Ernst Henn

Ernst Henn

Ernst Henn (born February 18, 1909 in Neunkirchen , Alsace-Lorraine , † April 11, 1945 in Löningen , German Empire ) was a Roman Catholic priest in the diocese of Münster . He worked in the Oldenburger Münsterland and is attributed to the church resistance against National Socialism . He died in the final phase of World War II after attempting to save Löningen from destruction by surrendering in good time .

Life

Ernst Henn graduated from high school in Cloppenburg in March 1927 as the best in his year . On December 17, 1932, he was ordained a priest in the St. Paulus Cathedral in Münster . His first Mass took place on December 25 in the 1932 Andrew's Church St. in Cloppenburg . Then he was chaplain in Cloppenburg until 1939 and then vicar in Dinklage until 1940 . To deny him the opportunity to preach , he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in May 1940 and used as a medic on the Eastern Front, where he fell ill. After several months of hospitalization , he began his service as vicar in the parish of St. Vitus in Löningen in November 1943 . On April 11, 1945, he hoisted the white flag to protect the city of Löningen and, above all, the Löningen hospital from destruction. While the white flag was hoisted, he was fatally wounded by a tank shell. The soldiers of the British Army then stopped the artillery fire. A British officer is quoted as saying, “If it hadn't been for the white flag, then the tanks [...] would have opened fire again and the consequences would have been terrible for Löningen and especially the hospital. Vicar Henn saved Löningen and especially the hospital through his courageous efforts. "

resistance

As a reaction to the November pogroms in 1938 , during his sermon in the St. Josef Church in Cloppenburg on November 27 , 1938 , he accused the "common" and "low" crimes of the National Socialists. He was then considered by the NSDAP district leadership as "the most dangerous of the Cloppenburg clergy", was interrogated and criminal proceedings were initiated against him. As a reminder for law and justice, his saying “I cannot hide from the truth” found particular resonance.

Appreciation

In Cloppenburg, the square in front of the St. Andreas Church is named after him. A memorial plaque reminds of his life there. The Catholic parish home in Löningen is also called "Vikar-Henn-Haus". In 2014 Ernst Henn was included in the German Martyrology of the 20th Century , a compilation published on behalf of the German Bishops' Conference that lists clergy and other Catholics who can be considered martyrs in the Catholic Church .

The Vicar Henn Prize was named after him and is awarded to people, groups of people or institutions who have demonstrated moral courage in a special way. The prize is endowed with € 2,500 and was first awarded in 2019.

Literature (selection)

• Werner Nilles: Vicar Ernst Henn (1909-1945) - "I cannot avoid the truth" . Dialog-Medien and Emmaus-Reisen, Münster 2015, ISBN 978-3-944974-08-8 .
• Werner Nilles: Vicar Ernst Henn . In: Helmut Moll (ed.): Witnesses for Christ. The German martyrology of the 20th century . Volume I. 7th, revised and updated edition. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2019, ISBN 978-3-506-78012-6 , pp. 518-522.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Pastor Clemens Arlinghaus: Vicar Henns Tod, in: II. World War The end of the war in Löningen 50 years ago. Published by the Catholic parish of St. Vitus Löningen, the Ev.-Luth. Parish of Löningen and the city of Löningen, 1995, p, 21.
2. ^ St. Vitus Löningen , accessed on 2017-07-01.
3. ↑ dialogversand.de Vicar Ernst Henn (1909-1945)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on 2017-07-01.  
4. ↑ nwz: The memorial plaque will be blessed on Sunday , accessed on 2017-07-01.