Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, playwright, and philosopher, perhaps best known for his poem “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”), the lyrics of which are central to the fourth movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
1905 was the centenary of Friedrich von Schiller’s death. In Rochester, the German societies commissioned a bronze bust on a marble pedestal to be installed in one of the city parks. A fundraising campaign began on December 18, 1904, and concluded four years later, after amassing $5,500.
At its dedication, one of the speakers noted: Schiller is the poet of freedom. That is what makes him a world poet, and in a very peculiar sense an American poet . . . The cry of freedom, which is the dominant note in all of Schiller’s writings found a sympathetic response in the great heart of the American people. The quiescent spirit of liberty which his impassioned poetry fanned into a living flame in the Mother Country, later found its logical manifestation in that great flood of immigration to our shores.
As background, when the German revolutions of 1848-49 failed, many involved in the uprising fled to the United States. and many freedom-seeking German immigrants and their descendants in Rochester looked to Schiller as their inspiration and spokesman.
Twenty German American societies participated in the memorial’s dedication in Anderson Park on November 26, 1908. In 1964 the memorial was moved to Franklin Square when the original location was demolished to make way for a highway. Franklin Square was officially renamed Schiller Park.
Engraving on the pedestal describe Schiller as the Poet of Freedom and Justice. (On bronze plaque on front of base:) SCHILLER PARK/RENAMED IN HONOR OF FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER, FRANKLIN SQUARE WAS FORMERLY A CENTER OF GERMAN AMERICAN LIFE. TWENTY SOCIETIES GATHERED HERE TO MARCH TO ANDERSON PARK FOR THE DEDICATION OF SCHILLER’S MONUMENT, THEIR GIFT TO ROCHESTER ON NOV. 26, 1908./RELOCATED AND RE-ERECTED HERE BY THE CITY AND THE FEDERATION OF GERMAN-AMERICAN SOCIETIES TO HONOR RESIDENTS OF GERMAN ANCESTRY ON AUG. 23, 1964/”RAUM FUR ALLE HAT DIE ERDE” (On left stone bench: titles of Schiller’s plays) (On right stone bench: titles of Schiller’s works of prose)
The commission for the memorial was awarded to New York City Architectural form Carrere & Hastings, who also designed the House and Senate Office Buildings, the New York Public Library and the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater housing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The firm hired German-born sculptor Carl Augustus Heber to build the Schiller monument,
Ode to Joy:
Joy, thou shining spark of God,
Daughter of Elysium,
With fiery rapture, goddess,
We approach thy shrine!
Your magic reunites those
Whom stern custom has parted;
All men will become brothers
Under your protective wing.
Let the man who has had the fortune
To be a helper to his friend,
And the man who has won a noble woman,
Join in our chorus of jubilation!
Yes, even if he holds but one soul
As his own in all the world!
But let the man who knows nothing of this
Steal away alone and in sorrow.
All the world’s creatures draw
Draughts of joy from nature;
Both the just and the unjust
Follow in her gentle footsteps.
She gave us kisses and wine
And a friend loyal unto death;
She gave the joy of life to the lowliest,
And to the angels who dwell with God.
Joyous, as His suns speed
Through the glorious order of Heaven,
Hasten, brothers, on your way
Exultant as a knight victorious.
Be embraced, all ye millions!
With a kiss for all the world!
Brothers, beyond the stars
Surely dwells a loving Father.
Do you kneel before Him, oh millions?
Do you feel the Creator’s presence?
Seek Him beyond the stars!
He must dwell beyond the stars
