Bernhard Heiermann

Bernhard Heiermann (also Bernhard Heyermann ; born May 24, 1907 in Düsseldorf ; † January 31, 1957 in Wuppertal ) was a German Protestant pastor and member of the Confessing Church.

Life

Bernhard Heiermann was born on May 24, 1907, the son of a carpenter. In his youth he was a member of the Christian Association of Young Men and later he turned to the student biblical group (BK) , which is characterized by youth . In 1926 he passed his Abitur.

At the Bethel Theological School , Heiermann learned the ancient languages required to study theology, and from 1928 he began studying theology in Tübingen, Marburg and Bonn. During this time he was involved in the youth movement reformed college guild Ernst Wurche . He passed his first theological exam in 1931. From May 1931 he was in charge of the Hombüchel (Elberfeld) district of the Evangelical Lutheran congregation. He passed his second exam in October 1933 in Koblenz. In January 1934 he took part in the " Free Reformed Synod ". From February 1934 he worked as an assistant preacher in Hilden . Together with his brother and later guild brother Heinrich link he established in March 1934, the Confessing Church belonging to the brotherhood of young theologians in the Rhineland , the first director he was. Because of this, his brothers called him “the original apostle ”. He headed the brotherhood from 1934 to 1935. His later wife Lydia Link took over the secretariat of the brotherhood free of charge, even when it was illegal.

“As early as February 1934 he was denounced at the consistory because he had prayed for the three discipled Rhenish pastors Heinrich Held , Friedrich Graeber and Joachim Beckmann in the service on February 18, 1934 . Against the will of 488 church members who campaigned for Heiermann, he was dismissed as assistant preacher by OKoR Walter Siebert on April 12, 1934. But Heiermann did not let himself be unsettled and continued to preach in Hilden. "

Heiermann could initially continue to preach in Hilden, but in July 1934 disciplinary proceedings were initiated against him. The Brother Council of the Confessing Church responded in July 1934 with a solidarity resolution. The proceedings were dropped in July 1935. From June 1934 to October 1935 he was appointed assistant preacher by the Confessing Church in Barmen-Gemarke . Heiermann became a pastor at the Reinoldikirche in Dortmund in 1935 . In the same year he married his wife Lydia Link. As chairman of the MBK work for Westphalia, he belongs to the youth chamber of the Westphalian provincial church . In 1938 he refused the oath of allegiance to the Führer . In 1939 he was called up for military service, but released again after a few days.

After the end of the war, he held a parish office in Lennep from 1946 to 1955. In addition to his parish work, despite his poor health, he devoted his time to the brotherhood that had emerged from the Confessing Church and to church work for men. The division from the time of the church struggle continued to have an effect in the community . From December 1946 until his departure in September 1955, this was reflected in protests, disputes and polarizing election results. With his departure, the attempt to unite a parish church with the former denominational church and to integrate both into the parish church failed . He took his last pastor at the Reformed Parish of Elberfeld . He died here on January 31, 1957.

literature

Hans Prolingheuer : The Karl Barth case. 1934-1935. Chronograph of an eviction. Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1984, pp. 69 ff., 77, 82, 138, 335-338
Wolfgang Scherffig: It started with a no! (= Young Theologians in the Third Reich , Volume 1). Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1989. pp. 20, 73–200, This book contains the following dedication in honor of Heiermann:

“In grateful memory of the first two leaders of the Brotherhood of Young Theologians in the Rhineland. Bernhard Heyermann * 23.4.1907 † 31.1.1957 and Erhard Mueller * 1.5.1909 † in Stalingrad have been missing since 1943 and in memory of the brave women who accompanied us on this journey. "

Werner Lauff: The emergency churches in Lennep: a contribution to the history of the church struggle in the parish of Lennep. Rheinland Verlag, Cologne 2002, pp. 266–290 (Chapter: A sad aftermath)
Wolfgang Wewer: Against the German-Christian cadaver obedience. The unwavering path of the BK theologian Bernhard Heiermann. In: Günther van Norden , Klaus Schmidt : You swam against the current. Resistance and persecution in the “Third Reich”. Greven Verlag, Cologne 2006, pages 81-83

Left

Blog of the archive of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland | Despite times of need and paper shortages: A printed sermon commemorates Pastor Heiermann's introduction to Lennep on the 3rd Advent in 1946

Individual evidence

^ Hubert G. Locke, Marcia Sachs Littell: Holocaust and church struggle, Studies in the Shoah. University press of America, Lanham 1996, p. 218.
↑ Simone Rauthe: Sharp opponents. Publishing house Dr. Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 2003, p. 208.
↑ Wolfgang Scherffig: It started with a no! (= Young Theologians in the Third Reich , Volume 1). Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1989, page V (page 5 before numbering)

personal data
SURNAME	Heiermann, Bernhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Heyermann, Bernhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German Protestant pastor
DATE OF BIRTH	May 24, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dusseldorf
DATE OF DEATH	January 31, 1957
Place of death	Elberfeld

[1] Hubert G. Locke, Marcia Sachs Littell: Holocaust and church struggle, Studies in the Shoah. University press of America, Lanham 1996, p. 218.

[2] Simone Rauthe: Sharp opponents. Publishing house Dr. Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 2003, p. 208.

[3] Wolfgang Scherffig: It started with a no! (= Young Theologians in the Third Reich , Volume 1). Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1989, page V (page 5 before numbering)