Did Bismarck say that the wars were not won by generals, but by school teachers?

In many sources, you can find a statement by a German chancellor, in which he connects military successes with a worthy education. We checked whether Bismarck said this.

The quote attributed to Bismarck is mentioned in such media "New Gazeta", "Moscow Komsomolets", "Tsargrad", "Reginum", "Snob", "Regions of Russia", "Business week", "Tomorrow", on sites Ryazan State University, Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechization of the Russian Orthodox Churchas well as in many printed publications. In some cases, aphorism contains a continuation - "and parish priests." Resource "Chalk" Even a specific source of statement gives - Bismarck’s book “Memories and Thoughts”. A variant is also popular, which mentions a specific war-Franco-Prussian. He, in particular, is given by writer Alexander Prokhanov on the pages "Izvestia".

In 1870-1871, Franco-Prussian war, during which the coalition of the German states reached Paris, and the unification of historical lands ended with the creation of the German Empire in January 1871, which included the Polish and French territories. The Prussian figure played a key role in these successes Otto von Bismarckwhose authority and talent of the leader allowed their owner for almost two decades to be the flagship of the policy of the Second Reich. His three -volume work "Memories and thoughts" It is not so much memoirs as the political testament of the Iron Chancellor. However, if we look at this publication, we will not find any statements about German or Prussian teachers there. There are no politics in other books, in authorized biographies, as well as in solid sitesdedicated to the life and activity of Bismarck.

Moreover, it is easy to find that this quote is found in German -speaking publications And a few years before the start of the Franco-Prussian war. More precisely, this is not the same phrase, but it appeared in the press shortly after it took place Battle of Sadov -The battle, not only solving the outcome of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, but also predetermined the events of the First World War. On July 3, in many respects, due to skillful tactics, Prussian troops won a devastating victory over the Austrians, and one of the commanders of that army was Otto von Bismarck.

However, not he, but a professor of geography from Leipzig Oscar Peshel two weeks later, on July 17, 1866, in the Auslandes magazine (Zagranitsa) in an article entitled "Lessons of the latest military history" will write: “We just said that public education itself is deciding the outcome of wars. Now we want to show that when the Prussians defeated the Austrians, it was the victory of Prussian teachers over Austrian teachers. ”

The statement almost immediately gained popularity and several years later entered the collection "Winged words. Treasury of quotes of the German people ". In those years, there was no tendency to attribute it to the bismarck, but over time it was quite natural supplanting partially took place. Who will remember a little -known teacher, when so many events and statements of that time are associated with the personality of the “creator of the German nation”? By the way, it was the battle of Sadov, and not the Franco-Prussian war in the supposedly Bismarkovsky statement, mentioned in 2015 an adviser to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Andrey Ilnitsky.

It should be noted that Peshel had every reason to speak out like that. The fact is that already in the middle of the XIX century the glory of the advanced German and especially the Prussian school system thundered along the planet. School reformers from all over the world came here to improve qualifications and in search of inspiration. In his research work, American historian Karl Schlein showed The connection of the introduction of mass school education with the public and political development of Germany. Nevertheless, the author of this, possibly fair, but somewhat distorted thought, was not the chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

Incorrect attribution of quote

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