The seventieth anniversary of the death of Heinrich Heine (he died in Paris on February 17th., 1856) was observed here to-day by a pilgrimage to his grave in the Montmartre Cemetery by a large number of admirers of the poet’s work, and Dr. Herold, the Mayor of Duesseldorff, the German town where Heine was born, came specially to Paris to be present and delivered a eulogy at the graveside of his town’s most famous son. In the course of his speech the Mayor referred to the decision of the International Heine Committee, including among its members some of the most famous writers and artists in the world, to erect a Heine Monument in his native town. The civic authorities of Duesseldorff, he said, were highly honoured by the decision and would give every protection and care to the monument.
The hatred of the German antisemites for Heine manifested itself again to-day when a bookshop in Hamburg, making a special Heine display for the occasion of the 75th, anniversary of his death, was stormed by a group of young Hitlerists, who smashed the windows of the shop and did a great deal of damage to the books and portraits exhibited. Two of them have been arrested.
In 1926, when the seventieth anniversary of Heine’s death was commemorated, the German Government sent a representative to Paris to deposit a wreath on Heine’s grave, thus giving Heine for the first time official recognition and acknowledgment as one of the great poets of Germany. In the past German Governments accepted the views of the Professors of German literature of the old regime who would not admit him to the school text-books, and the Kaiser himself made no secret of his intense dislike of Heine. He refused to allow him to be recognised in any way, and even wanted to demolish the memorial in Corfu erected by the Austrian Empress Eugenie to Heine’s memory when her villa there came into his possession.
The city of Duesseldorff on Heine’s 70th. birthday did not send a representative to Paris, but it sent a laurel wreath with a ribbon in the town colours which was placed on the grave, bearing the inscription: “To the great son of Duesseldorff, from his native town”.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
