- Göttingen Seven
The Göttingen Seven (German: Göttinger Sieben; also known in English as the Göttinger filters) were a group of seven professors from
Göttingen . In 1837 they protested against the abolition or alteration of the constitution of theKingdom of Hanover by Ernest Augustus and refused to swear an oath to the new king of Hanover. [Suzanne L Marchand "Down from Olympus: Archaeology and Philhellenism in Germany, 1750-1970". Princeton UniversityPress, 1996. ISBN 0691114781] [Margaret B. W. Tent "The Prince of Mathematics: Carl Friedrich Gauss". A K Peters, 2006. ISBN 1568812612] The company of seven was led byFriedrich Christoph Dahlmann , [Fanny Lewald, Hanna Ballin Lewis "A Year of Revolutions: Fanny Lewald's Recollections of 1848". Berghahn Books, 1997. ISBN 1571810994] who himself was one of the key advocates of the unadulterated constitution. The other six were the Germanist brothers Wilhelm andJacob Grimm (famed fairy tale and folk tale writers and storytellers; known together as theBrothers Grimm ), [Christa Jungnickel, Russell McCormmach "Intellectual Mastery of Nature: Theoretical Physics from Ohm to Einstein". University of ChicagoPress, 1986. ISBN 0226415821] the juristWilhelm Eduard Albrecht , the historianGeorg Gottfried Gervinus , the physicistWilhelm Eduard Weber , and the theologian and orientalistHeinrich Georg August Ewald .Background
The constitution that Ernst Augustus later opposed came into effect in 1833, while the later King was still heir presumptive to the Hanoverian throne. Historian and politician Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann, who later contested Ernest Augustus' plans to change the constitution to his liking, contributed to the constitution's framing. Additionally, Dahlmann existed as the representative of the
University of Göttingen , in the second chamber of the noble court. The death ofKing William IV on June 20, 1837 had a great impact on Hanover's political positioning, relations, and union with the group of constitutional states in theGerman Confederation . With William's death, thepersonal union between Hanover and the United Kingdom ended, and William's brother (Ernest Augustus) took over as ruler of the kingdom of Hanover. Augustus' niece Victoria acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom, but could not inherit Hanover due to theSalic Law in force in Hanover, which barred females from ruling.1911]About one month after he succeeded to the throne, King Ernst addressed the matter of the Constitution. He stated that he was not bound by it, as his consent had not been asked to it. He also indicated that it would have been different, or perhaps even non-existent, had he been in power at the time of its composition. He declared that it was his aim and ambition to make the necessary changes to the constitution and rewrite it to reflect his values. [Gregory A. Kimble, Michael Wertheimer, C. Alan Boneau, Charlotte White "Portraits of pioneers in psychology". Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0805821988]
Hearing this, Dahlmann, made an attempt to persuade his colleagues at the University of Göttingen
senate to disapprove of the king's intent to change the constitution, and take some form of action. None of his over 40 different colleagues were willing to support Dahlmann's view and possibly cause public confliction or unrest during ongoing festivities of the 100 year anniversary of theGeorg-August University of Göttingen . [Constance Reid "Hilbert". Springer, 1996. ISBN 0387946748.]Protest and aftermath
On November 1 of the same year, Ernest Augustus annulled the constitution. This move was met with political criticism from some
German state s. [Marshall Dill "Germany: A Modern History". University of MichiganPress, 1970. ISBN 0472071017] The move also provoked Dahlmann to again appeal to the university, and compose a protestation in regards to opposing Augustus' decision. This time, he received a better response, six other professors were now willing to sign as opposers. These six, plus Dahlmann, would become known as the Göttingen Seven. Dahlmann's document was published and met with an explosive influence — the students at the university produced many hundreds, or even thousands, of copies and disseminated them across Germany.The protest's impact forced the king to take action, and the seven defiant professors were questioned before the university court on December 4. Ten days later, the seven were relieved of their posts at the university, and two of them, the
Brothers Grimm , were given three days to leave the country. [Hajo Holborn "A History of Modern Germany: 1840-1945". Princeton University Press, 1982. ISBN 0691007977] [E. Michael Iba & Thomas L. Johnson "The German Fairy Tale Landscape". ISBN 3980871487] The university recalled the dismissal as a great loss to the university; confirmed in writings about the event during the time.While the actual, direct effects of the protest were limited, public sensation and media interest that occurred in Germany and much of Europe was high, and the seven were popular among the general public.Donald R. Hettinga "The Brothers Grimm: Two Lives, One Legacy". Clarion Books, 2001. ISBN 0618055991] [John Derbyshire "Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics". Joseph Henry Press, 2003. ISBN 0309085497] While each of the seven had their own personal reasons for defying the king, the fact that they had done so was the central catalyst for the media and public attention. The efforts of the Göttingen Seven outlived each of them, and the impact they caused on
German politics at large can be, in some part, attributed to the creation of a liberalrepublic in Germany. [Klaus Hentschel "Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources". Birkhäuser, 1996. ISBN 3764353120]ee also
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Rebel
*Constitutional law
*politics
*History of Germany References
;Notes
;General
* [http://www.belocal.de/hannover/sehenswertes/goettinger-sieben/seite_1,18,2,2638.html Present day] de icon;Literature
*cite book |last=See |first=Klaus von |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Die Göttinger Sieben. Kritik einer Legende (The Göttinger filters. Criticism of a legend)|language= German|publisher=Universitätsverlag Winter|month=October | year=2000 |isbn=978-3825310585
*citation|last=Hunger|first=Ulrich|chapter=Die Georgia Augusta als hannoversche Landesuniversität. Von der Gründung bis zum Ende des Königreichs (The Georgia Augusta as hanoverian national university. From its establishment to the end of the kingdom)|editor-first=Dietrich|editor-last=Denecke|editor2-first=Ernst|editor2-last=Böhme|language=German|publisher=|year=2002|isbn=3-525-36197-1
*citation|last=Lampe|first=Jörg H.|chapter=Politische Entwicklungen in Göttingen vom Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts bis zum Vormärz (Political developments in Goettingen of the beginning 19. Century up to the Vormärz)|title=Göttingen: Geschichte einer Universitätsstadt (Goettingen: history of a university town)|editor-first=Dietrich|editor-last=Denecke|editor2-first=Ernst|editor2-last=Böhme|language= German|publisher=|year=2002|isbn=3-525-36197-1
*cite book| last=Fulbrook | first=Mary |title=German History Since 1800|year=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=0340692006
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