Ernst Fromhold-Treu

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Ernst Fromhold-Treu (born February 3, 1861 in the pastorate of Oppekaln , Livonia Gouvernement , Russian Empire ; † May 22, 1919 in Riga , Latvian SPR ), also written Ernst Fromhold Treu or Fromhold Ernst Treu or briefly called Ernst Treu , Latvian Ernsts Fromholds-Treijs was a German-Baltic pastor . He is considered an Evangelical Lutheran martyr and is recorded on the Riga Martyrs Stone.

The dates in this article are based on the Julian calendar for the period up to 1918 unless otherwise noted.

Life

Before arrest

Ernst Fromhold-Treu was the son of pastor Bruno Fromhold Treu (also Trey, born December 10, 1823 in Riga, † January 30, 1897 in Oppekaln , Livonia). From 1875 to 1880 he attended grammar school in Dorpat , which he graduated with the Abitur. He studied theology at the University of Dorpat from 1880 to 1884 . On September 29, 1882 he joined the Dorpat Theological Association. After completing his studies as a graduate student, passing the exam before the Livonian consistory in the autumn of 1884 in Riga and his probationary year, which he had spent from 1884 to 1885 with Pastor Auning in Sesswegen and with Pastor von Braunschweig in Schlock in Livonia, he was accepted on 17 November July / November 29,  1885 greg. ordained by general superintendent Girgensohn in the Petrikirche in Riga as pastor of Dikkel near Wolmar . Gustav Cleemann was ordained in the same ceremony . Fromhold-Treu took office on December 1st. In addition, he was the religious school inspector of the Wolmarschen Sprengels.

On December 12, 1885, he married Adelheid von Renngarten. His son Bruno-Fromhold-Treu (botanist and school director, † August 1, 1965 in Wiedenbrück , Westphalia) was born on September 3, 1887 in Dikkel.

In 1892/1893, following a criminal court judgment, he was reprimanded for an offense in office. (Conflicts between evangelical clergy and the Russian Orthodox state church were frequent.)

On May 8, 1903, another trial against Fromhold-Treu came before the second criminal department of the Rigas District Court, because he ran a school in his pastorate that was not licensed by the state. He also admitted the non-qualified teacher Vilma Dannenberg to German and French classes, against whom negotiations were also held. Defense attorney von Bröcker argued that it was only a private class for four of the pastor's children, even if some strange children who were retired with the pastor had participated. He admitted that employing a non-qualified teacher was a criminal offense under Section 1051, but that this regulation had never been applied and that there were a number of foreign governesses who did not have Russian diplomas. Dannenberg's suitability was sufficiently proven by the fact that the educated pastor had hired her. Fromhold-Treu was acquitted of the charge of opening a non-licensed school. He had to pay three rubles and Dannenberg one ruble for stopping Dannenberg.

In 1906 Fromhold-Treu had to give up his office for family reasons, although the relationship with the community had developed harmoniously. From 1906 to 1907 Fromhold-Treu was director of the correctional institution for underage criminals in Rodenpois near Riga.

From 1907 he was director of the blind asylum in Riga- Strasdenhof . His pedagogical talent became very clear in the children living here. Some of the adult residents were influenced by the Russian Revolution of 1905 , which led to conflicts between them and Fromhold-Treu. Therefore the pastor wished to work as a parish priest again.

Arrest, detention and execution

In 1919 Ernst Fromhold-Treu was arrested by the Bolsheviks , although he did not work as a pastor, but only carried the title of pastor. He was questioned in front of the tribunal. He was assured that there were no specific charges against him, but that his release was impractical. The reason may lie in his spiritual title and the fact that the Bolsheviks needed such persons as hostages. Like many other pastors, he was imprisoned in the remote Riga Central Prison.

The prisoners expected an amnesty for May 1, 1919, but this did not materialize. They were torn between hope and fatefulness.

He was taken to the cemetery a week before his death. The prisoners were usually forced to dig graves as there were numerous deaths from typhus and malnutrition. This time the flowers were to be removed from the cemetery chapel, which had been laid there for the funeral of a high commissioner of the communists. The other prisoners did this work, while the pastor could ask permission to play the organ there at the same time. He was considered very musical and enjoyed being able to express his feelings one last time with music after many weeks. His playing included well-known evangelical hymns, which the other prisoners appreciated.

On the same day he was able to visit the graves of his children for the last time. The day has been dubbed his last holiday. He was then sent back to prison.

On May 22nd, the prison was about to be stormed by a raid troop of the Baltic State Armed Forces , about which the prisoners knew nothing. Shortly before the Bolsheviks withdrew from Riga, Fromhold-Treu and 32 fellow prisoners (see the list below) were led out of their cells that afternoon. They were brought in an orderly train through the long corridors under heavy guard to the prison yard. Soldiers of the Red Army, who formed the guard, were posted there and now shot all those who were taken out.

Immediately afterwards the soldiers and commissioners fled. A little later, an armored car from the Landeswehr made its way to the prison; the prisoners' relatives followed him into the courtyard. They were shocked by the sight they saw. One of Fromhold-Treu's sons was also a member of the Landeswehr and found his father, whom he wanted to free, who had been killed. Ernst Fromhold-Treu's skull was shattered.

Funeral service

The memorial service for Ernst Fromhold-Treu, Eugen Scheuermann and Eberhard Savary took place on May 27, 1919 at 2 p.m. in the Riga Cathedral . Many people from all parts of the city and all population groups attended. The coffins stood on the altar arch, the floral decorations were plentiful. The celebration began with the song “Jerusalem, you high-rise city”, Revelation 6,9-11  LUT was chosen as the reading text . The next song was " A strong castle is our God ".

The sermon text was Joh 9,1-11  LUT , interpreted by Oskar Schabert . He deduced from the text that the question should not be asked about the “why” but about the “why”, with the answer that the works of God should be revealed in what happened. The example of the martyrs, as he already called those who were killed, should awaken the church to a living Christianity for which one is ready to give one's life.

This was followed by the song “Prepare yourselves, you Christians”. Farewell speeches by Pastor Weyren in Latvian and Pastor Meyer-Burtneck in German followed. Then the other pastors present had the opportunity to give each of the deceased a sentence. After prayers and singing, the coffins were carried to the hearse by members of the Landeswehr. A large crowd followed as far as the churchyard.

Ernst Fromhold-Treu buried his family under some elms. He had previously planted it himself in mourning on the grave of one of his children who had died young.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Ernst Fromhold-Treu. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
personal data
SURNAME Fromhold-Treu, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Treu, Ernst Fromhold; Treu, Fromhold Ernst; Faithful, serious; Fromholds-Treijs, Ernsts
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Evangelical Lutheran clergyman, German-Baltic martyr
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Oppekaln , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH May 22, 1919
Place of death Riga , Latvian SPR