HERWEGH, GEORG (1817-1875), German revolutionary poet, was born at Stuttgart on May 31, 1817, the son of a restaurant keeper. Called out for military service, he had hardly joined his regiment when he committed an act of flagrant in subordination, and fled to Switzerland to avoid punishment. Here he published his Gedichte eines Lebendigen (1841), a volume of political poems expressing the fervent aspirations of the German youth of the day. Although the book was confiscated, it soon ran through several editions. The idea of the book was a refuta tion of the opinions of Prince Piickler-Muskau (q.v.) in his Brie f e eines V erstorbenen. Herwegh returned to Germany in 1842, visiting Jena, Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin—a journey which was described as being a "veritable triumphal progress." His military insubordination appears to have been forgiven and forgotten, for in Berlin King Frederick Willam IV. received him with the memorable words: Ich liebe eine gesinnungsvolle Oppo sition ("I admire an opposition, when dictated by principle"). Herwegh published in Paris in 1844 the second volume of his Gedichte eines Lebendigen, which, like the first, was confiscated by the German police. At the head of a revolutionary column of German working men, recruited in Paris, Herwegh took part in the South German rising in 1848; but his raw troops were de feated on April 27 at Schopfheim in Baden. He escaped to Switzerland, where he lived by his pen. He was later (r866) permitted to return to Germany, and died at Lichtenthal near Baden-Baden on April 7, 1875. Neue Gedichte (1877) appeared posthumously.
Herwegh's correspondence was published by his son Marcel in 1898. See also J. Scherr, Georg Herwegh, literarische and politische Blatter (1843) ; K. Henfold, Georg Herwegh and seine deutsche Vorbilder (1916) ; Baldinger, Georg Herwegh: Die Gedankenwelt der Gedichte eines Lebendigen (1917) .