Statues of men from the 18th and 19th centuries have fallen into disrepute. There are dark spots in Heinrich Pestalozzi too. Nevertheless, he was largely spared from the debate about the monuments. What could it be?
The missing girl was criticized, but at the end of the 19th century the committee decided in favor of Hugo Siegwart’s Pestalozzi monument. The photograph by Wilhelm Gallas dates from 1940.
It has become fashionable to question monuments. In connection with movements such as “Black Lives Matter”, a lively debate has erupted about the meaning and justification of statues and monuments. In Zurich, the statue of Alfred Escher in particular gives rise to discussions because the question has arisen as to whether Escher profited from the slave trade.
Not far from the Escher statue near the main train station is another monument to a personality from the 18th century: Heinrich Pestalozzi (1/12/1746–2/17/1827). January 12 marks the 277th anniversary of his birthday. The statue on what is probably the most expensive lawn in Zurich in front of the Globus department store is a reminder of the orphan father, poor educator and popular educator, who was known and admired both during his lifetime and later beyond the national borders, but was also controversial.
In his institutions and businesses he has opposed the widespread use of child labour, but has used labor as an educational method with the intention and hope that the skills learned will lead to a more independent adult life.
Anti-Semitic stereotypes in his work
From today’s point of view and in connection with the contracting system that was common at the time, this is questioned. Pestalozzi and his writings were not without controversy even in later reception, as evidenced by research articles published in the commemorative year 1996 on “demythologization”. With regard to anti-Semitism, there are passages in Pestalozzi that are clearly problematic from today’s perspective.
In his fable about «Mauschelhofen», Jews «nest» in a fictitious village. You make it poor and get rich in the process. Pestalozzi uses anti-Semitic stereotypes like some of his contemporaries. In his standard work, the historian Peter Stadler rates such passages in his complete works as “marginal”. Nevertheless, they should not simply be “overlooked”.
The institutes founded by Pestalozzi – some of which were soon closed – attracted worldwide interest and were attended by numerous experts, which brought about reforms and reorganization of the educational system in various countries, such as Prussia, England and Spain.
In 1792 Pestalozzi became an honorary citizen of the French Republic. In 1814 he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir (4th class) by the Russian Emperor Alexander I, and in 1817/18 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau.
In addition to his practical work as an educator, his immense written legacy is impressive, culminating in the complete critical edition that began in 1927 and was completed in 1996 – a total of 50 volumes: 28 work volumes and 22 letter volumes.
However, Zurich only dedicated a monument to his famous son very late. In December 1895, the Zurich Pestalozzi Foundation issued a call for the planned “Pestalozzi Monument” to be erected. The wealthy silk merchant and manufacturer Caspar Appenzeller (1820-1901) campaigned insistently for the planned project: “The world has long expected such an honor from Zurich for the famous man”, it is “Zurich’s debt of honour”. The philanthropist and patron of the arts has admired Pestalozzi since his youth.
A committee made up of members of the Zurich Pestalozzi Foundation is developing an ambitious project. There are a number of hurdles to be overcome before the inauguration: choosing the right statue measuring 2 meters 40 in height, choosing the right location and raising the necessary funds. Eighteen artists are designing a 1:6 scale model of the planned monument. All entries are exhibited in the Helmhaus and arouse lively interest. The Commission interprets this as a continuing veneration that “is paid to Pestalozzi’s memory in wide circles”.
Finally, a group of experts makes a pre-selection. The models by Lucerne’s Hugo Siegwart (1865-1938) and those by Lugano’s Giuseppe Chiattone (1863-1954) come into question. On April 17, 1898, they travel to Lucerne and Lugano to view the finished, life-size drafts in the artists’ studios.
The bronze statue, which is 47 centimeters high, by Giuseppe Chiattone shows Pestalozzi as a father figure. At the time it was said that it seemed too religious.
Chiattone’s statue shows the standing Pestalozzi as a father figure looking down at a girl looking up at her. With his left arm he is embracing a boy with a book in his right hand. At the feet of these three figures sits a barefoot woman looking down and embracing the girl. Against this realistic depiction with idealizing pathos, the objection is raised that the ensemble seems too religious and that the family picture, which is hardly up to date, does not go with the Linth-Escher school building in the background.
The model of Siegwart from Lucerne convinced the experts with the simple depiction of Pestalozzi, who looks down solicitously at a sloppily dressed boy, which symbolizes the work of the famous educator for the poor in Birr and refers to the orphan father in Stans. The design is therefore better suited to the intended location. The missing girl is criticized, but the committee decides in favor of Siegwart’s proposal.
The Münsterhof or the square in front of the town hall are being considered as possible locations, but preference is given to the open meadow on the Bahnhofstrasse because the Linth-Escher school building is nearby – this corresponds to Pestalozzi’s efforts to reform the elementary school. Coincidentally, the memorial is not far from the former modest apartment of Pestalozzi’s mother, who was widowed early, with her children, at the former Werdmühle.
The Linth-Escher schoolhouse served its purpose until 1950. After that it was used by the Globus department store as a temporary solution until 1961. In 1968 the new building that still exists today was erected. The vacant lot itself on which the memorial stands served as an execution site outside of the old city of Zurich until 1860.
On Thursday, October 20, 1899, the Pestalozzi memorial was inaugurated. The 150th birthday on January 12, 1896 was missed by more than three years. The 53-page document “Memorial sheets for the inauguration of the Pestalozzi monument in Zurich in 1899” documents the importance and progress of the entire project as well as the ceremony with selected speeches by representatives of the city, canton and federal authorities.
On the same day, the action committee handed over the Pestalozzi monument, which cost 76,000 francs, to the Zurich city government with the deed of donation and recommended it to their “loyal care”. The “debt of honor of Zurich” to “his” is again emphasized[m] great fellow citizen who worked with touching devotion, with never-ending enthusiasm and with deep insight for the well-being and ennoblement of the people”.
Interest from Asia
With the other Pestalozzi sites in Zurich and the rest of Switzerland, the statue attracts many visitors, especially from Asia. Pestalozzi is a leading figure, for example, for Japanese educators who went to Europe after the “opening of Japan to the West” from 1867 in search of new forms of education and training. The philosopher and social worker Paul Natorp (1854-1924), who teaches in Marburg, communicates Pestalozzi’s ideas in his own interpretation. The admiration for Pestalozzi, which still has an effect today, is based on the contacts that were made in the past and maintained over many years.
Pestalozzi is not undisputed, but he is not the subject of the current controversy surrounding monuments. In this context, the “Mal-Denken” initiative conducted a non-representative survey in 2021 and also collected opinions on the Yverdon Pestalozzi monument. A clear majority assesses it as generally “positive”, “important” and “beautiful” – but by no means as “questionable”.
Pestalozzi himself would hardly have wished for a monument. There are two undated autograph versions of his epitaphs. He puts one like this: “A rose will bloom on his grave, the sight of which will make eyes weep that have remained dry because of his suffering.”
Max Furrer is an educationalist with a focus on the history of education in Zurich and is a city guide.