CNN - Germans fight over Goethe, Schiller legacy

BONN, Germany (Reuters) -- A German literary foundation said on Friday it was fighting a legal battle to remain in charge of the priceless legacy of nationally revered poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller.

A spokeswoman for the Weimar Classics Foundation, custodian of the Goethe and Schiller Archive housed in the city of Weimar, said authorities warned it last month that a large chunk of the poets' legacy could be reclaimed by pre-World War Two owners.

Such a move was possible, they said, under a 1994 law that seeks to return property in former East Germany confiscated by post-war Communist authorities.

Lawsuit filed

Spokeswoman Angela Jahn said the foundation feared half of the celebrated Goethe and Schiller Archive, Germany's oldest literary archive, could revert to the heirs of the Duchy of Saxony-Weimar and Eisenach under this law.

"The foundation has filed a lawsuit asking the court to examine whether the regional authorities are right. We believe the archive was not property of the house of Saxony-Weimar and Eisenach before the war, but state property," she said.

Jahn said the foundation has heard that Prince Michael, acting on behalf of Princess Leonie, the heir to the house of Saxony-Weimar and Eisenach, was keen to reclaim the archive.

'Private property'?

The archive was founded by the family in 1885 after their ancestor, Princess Sophie, inherited Goethe's legacy from his grandson Walther. A few years later, Schiller's family also posthumously added the poet's literary legacy to the collection.

A spokeswoman for the Administrative Court in the eastern city of Gera confirmed it had received the petition this week, but could not say when the first hearing would take place.

The archive includes most of the literary legacy of Goethe and Schiller as well as manuscripts, letters and diaries of more than 100 literary figures.

"Princess Sophie is documented as having said 'I inherited it along with the German people,' making it clear she did not intend to keep it as private property," Jahn said.

Goethe, who lived from 1749 to 1832, was a prolific writer with works ranging from poetry, novels, dramas to travelogues and scientific tracts and is as celebrated in Germany as Shakespeare in the English-speaking world.

Schiller, who lived from 1759 to 1805, is best known for his dramas and poetry. Both lived and died in the eastern city of Weimar, where the foundation is based.

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