Adolf Althoff

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Adolf Althoff (born June 25, 1913 in Sonsbeck ; † October 14, 1998 in Stolberg (Rhineland) ) was a German artist , animal trainer and circus director.

Life

Adolf Althoff was the second youngest child of eight siblings. He came from the famous Althoff circus dynasty . His father Dominik took over the parental circus at the age of 22. Adolf Althoff was born in his parents' caravan during a circus performance.

On June 25, 1939, Adolf Althoff married his wife Maria von der Gathen, who was born in Dortmund in 1908 and who also came from a circus family, in the Braunschweig registry office .

With his humanity, Adolf Althoff was a great exception in the Third Reich . Adolf Althoff saved Peter Storms-Bento's future wife through his attitude and his actions - "You can all come here, we can do it!" (Quote by Adolf Althoff from the memoirs of Peter Storms-Bento (1923–2013)) Irene Danner (1923-2006), their two small children, Irene's sister Gerda and mother Alice Danner, born. Lorch, daughter of the famous Icarian Julius Lorch ( Lorch circus family ).

Maria and Adolf Althoff were accepted into the circle of the Righteous Among the Nations by the State of Israel on February 20, 1995 . The award was given by Israel's Ambassador Avi Primor in Aachen City Hall. Avi Primor, a son of a German mother born in Israel, said in his laudation:

“ For us, the Germans were initially all Nazis. But then people like me gradually learned that it wasn't just persecution, Nazis and Auschwitz. That there were also people like the Althoffs who personally exposed themselves to danger in order to save the lives of Jews. It still amazes me that these people are so humble that they often did not tell their loved ones about their actions themselves. For many years we didn't know anything about them. Nor by those who were killed trying to save Jews. "
“ Over the past few years I've heard from these heroes again and again: 'That was completely normal.' But it was not so normal to expose yourself to this life-threatening danger, not just for a day, often for years, in order to save the persecuted. And that's why, Adolf and Maria Althoff, I would like, how should I put it, to express my gratitude. Oh, gratitude, that's far too weak. These are eternal feelings! And when I hand you the medal and the certificate now, it really is nothing more than a symbol. You have done something that is indispensable for a whole people. "

The story of the Bento (Danner / Lorch) and Adolf Althoff families was presented in Ingeborg Prior's book for young people, “The Clown and the Circus Rider”.

The children of Adolf and Maria Althoff, Franz and Helene, only found out what had happened in the Althoff circus during the war through the honor that had been initiated by Ingeborg Prior and the Bento family.

After the death of Adolf Althoff, the Circus Williams Althoff , directed by his son Franz, experienced a massive decline. In 1996 the circus was sold by Franz Althoff, who remained childless. His follow-up project “Horse Palace”, a musical theater with people and horses, did not meet with the hoped-for popularity. The circus went bankrupt a few years ago. This ended the history of the Althoff circus in the ninth generation.

Adolf Althoff was also awarded the "Ernst Renz Memorial Plaque" on November 14, 1955, together with his sister Carola Williams , which was donated by the "Society of Circus Friends in Germany" (GCD).

On November 4, 1977 he received the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon. In 1995 Adolf Althoff and his wife were honored with the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia .

The grave of Adolf Althoff can be found today in the cemetery in Stolberg-Breinig. In 2015 the city of Stolberg named a street in the Breinig district in his honor.

literature

  • Ingeborg Prior: The clown and the circus rider. A love in the dark . Piper, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-492-22832-1 .
  • Daniel Fraenkel, Jakob Borut (both ed.): Lexicon of the Righteous Among the Nations, Germans and Austrians , 2nd edition, Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 978-3-89244-900-3 . P. 56 f.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Merit holders since 1986. State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on March 11, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Althoff, Adolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German artist, tamer and circus director
DATE OF BIRTH June 25, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Sonsbeck , district of Geldern
DATE OF DEATH October 14, 1998
Place of death Stolberg - Breinig near Aachen