Significance
This statue commemorates the Germanic victory over the Romans at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, a symbol of German patriotism, pride, and joy.
While Arminius had been known about in Germany since the rediscovery of the writings of Tacitus in the 15th century, German Protestant intellectuals in the first half of the 18th century christened him "Hermann the German" and promoted his status from that of a local tribal leader with family ties to Rome to that of a hero of German resistance to "Roman" (i.e. Papal) authority; the 19th century added another layer of meaning, namely Pan-German unity and resistance to Revolutionary and Napoleonic Romance-language France. As depicted in this statue, Hermann's westward gaze and upraised sword signify freedom from Rome. Perhaps not coincidentally, a statue of St. Peter atop the nearby Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Trinity also gazes westward, with his sword point-down, planted firmly in the ground.
Read more about this topic: Hermann Heights Monument
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