Franco-German Brother Council

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The Franco-German Council of Brothers (French: Conseil fraternel franco-allemand ) was founded at the suggestion of Marcel Sturm and Hans Stempel at a meeting between German and French Protestants in 1950 in Speyer . The aim of the council was to promote Franco-German reconciliation and to strengthen cooperation in Europe after the Second World War. On the German side, most of the participants came from the wing of the Confessing Church under Martin Niemöller .

Mission and history

In the joint declaration after the meeting between German and French Protestants from March 17 to 19, 1950 in Speyer, it was initially stated in general: “French and German Protestants met in Speyer in the spirit of the ecumenical movement in order to share political responsibility to recognize their churches in the present moment of European development and to work towards a mutual rapprochement of their peoples. [...] At the moment when the national framework is breaking up in a cultural, social, economic, political evolution, they understand their responsibility to investigate the meaning of this evolution. "

Furthermore, a "fraternal commission" was decided at the meeting, which should consist of 7 members. The official task of this commission was the establishment of a "permanent fraternal council". This should interest "the official church organs of both countries in the Franco-German rapprochement". In addition, practical means should be found in order to win the parishes of both countries over to permanent work for the construction of Europe, ecclesiastical organs should be determined, which in both countries should devote one Sunday in the year of international understanding, especially the Franco-German rapprochement , as well as the possibility of founding a boarding school in Germany, which is intended to bring up French and German children.

On the French side, the members of the commission included Paul Conord , Philippe Poincenot , Madeleine Barot and Marcel Sturm . On the German side Pastors Knell, Wilhelm Niesel and Count Yorck von Wartenburg .

The fraternal council consisted of annual meetings and various sessions. Some trips were also organized, as early as 1950 a French study trip to northern Germany. The exchange of students and pastors, the pastoral care of the German prisoners in France and meetings and visits of parishioners who were non-theologians were other activities. Even if the first meetings were a bit cautious, a casual and open-minded exchange soon developed over the next few years.

The work of the brother council officially ceased in 1966. The reason given was the French churches, which "limited the necessity, character and service of the fraternal council to the post-war period and gave priority to other tasks in the course of the 1960s". Nonetheless, contact was maintained on various levels. Protestant French and German women in particular continued to work together.

meaning

Up until the 1960s, the fraternal council provided exemplary “preparatory work” for Franco-German reconciliation . Misunderstandings have been reduced, distances have been overcome and the basis has been created for creating a lively relationship between the two countries. In this context, Heimerl says: "With this, important inner-Protestant and at the same time inner-European threads were tied anew, which were of particular importance in the European situation at that time".

Alfred Grosser , Franco-German political scientist and publicist, praised the undertaking and particularly emphasized the human aspect: "[The Council is] a kind of human infrastructure for relations at government level".

literature

  • Daniela Heimerl: Les églises évangéliques et le rapprochement franco-allemand dans l'après-guerre: le conseil fraternel franco-allemand , in: Revue d'Allemagne , 21/4, 1989. pp. 591–609.
  • Daniela Heimerl: The Franco-German Brother Council: Approach - Understanding - Reconciliation , in: Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte , 14/2, 2001. P. 470–486.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinrich Grosse: What attitude do the churches take after the war? , in: Müller-Plantenberg, Clarita (ed.): Critique of a technocratic Europe . Kassel 2008. p. 48.
  2. ^ Joint declaration by German and French Protestants. Speyer, March 19, 1950 , in: Carsten Nicolaisen et al. (Ed.): The minutes of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (Volume 4: 1950). Göttingen 2007. pp. 202f.
  3. ↑ a b Ibid., P. 202.
  4. ↑ a b c Heimerl: The Franco-German Brother Council: Approach - Understanding - Reconciliation , 2001: p. 486.
  5. ^ Heimerl: The Franco-German Brother Council: Approach - Understanding - Reconciliation , 2001: p. 475.
  6. ^ The Palatinate - a German-French borderline case ?! . Leaves on the country (2/2011). P. 7.