World · East Asia & Pacific · 19 hrs ago
German war veteran buried in Adelaide after decades on museum display
Johann David Max Dreyssig was buried in Adelaide on Saturday, 113 years after his death.
The German immigrant’s skeleton had been displayed at the South Australian Museum for almost 80 years.
Dreyssig died of cancer in 1913, aged 62, and gave his body to his doctor, anatomy professor Archibald Watson.
Watson reduced Dreyssig’s body to a skeleton and sold it to the museum for £10 in 1920.
At the time, people could not legally donate their bodies to their doctors, and the museum’s repatriation manager said the museum had to consider how to treat Dreyssig with dignity and respect.
The burial followed work by the museum and Adelaide’s German community to tell his story and arrange his funeral at West Terrace Cemetery.
Dreyssig had served in the Franco-Prussian War and received the Iron Cross for bravery before moving to Australia in 1885.
Johann David Max Dreyssig, a German veteran whose skeleton was displayed at the South Australian Museum for almost 80 years, was buried in Adelaide.
He died of cancer in 1913, aged 62, and was buried 113 years later.
Dreyssig had served in the Franco-Prussian War and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery.
He moved to Australia in 1885 and became part of Adelaide’s German community.
The museum and the German community worked together to tell his story and arrange his burial.
- Who
- Johann David Max Dreyssig, a German immigrant and veteran of the Franco-Prussian War.
- What
- His remains were buried after his skeleton had been displayed at the South Australian Museum for almost 80 years.
- When
- He died in 1913 and was buried on Saturday, 113 years later.
- Where
- West Terrace Cemetery in Adelaide, Australia.
- Why
- The museum and Adelaide’s German community worked together to tell his story and arrange his burial, considering what dignity and respect meant for him.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Dreyssig served in the Franco-Prussian War and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery.
Dreyssig moved to Australia.
Dreyssig died of cancer, aged 62.
Dr Archibald Watson sold Dreyssig’s skeleton to the South Australian Museum for £10.
Dreyssig’s remains were buried at West Terrace Cemetery in Adelaide.
- Age at death
- 62
- Year of death
- 1913
- Burial place
- West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide
- Museum display
- Almost 80 years
- Skeleton sale
- £10 in 1920
What people are saying
We don’t know the conversations that Max had with Dr Watson on his deathbed in the North Adelaide hospital in 1913, but we do know what the laws were at that time, and we know that it wasn’t possible for people to donate their bodies to their doctors.
Knowing Max’s story and that history, the museum had to think very deeply about what dignity and respect meant for Max.
The deceased is one of the few surviving veterans who earned the Iron Cross … many will recall that he never failed to wear this decoration with great pride at patriotic celebrations in Adelaide