before the library opened at 7 AM, then rushed to the reading rooms and blocked a seat for the whole day.

Would you like to take a break?
Please use the break timers. Reserved workspaces without break timers may be occupied by others.
After use, please return them here (©NDR).

But where there's a problem, there's also a solution: German inventiveness created the break timer.

Red Baron likes the building

Dr. Schröter spoke pro domo when he cited Andrew McDonald, "The library is the central academic focus of the university and plays a strong social role in the learning, teaching, and research processes in the institution."

**

Ship of Fools

Fools looking backward populate a ship without sails or a rudder. 

Sebastian Brant, Professor beider Rechte (canon and civil law) at Basel University, wrote the book titled Daß Narrenschyff ad Narragoniam in 1494, on the eve of the Reformation.

 

In his lecture 'The fool as a guide to the right way of life', Professor Nikolaus Henkel gave examples of pages from Brant's book. He started with the first one, alluding to a Büchernarr (sic! a fool obsessed with books), which lamely translates into English as 'bibliomaniac'.

The title of the page 'Of Useless Books' fits Red Baron well.

I walk ahead in the dance of fools, For I see many books around me, Which I neither read nor understand.           Of Useless Books That I sit at the front of the ship, That truly has a special purpose. This is not without reason: I always rely on books, I have a great treasure trove of books, Even if I rarely understand a word, I still hold them in high esteem: I am happy to ward the flies off them. When people talk about the sciences, I say: "I have them at home!" For it is enough for me to be surrounded by books. ... Since I know little Latin. I know that vinum means "wine," Gucklus a fool, And that I am called "domine doctor!" My ears are hidden, Otherwise, one would soon see the miller's animal.

Im Narrentanz voran ich gehe, Da ich viel Bücher um mich sehe, Die ich nicht lese und verstehe.         Von unnützen Büchern Daß ich im Schiffe vornan sitz, Das hat fürwahr besondern Witz. Nicht ohne Ursache ist das: Auf Bücher ich mich stets verlaß, Von Büchern hab ich großen Hort, Versteh ich selten auch ein Wort, So halt ich sie doch hoch in Ehren: Will ihnen gern die Fliegen wehren. Wo man von Wissenschaften reden tut, Sprech ich: »Daheim hab ich sie gut!« Denn es genügt schon meinem Sinn, Wenn ich umringt von Büchern bin. ... Dieweil ich wenig kann Latein. Ich weiß, daß vinum heißet »Wein«, Gucklus ein Gauch, Und daß ich heiß': »domine doctor!« Die Ohren sind verborgen mir, Sonst sah man bald des Müllers Tier.

The other example Professor Henkel showed concerns Procrastination, an art we are all familiar with, and Red Baron in particular with apartment keeping.

Whoever sings "cras, cras*" like a raven Will remain a fool until the grave; Tomorrow he will have an even bigger cap. *lat. tomorrow      On Seeking Procrastination He is a fool whom God commands To mend his ways today And renounce his sins, To embrace a better life, And who cannot mend his ways right away, No, he sets himself a deadline for the next day And sings "cras, cras!" like the raven, Not knowing if he will live that long. Many fools have been lost, Who always sang, "Tomorrow! Tomorrow!" As for sin and folly, People rush to them as soon as possible. As for God and doing what is right, That creeps up slowly now, People always seek to postpone it. "Tomorrow is better to confess than today! We'll learn to do right tomorrow!" So says many a lost son... That same tomorrow never comes, It flees and melts like snow; Only when the soul cannot remain, Then tomorrow dawns, Then the body is oppressed by pain, So that it does not think of the soul. So also in the desert perished Many Jews*, not a single one Was to reach that land Which God promised with a gentle hand. Those who are not capable of repentance today Will have even more to suffer tomorrow. Those whom God's voice calls today Do not know whether it will call them tomorrow. Therefore, many thousands are now lost. Who swore to better themselves tomorrow! *4. Moses 14:22 f

Wer singt »cras, cras*« gleichwie ein Rab. Der bleibt ein Narr bis hin zum Grab. Hat morgen eine noch größere Kapp. *lat. morgen        Vom Aufschubsuchen Der ist ein Narr, dem Gott gebeut, Daß er sich bessern soll noch heut Und soll von seinen Sünden lassen, Ein besser Leben anzufassen, Und der nicht gleich sich bessern mag, Nein, Frist sich setzt zum andern Tag Und singt »cras, cras!« des Raben Sang, Und weiß nicht, ob er lebt so lang. Viel Narren sind verlorngegangen, Die allzeit: »Morgen! Morgen!« sangen. Was Sünd und Narrheit sonst angeht, Da eilt man zu so früh wie spät; Was Gott betrifft und Rechtes tun, Das schleicht gar langsam näher nun, Dem suchen Aufschub stets die Leute. »Morgen ist besser beichten denn heute! Wir lernen Rechttun morgen schon!« So spricht gar mancher verlorener Sohn. Derselbe Morgen kommt nimmer je, Er flieht und schmilzt gleichwie der Schnee; Erst wenn die Seel nicht bleiben kann, Dann bricht der morgige Tag heran, Dann wird von Schmerz der Leib bedrängt, Daß er nicht an die Seele denkt. So sind auch in der Wüste vergangen Der Juden viel*; es sollte gelangen Kein einziger in jenes Land, Das Gott verhieß mit milder Hand*. Wer heut nicht fähig zur Reue ist, Hat morgen noch mehr, was ihm gebrist. Wen heute beruft die Gottesstimm, Weiß nicht, ob sie ruft morgen ihm, Drum sind viel Tausend jetzt verloren, Die morgen sich zu bessern schworen! *4. Moses 14, 22 f.

In view of my advanced age, I added the following page.

I'm already standing close to the pit, The executioner's knife is stabbing me in the ass*, But I won't give up my foolishness!          About Old Fools Foolishness won't let me be old; I am very old, but completely unwise, A wicked child of a hundred* years, Show the bells to the inexperienced, I give the children a command And make myself a will, Which I will regret after my death. With bad examples and knowledge I drive what my youth learned. That my wickedness may reap honor, I wish and boast boldly of shame, How I have ruined all the lands and made much water murky; I always practice evil, I am sorry that I can no longer accomplish it as before. But what I can no longer do Should remain recommended to my Heinz. *A modern description of being close to the end is "having one foot in the grave."

Schon steh ich an der Grube dicht, Im Arsch das Schindermesser* sticht Doch meine Narrheit laß ich nicht!            Von alten Narren Die Narrheit läßt mich nicht sein greis; Ich bin sehr alt, doch ganz unweis, Ein böses Kind von hundert Jahren, Zeig dem die Schellen, der unerfahren, Den Kindern geb ich Regiment Und mach mir selbst ein Testament, Das wird nach meinem Tod mir leid. Mit schlechtem Beispiel und Bescheid Treib ich, was meine Jugend lernte; Daß meine Schlechtigkeit Ehre ernte, Wünsch ich und rühm mich dreist der Schande, Wie ich beschissen alle Lande Und hab gemacht viel Wasser trübe; Im Schlechten ich mich allzeit übe, Es tut mir leid, daß ichs nicht mehr Vollbringen kann so wie vorher. Doch was ich jetzt nicht mehr kann treiben, Soll meinem Heinz empfohlen bleiben; *Eine moderne Beschreibung der Todesnähe ist "mit einem Fuß im Grabe stehen".

Well, there are two corrections to the text: I am not 100 but only 90 years old, and my son, named Andreas, passed away and won't inherit anything.

Professor Henkel ended his lecture paying homage to a colleague and friend who died in 2009. Manfred Lemmer was Professor of German literature at the University of Halle in the former GDR.

Manfred Lemmer at the Basler Fasnet 1995.
Chancellor Helmut Kohl holds a copy of the Narrenschiff edition
published by Professor Lemmer in his hands.

Lemmer was a specialist on "Das Narrenschiff" and published an edition altering the woodcut on the title page.

The ship of fools sails under the flag of the GDR. The motto of the GDR was "Forward forever, backward never," although the most backward-looking figure is Erich Mielke, head of the Stasi. Next looking to him stands Justicia*. Both have their nakedness uncovered.

*Red Baron recognized the female figure as Red Hilda, the notorious Minister of Justice Hilde Benjamin. Professor Henkel disagreed.

In the front left, a People's Police officer is beating a citizen. And in the crowd is bald Johannes R. Becher, Minister of Culture, womanizer, poet, and author of the GDR national anthem: Auferstanden aus Ruinen (Risen from the Ruins). He is groping a female comrade's breasts.

The present world is full of fools at the helm of Government ships. I found a cartoon that takes an iconic painting as its model: King Trump crosses the Delaware River with his Administration, while J. D. Vance drowns Miss Liberty.

Here is a black and white photo of the original painting:

As a strong supporter of Europe's Revolutions of 1848, Emanuel Leutze painted at Düsseldorf in 1849 the Übergang Washingtons über den Delaware, hoping to encourage Europe's liberal reformers with the example of the American Revolution. This first version at the Kunsthalle Bremen was destroyed by fire on September 5, 1942, following a bombing raid.

Is the allegory well chosen? I learned that Washington's crossing was the moment when, by duping the British troops, the American Revolution sailed from near-death to survival. Well, the Trump boat is a Narrenschiff.

**