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In 1903, the Germanic Museum was dedicated at Harvard University. It was the brainchild of
Kuno Francke (1855-1930). There are probably few people today who are aware that such a museum was ever created, or who its creator was. But when it opened, it made international
news. Its history reflects the ups and downs of German-American relations in the 20th century.
Kuno Francke was a professor of the History of German Culture at Harvard who taught German literature from a cultural historical perspective. He wrote that he explored German literature
"from the point of view of the student of civilization rather than from a linguistic or the literary
scholar." He said that his research led him "to see in literature primarily the working of popular forces, to consider it chiefly as an expression of national culture."
Dr. Kuno Francke
Students flocked to his courses and his publications were widely read after he came to
Harvard in 1884. In time, he emerged as one of the foremost representatives of
German-American cultural exchange. In 1897, he and two of his colleagues published
a proposal on The Need of a German Museum at Harvard.
He felt that this was absolutely necessary to transmit an understanding of German culture,
noting "it is a principle now generally accepted that a nation's history cannot be studied
adequately without a consideration of its achievements in the monumental and domestic
arts. Nowhere does the spirit of a people manifest itself more clearly and impressively than
in the buildings devoted to public worship or public deliberations, in the images embodying
the popular conception of sacred legend or national tradition, in the appliances for private
comfort and security."
The proposal also stated that there were already a variety of museums in the U.S.: "But
nowhere in this country is there a chance of studying consecutively even the most important monuments of Germanic civilization. Nowhere in this country can the student obtain a vivid impression of the life and customs of our forefathers, from the early Teutonic times to the
later Middle Ages, such as is afforded by the Germanic Museum at Nuremberg and other
European locations. Nowhere can be given an accurate conception of the wonderful
Romanesque cathedrals of the twelfth century, of the extraordinary power of German
sculpture in the thirteenth, of the exquisite works of German woodcarving in the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries - or even of the work of such great men as Peter Vischer and D�rer."
The proposal met with international support and interest. In 1902, Prince Heinrich of Prussia
visited the U.S. and during his visit at Cambridge, where he received an honorary degree,
he made the spectacular announcement that his brother, Kaiser Wilhelm II, would make "a magnificent gift to the Germanic Museum, which will include key monuments in the
development of German sculpture." Given this kind of backing, the Museum was assured of
success and was officially dedicated the following year.
In 1906, the Emperor William Fund was established in honor of the silver wedding
anniversary of the Kaiser. It consisted of $30,000 from the American Friends of the
Germanic Museum and Adolphus Busch, the well-known German-American beer baron
of St. Louis, who served as president of the Germanic Museum Association. And four years
later, Busch donated an additional $265,000 for the construction of a home for the museum
- the Adolphus Busch Hall at Harvard. More support came from St. Louis: in 1913,
Busch's son-in-law, Hugo Reisinger, gave $50,000 to the museum.
The Adolphus Busch Hall is without doubt one of the most impressive and beautiful buildings
on the Harvard campus. Francke filled the museum with reproductions of original works of
German sculpture and architecture, using them to illustrate and teach the history of German civilization and culture. At the same time, Francke actively promoted German-American
exchange programs to enhance cross-cultural relations between the U.S. and Germany.
In 1905, he established an academic exchange program that made it possible for professors
from Germany and America to teach and do research on both sides of the Atlantic. Francke
also edited a landmark work, the multi-volume German Classics of the Nineteenth and
Twentieth Centuries: Masterpieces of German Literature (1913-14). Here one finds
translations not only of the great works of German literature, but from various areas of
German cultural life, especially philosophy.
And then came World War I. Francke did his best to promote peace based on the cultural relationships he had worked so hard for. After the U.S. declaration of war against Germany
in 1917, the Germanic Museum was closed and Francke retired. But the museum reopened
in 1921 with the dedication of the new Adolphus Busch Hall, which bears the inscription:
"Es ist der Geist, der sich den K�rper baut" (It is the spirit that builds itself the body).
In 1925, Francke published an illustrated guide, Handbook of the Germanic Museum, and
in 1927 a collection of essays, German After-War Problems. Here he wrote that he
considered it to be "the paramount duties of German-Americans, as heirs and guardians
of German culture in this country" to cultivate "these precious legacies of our
Old World ancestry."
During World War II, the museum was also unfortunately closed due to the spirit of the time.
After the war, the daughter of Adolphus Busch, who was the widow of Hugo Reisinger, gave $205,000 to re-open the museum. And in 1950, its name was changed to the Busch-Reisinger Museum of Germanic Culture, but it is now simply known as the Busch-Reisinger Museum.
In 1991, the museum moved to its new building, the Werner Otto Hall, although its original
building still stands.
Today the museum focuses more on modern, rather than historical periods of German art,
indicating a more contemporary focus than that of its creator, who sought an understanding of German culture by concentrating on the historical foundations of German art and architecture.
In spite of the name change and the more contemporary focus, the museum continues on
as the major museum of its kind in the U.S. It survived the hard times of the past century and
stands as a symbol of the strength of U.S.-German relations, as well as to the support it has received from friends in both countries, especially from the Busch family of St. Louis.
A visit to Harvard's campus in Cambridge would be incomplete for anyone interested in
German culture, if it did not include a stop at the Busch-Reisinger Museum. One should
also take time to visit the majestic Adolphus Busch Hall, the previous home of the museum.
And later on, take time to read some of the works of its creator, Kuno Francke.
Links:
Busch-Reisinger Museum:
http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/busch-reisinger-museum
For further information on Francke and the Germanic Museum, see:
German-Americana: Selected Essays, by Don Heinrich Tolzmann
http://www.littlemiamibooks.com/shop/pc/German-Americana-Selected-Essays-3p8.htm
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