Ernst Teichmann (theologian)

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Ernst Teichmann (born August 11, 1906 in Jever ; † August 13, 1983 in Halbe ) was a German theologian and person responsible for creating the Halbe forest cemetery , which is now maintained by the German War Graves Commission .

Life

Ernst Teichmann was born on August 11, 1906 in Jever, but spent his youth as an orphan with foster parents near Berlin . He first completed an apprenticeship as a banker , worked in a bank before he was laid off during the inflationary period . In 1932 he passed his Abitur at the high school in Königs Wusterhausen and studied theology in Berlin until 1937 .

Frank Walter Steinmeier will deliver the memorial address in Halbe

During his time as vicar in the St. Georg Church in Frankfurt an der Oder , he met his future wife Ilse Hartmann (1911-2013). In October 1939 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and married Ilse in November 1939. After ordination he became a Brandenburg pastor in 1940 . In the Second World War he was only a private , but saw the war dead and missing. “They weren't heroes, they were men who wanted to go home”, that's how he characterized his impressions and that's how he was quoted by Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war in 2015 . During the war his two children, a daughter and a son; and another daughter born in 1948. He was only briefly taken prisoner and in June 1945 found his entire family alive in Wernigerode and his adoptive parents in Berlin. In addition, the in -laws and an orphan refugee child from Pomerania belonged to the household. At first he was only provisional pastor in Schierke . Only after years of disputes with the church leadership did he become a regular pastor of the Schierke parish in 1948.

Here he set up a small military cemetery as early as 1947 and set up a memorial cross in memory of Gustav Petri , whose fate he tried to work through contrary to the approach of the GDR authorities.

In the summer of 1947 Teichmann was in Halbe for the first time, where the Halbe Kessel Battle had raged in the region , and began to locate unknown grave sites with the help of the local residents. He started with the targeted registration and made contact with the various war grave welfare institutions. In the years to come, he continued the work which, with the support of Otto Dibelius, was to become essential for the construction of the later Halbe forest cemetery. In the summer of 1951 he filled the pastor's post in Halbe, which had been vacant since the war, and later also as deputy superintendent . The state government had already made the decision to create the cemetery - initially known as the central cemetery. This was followed by the reconstruction of the Dankeskirche and the rectory, which were badly damaged in April 1945.

From November 1, 1951, the reburial and the construction of the forest cemetery Halbe began. In addition to this activity, which went hand in hand with his meticulous identification of the dead using, for example, identification tags and pay books, Teichmann also took care of the pastoral care of relatives. In 1979 alone, he wrote 1,117 letters to relatives. Later he also organized the maintenance work on the cemetery complex.

In 1952 he had campaigned for the relocation of the remains of 4,500 murdered people from the Ketschendorf special camp to the forest cemetery.

Grave of Ernst Teichmann in the municipal cemetery in Halbe

By 1956, about 22,000 soldiers were buried in the forest cemetery. 6,000 of them could be identified.

He remained parish priest in Halbe until 1978, but continued to work for other war cemeteries, which he had also looked after since the 1970s.

Two days after his birthday he died after a serious illness and was buried in the community cemetery in Halbe.

For decades he had fought to erect a wooden cross in the forest cemetery. This was only implemented after the fall of the Wall .

His estate is administered in the educational and meeting center in Halbe, which was inaugurated in 2013.

Awards (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Lehmann: Respected, denied, honored: Colonel Gustav Petri, savior of Wernigerode . Lukas Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-86732-173-0 , p. 156 ( google.de [accessed October 27, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Obituaries of Ilse Teichmann | Märkische online newspaper mourning portal. Retrieved October 27, 2019 (German).
  3. ^ Derek Scally: Seven decades after second World War, Germany is still burying its dead. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Speech by the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier ,. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Peter Lehmann: Respected, denied, honored: Colonel Gustav Petri, savior of Wernigerode . Lukas Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-86732-173-0 , p. 157 ( google.de [accessed October 27, 2019]).
  6. ↑ Peter Lehmann: Respected, denied, honored: Colonel Gustav Petri, savior of Wernigerode . Lukas Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-86732-173-0 , p. 118 ( google.de [accessed October 27, 2019]).
  7. ↑ Peter Lehmann: Respected, denied, honored: Colonel Gustav Petri, savior of Wernigerode . Lukas Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-86732-173-0 , p. 158 ( google.de [accessed October 27, 2019]).
  8. ↑ Schnell & Steiner (ed.): Das Münster . tape 35 , 1982, pp. 79 .
  9. ↑ Merit cross for pastor's wife. December 28, 1995, accessed October 27, 2019 (German).
personal data
SURNAME Teichmann, Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theologian
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Jever
DATE OF DEATH August 13, 1983
Place of death half