Felix Uppenkamp

Felix Uppenkamp (born April 25, 1881 in Nienborg ; † August 9, 1960 in Münster ) was a German Catholic priest and provost of St. Lamberti in Münster and a supporter of the Blessed Cardinal of Münster Clemens August Graf von Galen , in the fight against euthanasia of National Socialism .

Life

Felix Uppenkamp was the youngest of five children of the couple Theodor and Elisabeth Uppenkamp, ​​b. Schmitz was born. His great-grandfather Bernhard Uppenkamp started the first mechanical weaving and spinning mill in northern Münsterland in 1836 . After attending the village school in Nienborg and the Rector's School in Ochtrup , he was accepted as a student at the Paulinum in Münster in 1896 . After graduating from high school, Felix Uppenkamp studied philosophy and theology at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster. On June 17, 1905, he was ordained a priest through the hands of Bishop Hermann Dingelstad . After chaplain positions in St. Viktor in Dülmen and St. Dionysius in Rheine , he volunteered at the beginning of the First World War to nurse and in 1914 became a parish priest. At the end of the war in 1918 he was a division pastor in Berlin . He then stayed for a few months as a pastor in the traditional parish of St. Matthias in Berlin-Schönefeld . During this time, Clemens August Graf von Galen was pastor there. On October 1, 1919, Bishop Johannes Poggenburg gave him the rectorate of St. Joseph in Bottrop . In 1933 Uppenkamp was appointed pastor of St. Lamberti in Münster by Clemens August Graf von Gahlen, who was now Bishop of Münster. One of his first official acts was the extensive interior and exterior renovation of the church. Soon after the renovation work was completed, the first conflicts with the National Socialist rulers arose. A first case against Uppenkamp was initiated because of non-flagging on the occasion of the funeral of Reichsstatthalter Wilhelm Loeper on October 26, 1935. In 1937, an investigation by the Gestapo followed for violating the treachery law . It was about allegedly anti-subversive statements he made in bridal class. This was repeated in a similar way in 1939. Due to the Second World War, which had broken out in the meantime, the cathedral had already become unusable in July 1941 due to bombing raids. Thereupon Pastor Uppenkamp made the pulpit of the Lambertikirche available to Bishop von Galen, where Galen gave his famous sermons. Felix Uppenkamp was instrumental in the secret copying of these sermons, which found their way from St. Lamberti all over the world. New interrogations by the Gestapo were the result. Without fear of his own reprisals, Pastor Uppenkamp stood up for his chaplain Aloys Schmäing, who was arrested by the Gestapo on August 8, 1944 because of a denunciation. He was told by the police station that the matter would be resolved in higher places. Pastor Uppenkamp then went to Berlin and spoke personally to the Reich Security Main Office . Kaplan Schmäing was released from prison after six weeks. The Lamberti Church was very badly damaged in the heavy bombing raid on October 10, 1943. The damage had hardly been repaired when St. Lambert was almost completely destroyed on October 28, 1944, except for the tower and outer walls. His rectory was also bombed. After the invasion of American soldiers on April 2, 1945, Felix Uppenkamp soon began rebuilding his parish. The first emergency church was then in the well-preserved Krameramtshaus. There was a great difficulty in procuring building material for the reconstruction of the Lambertikirche. On October 19, 1949, the first service after the war was held in Lambertikirche. For his contribution to the reconstruction of the parish and the church, Bishop Michael Keller awarded him the title of provost at Pentecost in 1953 . On July 12, 1955, he received the Federal Cross of Merit from Federal President Theodor Heuss on the occasion of his golden jubilee as a priest . Five years later, on January 31, 1960, the completion of the total restoration of the Lamberti Church was celebrated with a solemn high mass. Probst Felix Uppenkamp died on August 9th of the same year, devastated by the hardships of the war and the reconstruction. His grave is in the Münster Central Cemetery, which he also tried very hard to rebuild.

honors and awards

• 1953: Honorary title of provost by Bishop Keller
• 1955: Awarded the Federal Cross of Merit by Federal President Theodor Heuss
• 1962: Naming of a new street in Münster to the Uppenkampstiege

Web links

• St. Lamberti parish