Emil Frommel
Encyclopedia
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
theologian and author, born at Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
. He studied at Halle upon Saale
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
, and Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, held several pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
ates, served as army chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
in the Franco-German War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1870–1871 and in 1872 was appointed court preacher at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and pastor of the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
in that city. His principal theological works include:
- Die zehn Gebote Gottes in Predigten (sixth edition, 1898)
- In drei Stufen, an anthologyAnthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
(eighth edition, 1890) - Festflammen, (sixth edition, 1896)
- Das Gebet des Herrn in Predigten (fourth edition, 1893)
- He also wrote tales and miscellaneous essays, collected and published under the title of Gesammelte Schriften, Erzählungen für das Volk, Aufsätze und Vorträge (1873–1897).
1899, in the introduction to the book Eingeschneit, the editor William Bernhardt wrote:
The ranks of those illustrious men who a few decades ago, in war and peace, stood by the side of Emperor Wilhelm I.--of glorious memory--have gradually thinned. On the 9th of November, 1896, another of the few then surviving--Dr. Emil Frommel, Supreme Councillor of the Prussian Consistory, formerly chaplain to the Imperial Court and pastor of the "Garnisonkirche" in Berlin--closed his eyes forever. He was a man whose eminent gifts, both of mind and heart, had been thoroughly tested and fully appreciated not only by his personal friend, the old Emperor, but also by the latter's son, the noble-hearted and much lamented FriedrichFrederick III, German EmperorFrederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
, and his grandson, Wilhelm II., the present shaper of the destiny of the Fatherland. Frommel was a minister of the gospel "by divine grace," possessed of a deep and unaffected piety and love for mankind, an enrapturing pulpit-orator, a scholar of clear and keen intellect, a man endowed with the purest nobility of soul and intrepid courage, a writer for the masses, in whom the acme of moral gravity appeared felicitously blended with an always present and all refreshing humor, a fervent patriot and accomplished courtier, though far from every courtly flattery and obsequiousness.
Emil Frommel was a native of Southern GermanySouthern GermanyThe term Southern Germany is used to describe a region in the south of Germany. There is no specific boundary to the region, but it usually includes all of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and the southern part of Hesse...
. Born at Karlsruhe, in the grand-duchy of Baden, on January 5, 1828, as the son of the director of the ducal art gallery of that place, he devoted himself to the study of theology at the universities of Halle, Erlangen, and Heidelberg. In 1850, he was called as vicar to the village of Alt-LussheimAltlußheimAltlußheim is a municipality in Baden-Württemberg and belongs to Rhein-Neckar-Kreis.Altlußheim sits in the Rhine rift directly on the right bank of a meandering of the Rhine, where the Kriegbach flows into the Rhine....
, near SchwetzingenSchwetzingenSchwetzingen is a German town situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.Schwetzingen is one of the 5 biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and it is a medium-sized centre including the cities and municipalities of...
(Baden), whence four years later he went as vicar to Karlsruhe, his native town. In 1864, he followed a call to BarmenBarmenBarmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which in 1929 with four other towns was merged with the city of Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. Barmen was the birth-place of Friedrich Engels and together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the...
, that great industrial center of WestphaliaProvince of WestphaliaThe Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
, and again five years later, he accepted the place as pastor of the "Garnisonkirche" in Berlin. Hardly had he become familiar with his new surroundings, when, in the summer of 1870, the Franco-German war broke out. As a field chaplainMilitary chaplainA military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...
he followed the army into FranceSecond French EmpireThe Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
, camping amidst his beloved "blue soldier-boys" during the siege of StrassburgStrasbourgStrasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, and preaching to them, after the surrender of that old stronghold, the first German sermon in St. Thomas' church.--In June, 1871, on the triumphal return of the Berlin garrison, Frommel occupied again the pulpit of the "Garnisonkirche" and delivered in the presence of the Emperor and the allied German sovereigns that memorable sermon in commemoration of the heroic dead. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the "Garnisonkirche," he was created chaplain to the Imperial Court.
In an almost daily intercourse with his Imperial master, Frommel soon had completely taken the heart of the affable old hero, whom from 1872 to 1887, year after year, he accompanied to "Wildbad GasteinBad GasteinBad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ...
," the famous watering place in the Austrian Alps, where in the little Protestant church of that Catholic district the old warrior joined the few Lutheran mountaineers in their devotional exercises, listening to the words of his chaplain, whose sermon he could not afford to miss--as he said--for a single Sunday in the year. "I am particularly indebted to you," once remarked the Emperor, "that in your sermons you never refer to me."--"Well, your majesty," replied Frommel, "I think that it must be quite a hard task for you to bear the crown six days of each week, and that on the Sabbath you should have a right to be relieved from your burden and feel like a plain Christian in the house of the Lord."
It was by no means in the Imperial household alone that Frommel was so exceptionally honored; the highest circles of Berlin society, artists, diplomats, literary and military men, religious and infidels, all strove in rivalry to pay homage to the popular pastor of the "Garnisonkirche." His wedding-, christening-, and burial-sermons were masterpieces of oratory; though plainly conceived and plainly delivered and free from all and every unctious pathos, they abounded with thought, true feeling, and poetical beauty. Frommel was destined to speak at the graves of most of the great leaders of the war of 1870–1871, including Prince August of WürttembergPrince August of WürttembergPrince Friedrich August Eberhard of Württemberg, full German name: Friedrich August Eberhard, Prinz von Württemberg was a Royal Prussian Colonel General of the Cavalry with the rank of Generalfeldmarschall and Kommandierender General...
, MoltkeHelmuth von Moltke the ElderHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 19th century, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
, Roon, Alvensleben, KirchbachHugo von KirchbachHugo Ewald Graf von Kirchbach was a Prussian general who commanded the Prussian V Corps during the Franco-Prussian War....
, and KamekeGeorg von KamekeArnold Karl Georg von Kameke was a Prussian General of the Infantry and Minister of War....
; the danger to become, on such occasions, a panegyrist, he has always judiciously avoided, thanks to his delicate taste and independence of conviction.
It would be a great mistake to suspect that the adulation of those foremost in life and society had been able to dazzle even for a moment Frommel's sound judgment or make him turn his back to the other half of humanity. Quite the contrary! His generous heart beat warmest of all for the great community of the poor and afflicted. The thousands of Berlin cab-drivers were his most devoted friends, and to the amelioration of the deplorable lot of the German waiters he directed his loving interest. The endless train of mendicants who at all times besieged the parsonage, never knew him but "from his very best side." For an old vagabond tailor who had seen better days, he secures work, thus laying a solid foundation for an honest and certain existence; in the superannuated sick and penniless actor, who salutes him as "a colleague in an allied profession," he readily discovers a parson's scion, and dismisses him with a most positive proof of his generosity.
What wonder that the pastor of the "Garnisonkirche" had gradually grown to be one of the most popular figures of the national capital of GermanyGerman EmpireThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, and this all the more so as he, the southerner by birth, education, and mode of viewing things, had so completely caught the peculiar Berlin humor and ready wit in address and reply, that in no wise he differed from the true-born Berliner! And on what excellent terms was he with the young folks not only of his immense congregation, but of Berlin, nay, of the whole country, wherever he met them on his extended tours through the Empire!
Amidst the most various and trying engagements, Frommel lived in Berlin for twenty-six years. What an immense amount of work he accomplished within that time, can be understood from his own statement in his farewell sermon of Sunday, April 19, 1896, where he said: "While in Berlin, I have baptized 1838 children, united in wedlock 1526 couples, confirmed 1980 school-children, and buried 1709 dead. Of the churches in Berlin, I have preached in all but one, and in sixty-five cities all over Germany I have delivered either sermons or lectures." So we cannot much wonder that on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his installation as pastor of the "Garnisonkirche," he submitted to his Imperial master the petition for retirement from his charge. His request was most graciously complied with, and at the same time he was commissioned by Imperial brevet as an "officer à la suite of the army," a distinction never before in the history of Germany conferred upon a military chaplain.--Soon after, in the spring of 1896, Emperor Wilhelm II. called him to his castlePlön CastlePlön Castle in Plön is one of the largest castles in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein and the only one located on a hill. The former Residenz of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön was built in the 17th century during the Thirty Years War and has had a colourful history in which it...
, PloenPlönPlön is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, touching the town on virtually all sides...
, charmingly situated upon the shore of the Ploener LakeGroßer Plöner SeeThe Großer Plöner See or Lake Plön is the largest lake in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located near the town of Plön...
in the Prussian province of Schleswig-HolsteinProvince of Schleswig-HolsteinThe Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864...
, to superintend the tuition of his two oldest sons, Crown-Prince Wilhelm and Prince Eitel FriedrichPrince Eitel Friedrich of PrussiaPrince Eitel Friedrich was the second son of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein...
. Full of happy anticipation of a quiet and restful evening of life in one of the most idyllic parts of Germany, Frommel entered upon his new and honorable duties with a truly youthful vigor and enthusiasm, but alas--after a few months' stay at Ploen, owing to an old ailment which had reappeared under more alarming symptoms than ever before, he had to submit to a chirurgical operation, and it was under the knives of the surgeons that on the 9th day of November, 1896, Emil Frommel breathed his last, at the age of sixty-eight years.
Frommel's personal appearance was the harmonious representation of his inner life. His kind and youthful face, brightened by benevolent blue eyes, was encircled by long and full silver-white hair and made such a deep impression, that once seen it could not easily be forgotten.
As a writer, Frommel is best known as the author of a long series of stories for the masses, which on account of their unaffected piety, vigorous language and healthy humor have become exceedingly popular with all classes. They are published by Wiegandt & Grieben (Berlin), in eleven volumes under the general title, »Gesammelte Schriften--Erzählungen, Aufsätze und Vorträge.« Our story »Eingeschneit« taken from the sixth volume (»Aus der Sommerfrische«) relates a humorous travelling adventure from the author's own merry college-life, when a student of divinity at the university of Erlangen. It will not be a difficult task for the reader to discover which of the three jovial young fellows, who, one fine summer-day, started to see for themselves whether the world really is as round as their professor had claimed, was the one who in after-life became so widely known as "Emil Frommel."
WILHELM BERNHARDT.
Washington, D.C.,
February, 1899.