Gerhard Bernhard van Haar

Gerhard Bernhard van Haar (born April 6, 1760 in Wesel ; † February 20, 1837 in Hamm ) was the grandfather of Friedrich Engels .

Life

The van Haar family came from Leiden in the Netherlands . An ancestor emigrated to Wesel in 1683 as a master basket maker . Gerhard Bernhard van Haar was born on April 6, 1760 in Wesel, presumably as the second son, Johannes van Haar (1731–1786) and his wife Margaretha née. Scholten (1734–1769) was born in poor conditions.

Gerhard Bernhard van Haar attended the local grammar school from 1771 to 1777 . After the maturity was granted, he worked as a tutor for a few years and probably continued his self-taught education . At 21, he made the teacher's exam and was on June 12, 1781 at the school to Hamm hired. In 1788 he married the Tecklenburg pastor's daughter Franziska Christina Snethlage (1758–1846). The fifth of her seven children Elisabeth (Elise) Franziska Mauritia (1797–1873), later became the mother of Friedrich Engels. In 1833 Gerhard Bernhard van Haar retired after 52 years of service. He died in Hamm on February 20, 1837.

From 1805 Gerhard Bernhard van Haar had an influence on the Engels family. A brother of Friedrich Engels's father was a student at Hammer Gymnasium and lived in his house as a guesthouse. Elisabeth Franziska van Haar spent the summer holidays in the Engels household in 1816. On this occasion she met her future husband Friedrich Engels senior. (1796-1860) know better. When Gerhard Bernhard van Haar died, Friedrich Engels was 16½ years old. Until then he participated in his education. Friedrich Engels spent several weeks in Hamm at least six times during the summer, and his grandparents spent their holidays in Barmen at least as often .

“Barmen, December 20, 1833

To my grandfather,
O dear grandfather, who always
treats us kindly, who still helped us when the work was a problem! Who
told me such beautiful stories when you were here,
Of Cercyon and Theseus , of the hundred-eyed Argus ;
From the golden fleece, from the Argonauts and Jason ,
from the strong Hercul, from the Danaus and Kadmos .
And - I no longer know what else you are telling me;
Well, I wish you, grandfather, a happy New Year, for
a lifetime, a lot of joy and little misery,
all the best that can only happen to man,
all of this is wished for you by your grandson

Friedr, who loves you . Engels "

- Friedrich Engels, 13 years

literature

• Michael Knieriem (ed.): The origin of Friedrich Engels. Relatives' letters, 1791–1847. Edit texts by Margret Dietzen. Trier 1991 (= writings from the Karl-Marx-Haus Trier, 42; news from the Engels-Haus, 6/8)
• Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels Complete Edition ( MEGA ) First Section Volume 3, Dietz Verlag Berlin 1985
• Friedrich Rempel: Viro venerabili, Gerardo van Haar ... congratulations Gymnasium Hammonense, Hamm 1831 (University and State Library Münster)

Web links

• Historic Center Wuppertal ( Memento from January 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )