Editing Arminius (section)

===German nationalism===
After Tacitus' [[Annals (Tacitus)|''Annals'']] were rediscovered by [[Renaissance humanist]]s and [[editio princeps|first published]] during the [[Gutenberg Revolution]] of the 15th century, Arminius became an important symbol of German [[national identity]], as a figure who successfully opposed [[colonialism]] and prevented the [[Romanization]] of his people by outgeneraling and defeating one of the world's first superpowers. Indeed, learning of his victory over the Roman army was especially important to [[Renaissance humanism in Northern Europe|German Renaissance humanist]]s, as the Renaissance only reached the [[Holy Roman Empire]] much later than southern Europe and German humanists were widely looked down upon by their Italian colleagues.{{Sfn|Doyé|2002|p=587}} The first literary adaptation of the Arminius story came in 1520 with [[Ulrich von Hutten]]'s Latin dialogue [[Arminius (dialogue)|''Arminius'']], which inserts the Germanic leader into a reimagining of the twelfth chapter of [[Lucian]]'s satirical ''Dialogues of the Dead''; a debate between [[Alexander the Great]], [[Hannibal]], and [[Scipio Africanus]] before the underworld judgment seat of [[Minos]] over who most deserves the position of history's greatest general and military strategist. Arminius argues his own claim and calls upon [[Tacitus]] to bear witness, and ultimately wins the case and the eloquent praise of Minos.<ref> {{Cite journal |last=Benario |first=Herbert W. |date=April 2004 |title=Arminius into Hermann: History into Legend |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3567880 |journal=Greece & Rome |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=83–94 |jstor=3567880 }}</ref>

This version influenced later adaptations of the story, and reflected a wide interest in Arminius during the years of the [[German Reformation]]; the name ''Arminius'' was interpreted as reflecting the name ''Hermann'' by [[Martin Luther]], who saw Arminius as a symbol of his religious followers among the German people and their resistance to the [[Papacy]] and the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=German Pagan Antiquity in Lutheran Historical Thought|author=W. Bradford Smith|journal=The Journal of the Historical Society|volume=4|issue=3|year=2004|pages=351–374 | doi = 10.1111/j.1529-921X.2004.00104.x}}</ref> 

During the military occupation of the German States, first by the [[French Revolutionary Army]] and then by the [[French Imperial Army]] of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], ''Hermann der Cheruskerfürst'' once again became a national icon and a martyr within both [[German Romanticism]] and the [[anti-colonialism|anti-Colonialist]] [[romantic nationalism]] fueled by the [[Napoleonic Wars]], which are still termed in Germany the [[Wars of Liberation]]. This may particularly be seen as in [[Caspar David Friedrich]]'s 1812 painting ''[[The Tombs of the Old Heroes]]''.<ref name="Klein/Käppel">Dorothea Klein (ed.), Lutz Käppel (ed.): ''Das diskursive Erbe Europas: Antike und Antikerezeption''. Peter Lang, 2008, {{ISBN|9783631560136}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yvfqcAjU9wsC&pg=PA329 p. 329]</ref> During the [[unification of Germany]] in the 19th century, Arminius was hailed as a symbol of German unity and liberation.<ref name="Spiegel" /> 

[[File:Gehrts Armin verabschiedet sich von Thusnelda 1884.jpg|thumb|Arminius says goodbye to [[Thusnelda]], [[Johannes Gehrts]] (1884)]]
In 1808, [[Heinrich von Kleist]] wrote the play ''[[Die Hermannsschlacht (Kleist)|Die Hermannsschlacht]]'',<ref>Heinrich von Kleist: Die Herrmannsschlacht. Ein Drama [1808] (Frankfurt am Main and Basel: Stroemfeld-Roter Stern, 2001).</ref> but with Napoleon's [[Battle of Wagram|victory at Wagram]] it remained in manuscript, being published in 1821 and not staged until 1860. The play has been revived repeatedly at moments of national crisis and was especially used as [[propaganda in Nazi Germany]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| encyclopedia=The Literary Encyclopedia | title=Die Hermannsschlacht | first=William C | last=Reeve | year=2004 | url= http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13117 | publisher=The Literary Dictionary Company | access-date=6 September 2006}}</ref>

In 1838, construction was started on a massive statue of Arminius, known as the ''[[Hermannsdenkmal]]'', on a hill near [[Detmold]] in the Teutoburg Forest; it was finally completed and dedicated during the early years of the Second [[German Empire]] in the wake of the German victory over France in the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871. The monument has been a major tourist attraction ever since, as has the [[Hermann Heights Monument]], a similar statue erected in [[New Ulm, Minnesota]], in the United States in 1897. The Hermann Heights monument was erected by the [[Sons of Hermann]], a fraternal organization formed in [[New York City]] by [[German American]]s as a means of self protection against [[anti-German sentiment]] and discrimination in 1840; and that flourished during the 19th century in American cities and rural areas with large populations speaking the [[German language in the United States]]. [[Hermann, Missouri]], a town on the [[Missouri River]] founded in the 1830s and incorporated in 1845, was also named for Arminius.

Following the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] in 1945, Arminius became lesser-known among [[West Germany|West Germans]] and the educational system shied away from teaching about his life due to a sense of guilt and shame, rooted in both [[the Holocaust]] and [[Nazi war crimes]], related to any form of [[German nationalism]].<ref name="Spiegel"/> There was, however, a radically different practice in [[East Germany]]. Particularly during the [[Cold War]], Arminius and his warriors were [[anachronism|anachronistically]] reinterpreted quite similarly to the [[Third Servile War|slave revolt]] led by [[Spartacus]] in the [[Marxist-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] [[official history]] promoted by the State; as an early [[socialist revolution]] and as [[revolutionary terror]] against the "Roman slaveholder society" (''Sklavenhaltergesellschaft''). The legacy of Arminius and his followers was further reinterpreted as symbolic of the allegedly "peace-loving" [[Warsaw Pact]] countries, while Imperial Rome was made into a symbol of the [[capitalism|capitalist]] and allegedly [[Fascist]]ic [[United States]] and the [[NATO]] [[military alliance]], which were cast as the new evil empire needing to be resisted.<ref name=zeit>Tillmann Bendikowski: [http://www.zeit.de/2008/45/DOS-varus-schlacht ''Deutsche Geschichte – Mythos einer Schlacht'']. Zeit Online, 4 November 2008 (German)</ref>

According to journalist David Crossland: "The old nationalism has been replaced by an easy-going [[patriotism]] that mainly manifests itself at sporting events like the soccer<!-- Do not change this to "football". This is a direct quote. --> [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]."<ref name="Spiegel"/> The German Bundesliga football club [[DSC Arminia Bielefeld]] is named after Arminius. In the [[German diaspora]], on the other hand, the 2,000-year anniversary of the battle was celebrated in [[New Ulm, Minnesota]], proudly and without restraint. There were mock battles between Romans and club-wielding barbarians and also a lecture series in an auditorium.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.twincities.com/2009/09/20/new-ulm-celebrates-2000th-anniversary-of-battle/|title=New Ulm celebrates 2,000th anniversary of battle|date=20 September 2009|website=Twin Cities|language=en-US|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>