The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Opening of the Free Waldorf School in the Stadtgartensaal in Stuttgart by Kommerzienrat Emil Molt

[ 1 ] Ladies and gentlemen! Dear children! On behalf of my company, the Waldorf-Astoria, I extend a warm welcome to all of you who have come here to participate in the simple, unpretentious opening ceremony of our Waldorf School. I would like to extend a special welcome to our distinguished guests and thank them for their presence and the interest they have shown in our company.

[ 2 ] Ladies and gentlemen! The founding of the Waldorf School did not arise from the mere whim of a single individual; rather, the idea was born out of an understanding of the needs of our time. I simply felt the need to establish what is truly the first so-called “unified school” and thereby genuinely address a social need, so that in the future not only the sons and daughters of the wealthy, but also the children of ordinary workers will be enabled to acquire the education that is necessary today for advancement to a higher culture. In this sense, it gives me deep personal satisfaction that it was possible to bring this institution into being. But today it is not enough merely to create an “institution”; rather, it is necessary to imbue this institution with a new spirit. And the anthroposophically oriented Spiritual Science guarantees that such a spirit will fill this institution, and I feel a deep inner obligation to express my heartfelt thanks at this point to the one who has imparted this Spiritual Science to us, our esteemed Dr. Rudolf Steiner. But I also thank the authorities who have made it possible for us to launch this institution, so that we are now in the fortunate position of truly putting our ideas into practice.

[ 3 ] But now I address you in particular, my dear Waldorf friends: Let us be clear that the fact that we are able to bring something like this into being also imposes a great responsibility upon us. Let us be fully aware of this; let us pledge today that we will prove ourselves worthy of the fact that we are the first in the German Empire to have the opportunity to realize this idea of the unified school—which has been spoken of so much—here in our Stuttgart. Let us show the world that we are not merely idealists, but people of practical action, and that our children, strengthened by this school, will be better able to face the challenges of daily life with greater resilience in the future.

[ 4 ] With this in mind, we are sending you, dear children, to this Waldorf school so that you may draw strength there and, when you leave this place, be well-rounded individuals ready to face the difficult life that awaits you. But joys also await you, children, within the school. I, who was fortunate enough to participate in the teacher training course led by Dr. Steiner, became keenly aware of how much one had to miss out on in one’s youth, and how difficult it becomes in later life to make up for what one missed in those days; and it is truly a matter close to my heart to say that, because one was not in a position to enjoy this blessing oneself in earlier times, one must at least be grateful to one’s fate when one is allowed to bestow this blessing upon others today. And so I can say: You children who are entering this new school—joys await you. And for those of you who have been granted the opportunity to take this course taught by Dr. Steiner with the new teachers—you know that, thanks to the new method, learning is no longer a burden, as it was for us older people, but that it will become a source of joy and delight for you. Therefore, rejoice, children, that you are able to enjoy this school. But even if you cannot yet fully grasp the full significance of this today, when you graduate from this educational institution, show yourselves to be ready to face life and its demands; show the world then the wonderful fruits of this new teaching method, which aims to educate you into capable, purposeful human beings. But we are also clear about this: What we have been able to create here is only a small beginning. Heavy is the burden and great is the responsibility that rests upon those who have taken on this task, and great, perhaps, will be the trials that will come crashing down upon us from many sides over time; but one thing we can already say today: The will within us will be so strong, our thoughts so powerful, and our courage so great that we will overcome all obstacles that may seek to hinder us, because we know the lofty goal we are striving for, and because we are always mindful of the responsibility we have taken on.

[ 5 ] And you, esteemed teachers, who have taken on this work, who have yourselves been initiated into the spirit that is to animate this school—you know, of course, what a profound responsibility this places upon you, and I address this request to all of you who will be serving as teachers at the Waldorf School: be fully aware, together with me, of the extraordinary weight of this responsibility, and never cease to feel this responsibility as deeply as I do at all times. And now, my esteemed guests, as I hand over this institution to the Waldorf community and thus also to the public, I wish with all my heart: May the spirit once again reign there—the spirit that Goethe, Schiller, Herder, and all the great spiritual heroes of bygone times have brought to our attention—so that through the school of the future, this spirit may once again take root in the German fatherland. When that happens, all of us who bear this responsibility will be mindful that we are servants of those spiritual forces. Then the time will dawn when the ascent will begin once more from the deep spiritual and physical distress of our poor fatherland, and we may hope that there will then be a greater number of people who can lead our people back up to the heights—and beyond—where our intellectual heroes, such as Goethe, Schiller, and others, once stood.

[ 6 ] And as I once again express my wish for the happy prosperity of our enterprise, I vow—on behalf of our Waldorf community, on behalf of our school, and on behalf of our children—that this school shall become a place of growth, a source of all that is good, beautiful, and true.