Annemarie Schönherr

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Annemarie Schönherr , b. Schmidt (born August 14, 1932 in Zörbig , Bitterfeld district ; † March 21, 2013 in Potsdam ) was a German theologian , pastor and feminist activist who worked primarily in the GDR . Her main occupation was in feminist theology .

Life

Schönherr grew up in a Christian family in the GDR. Her father was a teacher, homeland researcher and church elder. After successfully completing her high school diploma, she began studying Protestant theology at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg in 1951 in order to “give her thinking a content that could be formative throughout her life,” which she completed in 1961. Their political interest was strongly determined by the student community. In a lecture given in 2001 on the subject of freedom in German-German memory, Schönherr said : “Our student pastor Johannes Hamel succeeded in conveying to us that God is also present in the unloved GDR. He urged us to see our society, including its rulers, in the light of God's promise ”. Through her training she came to the seminary in Brandenburg, which Albrecht Schönherr had designed based on the model of the anti-fascist Confessing Church Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Finkenwalde. After studying theology, she first worked at the Institute for New Testament Research, and from 1961 as a pastor in Halle-Gesundbrunnen . For a short time she worked as a travel secretary for the Protestant student community in the GDR. After she married the widowed Protestant pastor (and later bishop ) Albrecht Schönherr in 1963 , she had to give up her pastoral office and since then has worked on a voluntary basis. Due to her husband's profession, the Schönherr family moved to Eberswalde and moved to the Berlin-Brandenburg regional church .

From 1965 to 1988 she was in charge of pastoral work , first in Berlin-Brandenburg, then throughout the GDR. Since 1969 she was a member of the presidium of the Evangelical Church Congress in the GDR , from 1990 to 1999 she was chairman. In the following years she was a member of the Presidium of the German Evangelical Church Congress . From 1975 to 1991 Schönherr was a member of the board of trustees of the Evangelical Academy Berlin-Brandenburg. From 1981 to 1991 she was the chairwoman of Protestant women's work in the GDR and from 1986 to 1994 a member of the coordination committee of the Ecumenical Forum of Christian Women in Europe . In 1997, together with Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter , she headed the Feminist-Theological Basic Faculty at the Kirchentag and in Leipzig.

She wrote numerous essays, especially on the situation of women in the church and on feminist theology. She was buried in Potsdam on April 6, 2013.

Act

Feminist theology

Annemarie Schönherr has campaigned in her life for the rights of women in theology, especially in Christianity . Based on her own experience, it was important to her that pastors' wives could organize meetings that they planned themselves and not only have to take care of the parish budget. From a meeting of different people in the apartment of the Schönherr family in March 1981, a working group on feminist theology was formed. This working group was part of the Federation of Churches for two years. In 1987, another Feminist Theology working group was founded, to which women and lesbians from different regional churches belonged. For Schönherr, the question of women was directly linked to the question of social justice for all people. She criticized the patriarchal world, church and theology.

Ecumenical Forum for Christian Women in Europe

Schönherr became a member of the coordination committee and the committee for justice and peace in the ÖFCFE. In the ecumenical context, she campaigned primarily for reconciliation and peace. For the 1st European Ecumenical Assembly from 15. – 21. May 1989 in Basel she gave one of the main lectures on the subject of "Peace". Women should break through the patriarchy and take responsibility as independent and independently thinking people as well as take important positions in society, politics and the church :

"A sign of hope are many women who join forces and to whom I know I am connected. Late, many uncomfortable, but increasingly unmistakable, they interfere. Their repentance is above all an entry. They make a claim on all levels and in all To represent areas of life in society and the church half of what they really are. They no longer want to be protected with deadly weapons, without being asked. They want to learn peace and teach it to their children. Their daughters and sons should be strong for the complicated life, not for a violent death. They want to bring politics and everyday life, public and private together. That is much more than being allowed in the male world and being part of their way of thinking, speaking and working. It has a history Made into experts for caring for children, for old and needy people, for maintaining interpersonal relationships they want to tie in and at the same time include men in everyday social relations. "

In 1987 she traveled to Minsk and Moscow with Elisabeth Raiser on the subject of "Peace and Justice".

Annemarie Schönherr Prize

Since March 29, 2014, the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia has been awarding the Annemarie Schönherr Prize for successful women's work in parishes and church districts every year. The prize is endowed with € 1000. Only women can be suggested for the price. The proposals must be submitted by church congregations, groups or church women's groups. Relevant criteria are:

  • Cross-regional broadcast
  • Sustainable changes
  • Cross-generational effect

literature

  • Elisabeth Raiser , Annemarie Schönherr: Are utopias becoming reality? In: Ecumenical Forum of Christian Women in Europe (ed.): Ecumenism women - women cross borders Frank & Timme, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86596-268-3 , pp. 59–70.
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrike E. Auga : Stepsisters. In: Auga, Ulrike et al. (Hgg): On the relationship between feminist-theological approaches in East and West Germany. Frankfurt a. M. & New York 2010, pp. 303-326.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Prof. Dr. Ulrike E. Auga (2019): Annemarie Schönherr . In: Digital German women's archive . ( digitales-deutsches-frauenarchiv.de [accessed on July 20, 2020]).
  2. ↑ a b c d Women as Reformers - Annemarie Schönherr Symposium . In: District Commissioner Day and Women's Conference - A day for women in the EKBO from March 29, 2014 - Lecture by Waltraut Hopstock . ( adminkerygma.de [PDF; accessed on May 6, 2020]).
  3. ^ Elisabeth Raiser : Encourager and pioneer: Annemarie Schönherr . In: 500 Years of the Reformation: Designed by women . ( Frauen-und-reformation.de [accessed on July 20, 2020]).
  4. ↑ Manfred Richter, Elsbeth Zylia (ed.): With plowshares against swords: Experiences in the Evangelical Church in the GDR 1949-1990 . Bremen 1991, ISBN 978-3-926958-73-0 , pp. 111 .
  5. ^ Annemarie Schönherr obituary . ( archive.org [accessed May 8, 2020]).
  6. ^ Theologian and bishop's widow Annemarie Schönherr has died . ( evangelisch.de [accessed on May 8, 2020]).
  7. ↑ Elisabeth Raiser , Annemarie Schönherr: Utopias become reality? In: Ecumenism female - women cross borders . Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86596-268-3 , pp. 59 .
  8. ↑ Elisabeth Raiser , Annemarie Schönherr: Peace in justice for all creation. Peace. In: Peace in Justice. The official documents of the European Ecumenical Assembly 15. – 21. May 1989 in Basel . Basel 1989, p. 288-299 .
  9. ↑ Annemarie Schönherr: Are utopias becoming reality? In: Ecumenism female - women cross borders . Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86596-268-3 , pp. 61 .
  10. ↑ Elisabeth Raiser , Annemarie Schönherr: Utopias become reality? In: Ecumenism female - women cross borders . Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86596-268-3 , pp. 64 .
  11. ↑ Elisabeth Raiser , Annemarie Schönherr: Utopias become reality? In: Ecumenism female - women cross borders . Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86596-268-3 , pp. 62 .
  12. ^ Annemarie Schönherr Prize - Office for Church Services (AKD) . In: Office for Church Services (AKD) . ( akd-ekbo.de [accessed on May 6, 2020]).
personal data
SURNAME Schönherr, Annemarie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt, Annemarie (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Zörbig
DATE OF DEATH 21st March 2013
Place of death Potsdam