Note 69 — Chapter XII · ADOLF SPIESS, THE FATHER OF GERMAN SCHOOL GYMNASTICS.

Hans Ferdinand Massmann (1797-1874), pupil and friend of Jahn in Berlin, member of the Jena Burschenschaft and present at the Wartburg episode in 1817, was summoned to Munich in 1827 to take charge of gymnastics, first in the royal Kadettenkorps and then in a public outdoor Turnanstalt which was to serve all the schools of the city. In 1841 he was called to Berlin to confer with Minister Eichhorn regarding the revival of physical training in Prussia. Two years later he was entrusted with the carrying out of the plan, but proved unequal to the task, and retired from the position in 1851.