Franz Sawicki
Franz Sawicki (born July 13, 1877 in Gardschau , near Schöneck , West Prussia ; † October 8, 1952 in Pelplin , Poland) was a German-Polish professor of theology, whose elevation to the position of Bishop of Danzig was thwarted by the Nazis in 1938.
Education and career
Sawicki, son of a teacher was, after studying theology in the time belonged to Prussia Diocese of Pelplin for ordained priests . He then studied theology and philosophy in Freiburg im Breisgau and became an active member of the Catholic student association Brisgovia in the KV . Shortly after his doctorate in theology in Freiburg, he was appointed professor at the seminary in Pelplin.
Sawicki wrote numerous writings that enjoyed great popularity among German Catholics up to the First World War , but the appointment to a German university he sought did not materialize.
- Decision to stay at home
Like almost all of West Prussia, Pelplin fell to Poland in 1920 with the Treaty of Versailles . Sawicki's mother tongue was German ; he had only learned Polish at school. West Prussians were only allowed to stay in their homeland if they opted for Poland. Sawicki decided to stay in Pelplin. He then became cathedral capitular , cathedral provost and papal house prelate . The Catholic University of Lublin awarded him an honorary doctorate. When he was supposed to become a professor at the University of Warsaw , he refused "because of his imperfect knowledge of the Polish language".
- Failure as a candidate for bishopric
In 1938 the Bishop of Danzig, Count O'Rourke , resigned from his office. Pope Pius XI then appointed Sawicki as the new bishop of Danzig. The National Socialists , who were also in power in the Free State of Danzig , vehemently opposed this because the Bishopric Danzig should not be occupied by a Polish citizen. Sawicki was actually German and had always kept out of the national struggle.
The Holy See gave way. Sawicki returned his certificate of appointment. On the basis of the proposal of the Apostolic Nuncio Filippo Cortesi in Warsaw, Carl Maria Splett became the new Bishop of Danzig.
- Further life
After Germany's attack on Poland, the Gestapo murdered the entire cathedral chapter and other clergy in Pelplin on October 20, 1939. Sawicki was spared, however, because shortly before he had been arrested by a German army archivist and taken to a monastery.
Sawicki died on October 8, 1952 in his hometown of Pelplin.
Fonts (selection)
- Value and dignity of personality in Christianity (1906)
- Catholic Church and Moral Personality. (1907)
- The sense of life. (1913)
- Catholic piety. (1921)
- The truth of Christianity. (8th edition 1924)
literature
- H. Preuschoff In: Siegfried Koß, Wolfgang Löhr (Hrsg.): Biographisches Lexikon des KV. 1st part (= Revocatio historiae. Volume 2). SH-Verlag, Schernfeld 1991, ISBN 3-923621-55-8 , p. 87 f.
- Barbara Wolf-Dahm: Sawicki, Franz. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , p. 476 f. ( Digitized version ).
Individual evidence
Web links
- Literature by and about Franz Sawicki in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sawicki, Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-Polish professor of theology |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 13, 1877 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gardschau , West Prussia |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 8, 1952 |
| Place of death | Pelplin , Poland |