The bicentennial of the Greek Revolution is a historic milestone of the highest importance. Aiming to serve and enhance historical knowledge and memory, Parisian Publishing inaugurates the publishing series "Philhellenic Library," which will extend over a substantial number of volumes and will include valuable testimonies, memoirs, and biographies of notable philhellenes, rare documents, as well as in-depth studies of their lives and actions.
This volume gathers all the Greek-language studies of Dr. Reginna Manousaki on the complex phenomenon of German philhellenism. It represents an extremely significant contribution to the related literature, as it brings to light unknown and valuable sources (diaries, memoirs, and letters of prominent philhellenes) – many of which are translated into Greek for the first time – and approaches German philhellenism in a multi-faceted and thorough manner.
With a well-documented and critical discourse, the author examines the origins of the German philhellenic movement by placing it within its historical context and provides a highly impressive panorama, assessing both the movement itself and its contribution to the struggle of ’21, as well as its reception by the most important scholars in the field. The book is introduced by Professor Cay Lienau. A greeting is delivered by Dr. Ernst Reichel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Greece. The edition was edited by Kostas Papaheliou, director of the "Philhellenic Library."
Contents
Philhellenic Library, 7
Greeting, 11
Grusswort, 13
Preface, 15
Introduction, 19
Part A: Participation of Germans in the Struggle, 41
A1. German volunteers in the struggle of 1821, 43
A2. The participation of the German doctor J. D. Elster in the Greek Liberation Struggle, 52
A3. Meeting of philhellenes with Kolokotronis in Tripoli, August-September 1822, 70
Part B: War Events in the German Press, 85
B1. Information from German newspapers about war events in the Peloponnese in 1821, 87
B2. Description of the capture of Palamidi and the surrender of Nafplio in November-December 1822 by a German eyewitness, 103
B3. Foreign observer at the surrender of Nafplio in 1822, 119
B4. Echoes of the National Assembly in Epidaurus (1822) in the German Press, 130
Part C: Course of the Philhellenic Movement in Germany, 137
C1. Greek Revolution: The politics of Metternich and public opinion in Germany, 139
C2. Wilhelm Muller and his songs about the Maniots, 152
C3. The pseudo-memoirs of a German volunteer of ’21, 163
C4. The diaries of '21 of Prussian officers Bollmann and Bellier de Launay, 172
C5. Wilhelm Muller, poet of the Songs of the Greeks and translator of Greek folk songs, 207
C6. A brief historical description of Nafplio from a German publication of the year 1827, 224
Part D: Testimonies of Germans about the Newly Established Greek State, 233
D1. The peacekeeping action of Friedrich Thiersch in Nafplio, spring of 1832, 235
D2. Observations of the couple Konstantinos and Bettinas Schina about the state of Greece in 1834/35, 268
D3. A Berliner in Nafplio. Snapshots of life in the first capital of Greece (1834-1835), 287
D4. Shopping in Nafplio in 1834, 310
D5. Visit of the German prince Pückler in Nafplio in 1836, 321
D6. The German prince Pückler, the "Peloponnesian," 333
D7. Tour of the German prince Pückler in Messinia in 1836, 354
D8. Terrible scenes of robbery in the Peloponnese in 1836, according to the account of the German prince Pückler, 369
D9. Heroes and episodes from the Greek Revolution, as narrated by the German prince Pückler, 397
First publications, 420
