German Student Fraternities

The following text is a very short resume intended in providing some context to what is happening in the photo. I will focus mainly on the duel. If you wish to know more about German student fraternities and their members, please visit the link I provide at the end. German student fraternities have a long history that traces back to the middle ages. Like most student fraternities, much time was spent socialising, singing and, of course, drinking. Most people didn’t go to the University, and of those who did only about 25% could afford to belong to a fraternity. These were the upper crust of society, aristocrats and upper bourgeois, destined to fill the ranks of professionals throughout the German Empire. The fraternities, which at one point are believed to have reached around 4,000 in number, were known as ‘Burschenschaft’ and they could be duelling or non-duelling. Another activity the fraternity members dedicated themselves to was the ‘Mensur’. This was a duel of very particular characteristics. The duel was always between members of two different fraternities and, unlike a common duel, the ‘Mensur’ objective was not to settle a grievance, but simply to fulfil the requirements the fraternities placed on duelling. What was most important was not to win, but how one behaved in combat. The contenders, known as ‘Der Herr Paukant’ couldn’t move, except for the duelling arm. Any movement of the body or head to avoid a hit was forbidden and considered cowardly, and could result in premature cessation of the ‘Mensur’. Each Paukant wore protective clothing that included reinforced leather aprons, arm coverings, neck protection, and steel ‘goggles’ to protect the eyes, with only the head and face left unprotected. The sword was called a ‘Schlager’. The ‘Paukant’ stood close to each other, separated by only one sword length (about 85 cm). In this photo, (possibly shot between 1920 and 30), which is a cropped version of the original, one can see the aftermath of a ‘Mensur’ with both ‘Paukant’ with a smile on their faces. Oddly, only their seconds are using protective clothing. For a student and all of German Society, the badge of courage was the Schmiss (the duelling scar, or sometimes called the Renommierschmiss, or bragging scar), mostly on the left side of the face, where blows would fall from a right-handed duellist. This was borne by a generation of doctors, jurists, professors and officials, certifying the owner’s claim to manly stature. The duelling scar was certain to attract attention because it signified courage and breeding. We can see one such scar on one of the men in the background, directly behind the bleeding ‘Paukant’. A famous bearer of several Schmiss was unrepented nazi Otto Skorzeny. Student fraternities were forbidden during the nazi dictatorship reappearing in the early ’50s. Duelling fraternities are still around today although far less popular. Text partially adapted from ‘Student Societies’ by Joe Robinson (2006), pickelhauben.net Original property of S. Wouters collection NOTE: Given that the fraternities involved in this particular event are unknown, as are the location and date, I had to take some liberties concerning the fraternities’ colours whose choice I based in available drawings and paintings, cross-referenced with the caps and bands’ grey tones. For this reason, the colours depicted are for demonstration purposes only. One of the contenders has a band of a different colour pattern. According to Flickr member, xiphophilos, this is because he is still a ‘Fux’ (novice) and thus wears a Fuxband. I kept to the fraternity’s colours I chose before so I coloured it green as it is too light to be red.