HISTORY OF THE GERMAN GYMNASTIC MOVEMENT OF BALTIMORE By AUGUSTUS J. PRAHL Baltimore played a rather important part in the early history of American Turnerism. Here the "Sozial-demo- kratische Turnverein of Baltimore" was founded in 1849 shortly after similar societies had been established in New York, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Boston. Its cradle stood, according to Louis Hoffmann, in the courtyard of an inn owned by two Germans, Auer and Lauer, at the corner of Liberty and Saratoga Streets. The Turners Carl Giller, Conrad H. Becker, Louis Binder- wald, and Adam Geyer were supposed to have been the first who investigated the founding of a Turnverein. In 1850 the society in Baltimore counted a mem- bership of 278 and was the strongest of the seventeen gymnastic organizations then existing in the United States. The "Social-demokratische Turnve- rein Baltimores" must be considered the progenitor of all the gymnastic as- sociations which sprung up in the course of time in Baltimore. Albert von Degen in the book Baltimore, seine Ver- gangenheit und Gegenwart speaks of it as "the center of the Germans in pre- Civil War days." Only a few facts are known about the early history of this organization. It was instrumental in the founding of the national organiza- tion, the "Sozialistische Turnerbund." The first national gathering was held in Baltimore, in September, 1852. It was at the occasion of the first na- tional Turnfest in 1852 that the Ger- man Turners came face to face with the antagonism of such "native" gangs as the "Know-nothings," the "Blood Tubs," the "Plug Uglies," etc., all of which helped Baltimore to secure the title "Mobtown."  Karl A. M. Scholtz gives the following account of the event:  "It was on the eleventh of September, 1852, when as a part of the entertainment a picnic  with   gymnastic  exercises   and sports had been arranged at the Fair Grounds on Charles Street, above what is now North Avenue, that rowdy gang- sters sought to break up the picnic by rushing the gate and breaking into the grounds.   They failed to count on the discipline maintained by the Turners, so they were beaten off and driven out. They took revenge by waylaying indi- viduals homeward bound from the fest. To ward off further attacks on the re- turn home in the evening, a long pro- cession was formed; in the middle the women   and children  were  placed,  at the head of the line and bringing up the rear was the Turner rifle corps. With flags flying and drums rolling the body marched townward. Several desul- tory attacks were attempted, fortunately without bloodshed.  The while this was happening the friendly Irish, from what was  then  known  as  Frenchtown   (the section around the Western Maryland R. R. Station) came to aid. There was no further  disturbance that evening." When in 1855 the national organiza- tion, at its meeting in Buffalo accepted an anti-slavery platform, the "Social- Democratic Turnverein"  of Baltimore supported this program, thus doing its share in preventing the creation of a new regional organization intended by several societies located in the South.¹ On the other hand, the sharp criti- cism of the spirit of the Turnzeitung, launched by the Baltimore society, was the cause for a dissension which had 'The Turnvereine of Houston, Texas; Charleston, S. C.; Savannah, Ga.; Augusta, Ga., and Mobile, Ala., were in opposition to the platform of 1855 and withdrew from the national organization. The first mentioned made an attempt to found a Turnerbund on Southern basis—a friendly attitude to- ward slavery. This attempt failed miserably, due to the faithfulness of the other Vereine in the slave- holding states, chiefly the "Social-Democratic Turnverein" of Baltimore and the Turnvereine in Louis- ville, Ky.; Covington, Ky.; Newport, Ky.; St. Louis, Mo., and Wheeling, W. Va. Only the Turnverein in New Orleans, La., joined the opposing party in 1857. For detailed information see: Heinrich Huhn, "Die Spaltung und die Wiedervereinigung des Turnerbundes," Amerik. Turner-Kalender (1890), p. 26. [16] threatened the national organization for a long time and which was not settled until after the Civil War. Shortly before the Civil War Balti- more became the center of the Turner movement of the whole country. In 1860 Baltimore was made the "Vorort" (headquarters) of the Turnerbund. At a meeting in Williamsburg, N. Y., in the same year, the Baltimore society tried to reunite all the Turnvereine, but this proved impossible. In spite of the fact that certain Turn-societies had left the national organization, some prob- ably compelled by geographical fac- tors, most of them remained in contact with the "Vorort." Fully aware of the seriousness of the situation the "Vorort" at Baltimore urged all associated clubs on October 16, 1860, to exercise conscientiously their right to vote, and to cast their ballot in favor of the Republican candi- date. An excerpt of the proclamation reads as follows: "The Turner strongly opposes slavery, nativism or any form of deprivation of rights resulting from color, religion, or place of birth, since this is incompatible with a cosmopoli- tan conception of the world." Another proclamation was published in the Turnzeitung on October 23 in which Lincoln was warmly recommended as candidate for the presidency. The early history of the Baltimore Turnverein would be incomplete with- out the mention of two names: Carl Heinrich Schnauffer and Johann Strau- benmüller.² Both names were well known not only in Baltimore but in all German-American circles of the United States. Both were active in promulgat- ing the Turner sentiments through the medium of the Baltimore Wecker and through their poems which represent in their powerful and stirring energy of spirit the best lyric production result- ing from the Turner movement. Several of their poems are dedicated to the "Social-Democratic Turnverein" of Bal- timore. With the approach of the Civil War the situation of the Baltimore Turners became very precarious. Two days after the bombardment of Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call to arms, in April, 1861, a company of Baltimore Turners went to Washington and offered their serv- ices to the government. This company, with the Washington and Georgetown Turners, was the first corps of volun- teers. Although the leaving of the Bal- timore Turners had been carried out with the greatest secrecy, the Southern sympathizers of Baltimore had re- ceived news of it. On April 20, 1861, the "Social-Democratic Turnverein" re- ceived the ultimatum to hoist the Mary- land State flag instead of flying the Stars and Stripes. This request to show Southern sympathies was promptly re- fused. On April 20, 1861, late in the evening, a mob supposedly led by a German forcefully broke into the gym- nasium located at 300 West Pratt Street, burning all the papers and destroying all movable furniture. The same fate overtook the office of the Baltimore Wecker (April 22), where the Turn- zeitung was printed. The result of these happenings was that many Ger- mans considered it wise to leave the city, among them the editors of the Turnzeitung, Wilhelm Rapp and Dr. G. E. Wiss, joining the Union forces in large numbers. 8 It is but natural that during the Civil War the activities of the "Social-Demo- cratic Turnverein" of Baltimore—as of all Turnvereine—came to an end. Once the war was over, with the return of 2 A. E. Zucker, "Carl Heinrich Schnauffer," Twenty-fourth Report of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland (1939),  17-23.   M. D. Learned, "The German-American Turner Lyric, Tenth Report of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland (1896), 77-134. 3 This is not the place to treat the part the Turners in Maryland played in the Civil War, since this question has been investigated by Dieter Cunz, "The Maryland Germans in the Civil War," Mary- land Historical Magazine, XXXVI, iv (1941), 394-419. A fine compliment was paid the Turners by Winston Churchill in his book, The Crisis (p. 211). Although here referring to the Turners in St. Louis, it can, with equal justification, be applied to the Turners in general: "Strange, indeed, that the striving life of these leaders of a European Revolution has been suddenly cut off in its vigor. There came to Stephan a flash of that world-comprehension which marks great statesmen. Was it not with a divine purpose that this measureless force of patriotism and high ideal has been given to this youngest of the nations, that its high mission might be fulfilled?" [17] the   Turners,   the   "Social-Democratic Turnverein" began to function again. 4 But with the Civil War the spirit which had called into life the "Social- Democratic Turnverein" no longer ani- mated its members. Many of the older members had withdrawn from the or- ganization ; the German element coming to Baltimore in the sixties represented a different background; very little understanding existed on the part of the American-German element for the real goals of the Turnerei—all these factors are responsible for the different spirit which permeated the society. Likewise the fact that the gymnastic hall and the various gymnastic apparatus had been destroyed in 1861 should not be forgotten. What part active gym- nastics played in the sixties is revealed by the figures that in 1865 out of a membership of 130 only ten names ap- peared on the list of Turners. Even the fact that the Bundesturnfest of 1867 was held in Baltimore with Wilhelm Rapp as orator of the day and General Franz Sigel acting as president for this occasion cannot hide the fact that the "Social-Democratic Turnverein" was very much in need of reform. Mate- rially the Turnverein prospered, for the many social and money-making fea- tures which took place in rapid succes- sion meant material gain for certain members at least. The club was in the hands of money-makers. The ideals and traditions which had meant so much to the founders were almost forgotten. Franz Corton sums up the situation in these words: "Intellectual stimulation was limited to beer drinking." This absence of idealism and finan- cial difficulties which the club experi- enced toward the end of the sixties led to the founding of new gymnastic organ- izations, e. g., the Turnverein "Vor- waerts" (1867), the "Atlantic Turnve- rein" (1872), and the "Gymnastische Pyramiden Club. 5 The separation from the parental body was in the case of the "Atlantic Turn- verein" a rather shortlived affair. After fifteen years of independent exist- ence (1887) the "Atlantic Turnverein" rejoined the "Social-Democratic Turn- verein," thus pouring new blood into the veins of the old organization. The new organization was known by the name of "Baltimore Turngemeinde." Under the circumspect guidance of such men as Wilhelm Eckhardt, John R. Fell- mann, Fritz List, Otto Türke, Karl Kroh, Karl Bodenburg, Wilhelm Schnauffer, and others, the "Baltimore Turngemeinde" in the course of years regained the place which the "Social- Democratic Turnverein" had occupied in former years. Compelled by finan- cial setbacks, the "Baltimore Tumge- meinde" dissolved in 1888 and in the course of the reorganization adopted the name "Germania Turnverein." 6 Thus the history of the German gym- nastic organizations is limited to two major societies still in existence: the "Germania Turnverein" and the Turn- verein "Vorwaerts." Without regard for the importance of the two clubs we shall first follow the history of the "Ger- mania Turnverein," for, historically speaking, it is the direct descendant of the "Social-Democratic Turnverein" founded in 1849. Although the various events—separa- 4 How quickly the German organizations were revived after the Civil War in Baltimore can be seen from the following statement: "For five days during the month of July, 1868, the city practically surrendered itself into the hands of the large German element in its population. The occasion was the eleventh annual Saengerfest of the Northwestern Saengerbund, which opened in the city on the twelfth of the month. On the 14th a long procession of singing societies and other organizations marched from the Concordia Opera House on Eutaw Street to the Schuetzen Park, where orations were delivered by William Rapp and Robert C. Barry . . ." The Turnvereine of Baltimore participated in this event.—C. C. Hall, Baltimore, its History and its People, I, 221. 5 This association was founded in October, 1882. Main emphasis was placed on pyramidal figures in gymnastics and furtherance of the German language. The first officers were: Albert Dogge, presi- dent; Friedrich Dresel, vice-president; Ferdinand Jacober, treasurer; Friedrich Beckmann, secretary; Friedrich Herd, financial secretary; Louis Dresel, in charge of apparatus. Information concerning the nature and workings of the club is extremely scarce. The commands at drill were given in German and only persons who had a mastery of the German tongue could become active members. How long this club was in existence is not known. It apparently came to an end in the course of the first decade of our century. The gymnastic skill of its members must have offered enjoyment to the various German societies of Baltimore, for mention is often made of its participation in many entertaining and charitable programs. See: Baltimore, seine Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, p. 235. 6 Baltimore, seine Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, p. 234; and Das neve Baltimore, p. 102. [18] tion, reuniting, and reorganization— which gradually brought into being the "Germania Turnverein" were enthusi- astically instigated by the younger members for the purpose of placing the Turnerei on a higher level, neverthe- less the history of the "Germania Turn- verein" is fraught with a disaster which prevented it from playing as important a part in the 'history of the Germans in Baltimore as the Turnverein "Vor- waerts." The "Germania Turnverein" was founded on October 9, 1889, at a meet- ing in the Hall of the Grand Army of the Republic, located on Baltimore Street, near Gay Street. 7 In the same month the new organization was incor- porated by the Turners Karl Heise, H. W. Hofferbert, Karl Hoffmann, P. Rings- dorf, and P. Bert. The first president was Karl Hoffmann. The new gymnas- tic society immediately joined the North American Gymnastic Association, in which it has held membership up to the present time. Within a short time the membership rose to 100. The first public appear- ance of the "Germania Turnverein" was on the occasion of the celebration of the Deutsche Tag (German Day) in 1890. Proceeding from the principle that prac- tical