Vortrag: Des Kaisers „Hunnenrede“

In the organizer's words:

In the summer of 1900, the last German emperor ordered his troops departing from Bremerhaven for China to give "no quarter" in the suppression of the so-called Boxer Rebellion, to take no prisoners and to behave like the Huns under their king Etzel, whose reign of terror still had a terrifying effect after 1,000 years. According to a view that is still widely held today, the "Hun Speech" was probably the worst of the numerous rhetorical gaffes that Wilhelm II had made. But was it such a speech at all?

In his lecture, Martin Schaad reconstructs a context in which the Emperor's speech can be interpreted not as an uncontrolled outburst of emotion, but as a deliberate expression of will. The words, spoken with full intent, were thus based on a way of thinking in images that highlights Wilhelm's idea of heroic warfare, his unbridled thirst for revenge and his religious zeal.

In cooperation with the Bremerhaven City Archive and the Heimatbund der Männer vom Morgenstern e.V.