Honoring the German-American Press: The Naked Truth Statue

With the financial support of Adolphus Busch, this statue was commissioned by the Preetorius-Schurz-Daenzer Memorial Association and dedicated in 1914 to honor three German-language newspaper editors of the 19th century: Emil Preetorius, Carls Schurz, and Carl Daenzer. The three were former German revolutionaries who became statesmen, Civil War veterans, journalists, and reformers, and they are notable for their contributions to the German-American press for both German Republicans and Democrats. Carl Daenzer, who founded the most popular German Republican paper Westliche Post was described in his obituary as "the dean of German journalism in the United States."

The monument honors the three journalists with medallions that appear on the memorial. The Europa medallion represents European culture crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a bull, and it honors Shurz. The St. George medallion depicts St. George slaying a dragon -- a symbol of evil and ignorance, and honors Emil Preetorius. The Pegasus medallion symbolizes knowledge being brought to the New World through an image of a young boy holding a globe and honors Carl Daenzer.

The statue was first dedicated on May 24th, 1914. Beer baron Adolphus Busch led German-Americans in raising money to commission the sculpture. Six designs were submitted, with Wilhelm Wandschneider's design being chosen. His design provoked controversy for its depiction of a nude woman, but when he and his wife visited the United States, the controversy died down. Today, the sculpture serves as a reminder of America's immigrant history and the influence of German-Americans in the press.

The first weekly German-language newspaper to be published in the United States was Anzeiger des Westens (“Gazette of the West”). First published on October 31st, 1835, the paper was founded by Christian Bimpage. By 1850, Henry Boernstein was the paper’s editor. Boernstein was an immigrant from Austrian Poland, where he studied medicine, served as a soldier, and composed plays. He was living in Paris when Napoleon III gained power, which caused him to flee to the United States.

After taking over Anzeiger, Boernstein hired Carl Daenzer. Daenzer was born in Odenheim, Germany on July 17th, 1820. He became involved in the Revolutions of 1848, joining the German Constitutional Convention at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1849. The goal of this convention was to bring unity to Germany using armed forces. For his involvement in the Revolutions, Daenzer faced ten years in prison. He escaped to Switzerland, and then to the United States. The revolutionary arrived in St. Louis as a general writer before he was employed by Boernstein. After Boernstein was embroiled in controversy, Daenzer became the editor of Anzeiger des Westens, which he edited until 1857. Following a disagreement with Boernstein, Daenzer quit Anzeiger, and with the help of a few friends, he founded Westliche Post. The new paper was a success, but the work wore Daenzer down and he became ill. Stepping back from the paper for a couple of years, the editor returned to Germany and resided in Duchy at Baden until 1862. Having recovered, Daenzer returned to the United States where he found Anzeiger des Westens had gone out of business. This inspired him to start Neue (New) Anzeiger des Westens, although he dropped the “neue” after a while. Daenzer edited the new Anzeiger until 1898, when it was consolidated with Westliche Post. Carl Daenzer died of natural causes in Germany in 1906.

During Daenzer’s time as editor of the new Anzieger, another prominent German journalist had been hired as editor of Westliche Post: Emil Preetorius. Preetorius was born on March 15th, 1827 in Alzey, Rheinhessen, Germany. He held a doctorate in law from the University of Giessen and was sympathetic toward the Revolutions of 1848. Preetorius arrived in St. Louis in 1853 and found work as a leather merchant. He was a participant in Freie Gemeinde von Nord - St. Louis (freethinker congregation in north St. Louis), a society whose main concern was education. German freethinkers wanted schools that were “free from religious instruction.” Preetorius went on to become a notable advocate of anticlerical atheism in the Midwest. His political involvement didn’t end there – in 1860, Preetorius campaigned for the Republican Party and in 1862, he joined the Missouri legislature as an emancipationist. However, although he supported emancipation, Preetorius did not believe in equality for black people in social or political sectors. Also in 1862, Preetorius became an editor for a leftist newspaper entitled Neue Zeit. Two years later, he was hired as the editor of Westliche Post. Under Preetorius’ leadership, Westliche openly supported John C. Fremont when he ran against Abraham Lincoln in 1864. The paper published attacks against Andrew Johnson regarding his reconstruction policy following the Civil War. In May 1867, Preetorius hired Carl Schurz to help manage Westliche.

Carl Schurz was born March 2nd, 1829 in Liblar (now Erfstadt) near Germany’s western border. Schurz was well-educated, having finished his elementary schooling in Liblar before going to a gymnasium (an advanced school) in Cologne. Schurz went on to attend the University of Bonn where he studied history and befriended Professor Gottfried Kinkel. Both Shurz and Kinkel became revolutionaries during the Revolutions of 1848. Along with serving as an officer, Schurz edited a pro-revolution newspaper. After the revolution was defeated by the royal government, Schurz avoided capture by hiding in a sewer. Kinkel was captured and subsequently rescued from imprisonment by Schurz. Schurz then escaped to Paris in 1850 where he met his wife Margarethe. The two moved to London in 1851 before emigrating to the United States, where they would have five children together.

The family initially settled in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1855. Schurz was admitted to the Wisconsin bar but had more interest in politics. He began working as a journalist, joined the Republican party, and openly opposed slavery. In St. Louis, Schurz delivered an anti-slavery speech on August 1st, 1860. He ran for office twice, but wasn’t successful until 1860 when he “served as head of the Wisconsin delegation at the Republican National Convention.” Under Lincoln, Schurz was appointed as a diplomat to Spain but he convinced the president to appoint him as a brigadier general for the Union army. During the Civil War, Schurz served in John C. Fremont’s corps as well as famous German Civil War veteran Franz Sigel’s corps. Schurz performed well at the Second Battle of Bull Run, earning him a promotion to major general in 1863, but his reputation was permanently marred by his poor performances at the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He was never able to hold military command again, but spent 1864 campaigning for Lincoln’s reelection.

Following the war, Schurz was asked to do a tour of the South and to write a report for President Johnson. However, Schurz disagreed with Johnson’s plans for reconstruction and resigned. In 1867, Schurz and his family moved to St. Louis where he was hired by Preetorius to co-manage Westliche Post. Both Schurz and Preetorius opposed Radical Republicans and Charles Drake, a Radical leader and anti-slavery advocate who sought to disenfranchise anybody who supported the Confederacy. In 1868, Schurz became the first German to be elected to the United States Senate, serving one term from 1869 to 1875 and becoming a spokesman for German-Americans. Schurz continued to be involved in politics, joining the Liberal Republicans who got B. Gratz Brown elected as Missouri’s governor and supporting Rutherford B. Hayes’ reelection bid in 1876. Under Hayes, the journalist earned the position of Secretary of the Interior. In this position, Schurz worked to reform corruption within the government, advocated for the protection of natural resources, and supported Native Americans’ assimilation rather than segregation and reservations.

After Schurz was elected as Secretary of the Interior, Preetorius was the sole editor of Westliche Post, which by then had become the principal voice of German Republicans and remained so for the remainder of Preetorius’ life. Preetorius went on to become a major civic leader in the 1890s and served as the president of the Missouri Historical Society from 1892 to 1893. He retired as publisher of Westliche after the Democratic paper Anzeiger des Westens surpassed Westliche in popularity. Emil Preetorius died on November 19th, 1905.

When Rutherford B. Hayes’ term ended in 1881, Carl Schurz moved to New York and never held a position within the government again. However, he continued to be involved in political causes and became a notable writer and speaker. From 1881 to 1884, Schurz edited and co-owned the Evening Post. In 1884, notably Republican Schurz supported the Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland. Schurz eventually left the Republican party in 1900 because he disagreed with their policies seeking to expand American influence abroad. Schurz spent the rest of his life writing his autobiography and died on May 14th, 1906 after years of declining health.

Honoring the German-American Press: The Naked Truth Monument, Historical Marker Database. Accessed December 15th, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=144265.

Barnett, Todd. Carl Schurz, State Historical Society of Missouri. Accessed December 15th, 2022. https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/carl-schurz.

Carl Schurz, American Battlefield Trust. Accessed December 15th, 2022. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/carl-schurz.

Kremer, Gary. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Columbia, Missouri. University of Missouri Press, 1999.

Conard, Howard Lewis. Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri: A Compendium of History and Biography for Ready Reference. Volume 4. Southern History Company, 1901.

"Carl Daenzer is Dead in Germany." St. Louis Dispatch (St. Louis) September 23rd, 1906. .

The Naked Truth, Water Tower and Park Preservation Society. Accessed December 15th, 2022. https://www.watertowerfoundation.org/the-naked-truth/.

Free Thinkers in St. Louis. St. Louis County Library: PastPorts. October 2017. 3.