Why Rizal Went There

Rizal went to Germany primarily to specialize in ophthalmology (eye medicine) to cure his mother’s failing eyesight. He also wanted to observe the German educational system, meet with renowned scientists, and finish his novel, Noli Me Tangere. 

Important Events

• Worked at the University Eye Hospital (Heidelberg): He trained under the famous Dr. Otto Becker. 

• Publication of Noli Me Tangere (Berlin): In March 1887, his first novel came off the press with the financial help of his friend, Maximo Viola.

• Induction into Scientific Societies: He was accepted as a member of the Anthropological Society, the Ethnological Society, and the Geographical Society of Berlin (a rare honor for an Asian at the time). 

• Wrote "A Las Flores de Heidelberg": Inspired by the blooming flowers along the Neckar River, he wrote this famous poem of homesickness. 

What Rizal Did in Germany 

• Attended Lectures: He attended lectures on psychology and history at the University of Leipzig.

• Translated Works: He translated Schiller’s William Tell and Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales into Tagalog for his nephews and nieces.

• Socialized with Scientists: He built relationships with prominent German scholars like Dr. Feodor Jagor and Dr. Rudolf Virchow.

• Experienced Poverty: In Berlin, before Viola arrived, Rizal suffered from lack of funds, eating only one meal a day (bread and water/vegetable soup) and fearing he had tuberculosis.