Gerhard Winter (philosopher)

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Gerhard Winter (born July 8, 1928 in Crimmitschau ; † February 28, 2011 in Gera ) was a German Marxist philosopher . During the GDR era he taught Marxism-Leninism at the University of Greifswald .

Life

Gerhard Winter was born in the textile workers' town of Crimmitschau . His parents, Ewald and Gertrud Winter, were both textile workers and lived in the grandparents' house. His grandfather, Edmund Meisel, had a great influence on Gerhard Winter. The grandfather was a city ​​councilor in Crimmitschau and a social democratic member of the state parliament in Dresden . In the city council he devoted himself to social tasks and kept in touch with the church.

Winter passed an emergency maturity examination in 1945 . A long conversation in 1944 with his father, who was a soldier at the time, had warned him about the “ SS captors ”. After a summer stay in a military training camp in Austria in 1944 , the idea occurred to him to report to the mountain troops. His considerations were: 1. There is no barrack drill in the high mountains . 2. He enjoyed climbing a lot (he was very athletic) and was definitely still possible after the war. 3. Austria is far from Crimmitschau. He was not called up in January 1945. In the last days of the war he hid in villages.

After the end of the war, his father was considered missing (and remained so), and his mother worked as a textile worker. Winter learned mason from 1945 to 1948 and then worked in this profession. In 1950 he applied as a new teacher and was an applicant for a school authority at a village school in Frankenhausen near Crimmitschau. He passed the 1st and 2nd teacher exams one after the other in distance learning . During a holiday camp in the Ore Mountains he contracted polio and was then hospitalized from August 5 to December 18, 1952.

On December 24, 1952, Gerhard Winter married Ingeborg Grahl. The couple moved to Zwickau because Gerhard Winter, as deputy director, was supposed to help build a new school there. In 1954 their son Peter was born, and after the baby year Ingeborg Winter worked as a teacher from 1955 to 1991. Gerhard Winter took up distance learning again, this time as a specialist teacher for German and history at the Potsdam University of Education . After three years he passed his diploma in Potsdam in 1957 .

Winter then applied as a full-time student at the Humboldt University in Berlin . He finished this course prematurely as a Dipl. Phil. in December 1960. During his studies he was very interested in the philosophical problems of Christianity. In November 1960, he presented his diploma thesis on so-called religious socialism and its socio-political function in the Weimar Republic and in the Bonn clerical-militarist regime . During the preparatory period he exchanged letters with Erwin Eckert , Emil Fuchs , Bernhard Göring , Leonhard Ragaz , Joseph Rossaint and Klara Marie Faßbinder .

In January 1961, Winter received a temporary job as a research assistant in the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Greifswald . As a lecturer, he was also a member of the theological faculty under Dean Hellmut Bandt . During this period from 1961 to 1971, the foster daughter Katrin was accepted into the family in 1963. Winter read about historical materialism in lectures and seminars among theologians . In 1967 he submitted his dissertation (doctoral supervisor : Wolfgang Heise ) at the University of Berlin on the subject of Paul Tillich's conception of history and received his doctorate in philosophy on April 23, 1967 with magna cum laude .

Winter was also active in training theology students at the University of Greifswald. In this context he taught Marxist philosophy and the history of the workers' movement .

From 1962 to 1969, Winter was a member of the Council of the Theological Faculty of the University of Greifswald. He took part in symposia and conferences at home and abroad and also presented his theses in church institutions. He was honored three times as an activist of socialist work and received all three levels of the Pestalozzi Medal for loyal service and other awards from the GDR .

On February 1, 1971, he was transferred to Bernburg , where he built up the chair of philosophy at the newly founded University of Agriculture, while at the same time becoming a university lecturer. On September 1, 1975 he returned to Greifswald and was appointed lecturer for “ Dialectical and Historical Materialism ”.

Since 1976 Winter has been a member of the research collective "Scientific Atheism ". It was under the direction of Hans Lutter and Olof Klohr at the Pedagogical University of Güstrow . From this collaboration a lifelong friendship developed between Lutter, Klohr and Winter. During these years he corresponded with Hanfried Müller .

During these years, Winter wrote his habilitation thesis Die Theologie Dietrich Bonhoeffer - its reception and role in the process of Christians turning to socialism in the GDR . He defended the 15 theses of the thesis in Güstrow on March 2, 1982 with the grade summa cum laude and received the academic degree doctor scientiae philosophiae (Dr. sc. Phil.). The " Dissertation B " was treated as a "confidential official matter" and not published.

Winter made it important not to secularize the Christian interlocutors, but conversely, he did not want to be missionary either. Occasionally there was a contradiction between his own opinion and the officially represented party line. He was therefore criticized by the state, disciplined and subjected to restrictions (counterpart at the university: Erhard Albrecht ). But he himself also criticized individual dialogue partners and their theses. He was very determined: “I still don't like the Machovec book 'Jesus for Atheists' at all. I think that's a departure from Marxism . "

On May 23, 1990, the university lecturers for Marxism-Leninism were recalled by the first freely elected GDR government . With the dissolution of the ML institutes at the end of 1990 and the dismissals for the still existing Marxism-Leninism university teachers, Winter retired in 1991 . He moved to Gera with his wife .

After the turning point and the peaceful revolution, Winter saw a need to continue the dialogue between Christians and Marxists. For him, this followed from the concrete social development of capitalism , in which a large number of social problems were unsolved, social resistance intensified and the gap between rich and poor was widening. But it is worth fighting and advocating for a fairer future.

From Gera he made numerous contributions to the Berlin Dialogue booklets edited by his friend Hans Lutter until 2002 . Gerhard Winter passed away on February 28, 2011.

evaluation

Trutz Rendtorff judged him critically: “Amazingly, Bonhoeffer was even used to confirm the historical legitimacy of the building of socialism . In the case of the Greifswald Marxist Gerhard Winter, who was a special mouthpiece for the party with regard to Bonhoeffer , we read, for example, sentences like this: 'Today, Christians who feel obliged to Dietrich Bonhoeffer's humanistic legacy lead this man's struggle under new conditions with equal Resolve away. ' 'Bonhoeffer's struggle will continue if the Christian fellow citizens, who like everyone else in the GDR find security and security, support our state's policy of peace and relaxation and the well-being of the people.' "

Publications

Contributions to research reports and contributions

of the research collective “Scientific Atheism” of the University of Education “ Liselotte Herrmann ”, Güstrow

  • Issue 3/9/76: On the role of ethical conceptions of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the ideological class struggle. Theses (3 pages)
  • Issue 9/9/77: On the role of ethical conceptions by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the ideological class struggle (9 pages)
  • Issue 13/05/78: The theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the first period of his work (1927 - 1931/32). Foreword by Hans Lutter (62 pages)
  • Issue 19/01/80: The understanding of the church in the Protestant churches of the GDR (17 pages) (PDF; 119 kB)
  • Issue 22/07/80: Current aspects of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's work in the “World Alliance for International Friendship Work of Churches”. Theses (3 pages)
  • Issue 26/03/81: Current aspects of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's work in the "World Alliance for International Friendship Work of Churches" (8 pages)
  • Issue 29/03/82: (20 pages) Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology - its reception and role in the process of Christians turning to socialism in the GDR. Theses for Dissertation II (PDF; 101 kB)
  • Issue 36/83: Crisis of Religion - a contribution to the discussion (16 pages, PDF; 118 kB)
  • Issue 52/87: Perspectives and lack of perspective in religion. A contribution to the Marxist-Leninist theory of overcoming religion. Preface by Hans Lutter (68 pages)
  • Issue 54/87: Evangelical theology in the GDR on the future of religion and church in socialist society - a critical analysis (26 pages, together with Hans Lutter)
  • Issue 58/88: On the reception of the Darmstadt word in the Protestant churches of the GDR. Theses (1 page)
  • Issue 60/88: Comments on the process of change in Protestant theology (6 pages)
  • Issue 63/89: Religion in the interrelationships between politics and worldview. An essay (38 pages) (PDF; 233 kB)
  • Special issue 89: On the reception of the Darmstadt word in the Protestant churches of the GDR (6 pages)

Articles in Berlin Dialogue books

founded in December 1990, continued from 2001 to 2004 as Neue Dialog-Hefte ; Editor: "Society for the Promotion of the Christian-Marxist Dialogue eV", editor: Hans Lutter .

  • Issue 1/1990 (1): Philosophy - Religion - Dialog
  • Issue 5/1991 (6): Comments on Ernst Nagel's comments
  • Issue 2/1993 (12): Fruits of a Marxist's encounter with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology
  • Issue 1/1994 (16): Development of socialism from science to utopia?
  • Issue 2/1994 (17): Review: Günther Heydemann / Lothar Kettenacker (ed.): Churches in the dictatorship. Third Reich and SED state . Fifteen posts. Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1993
  • Issue 3/1994 (18): My comment: (Germans and their national borders)
  • Special issue 1995 (25): Transcendence and Moral
  • Issue 2/1996 (27): Contributions to the discussion on “The unknown classics - Marx and Engels in the GDR” by Wolfgang Leonhard (together with Hans Steußloff, Erhard Weckesser, Ernst Luther, Hans Luft); Review: Lothar Wenzel, Socialism from a Christian Conscience with Georg Wünsch (1887–1964). European University Papers, XXII Theology Series, Bd. 543. Frankfurt / M-Berlin-Bern-New York-Paris-Vienna. Peter Lang, European Science Publishing 1995
  • Issue 1/1997 (30): Review: Horst Gienke : Dome, Dörfer, Dornenwege. Life report of an old bishop. Rostock, Hinstorff Verlag GmbH 1996
  • Issue 2/1997 (31): My comment: Marxism
  • Special issue 1998 (37) Honorary colloquium on the occasion of the 70th birthday of Hans Lutter : Laudation ( http://d-nb.info/954836413 )
  • Issue 4/1998 (38): Review: Friedrich-Martin Balzer / Christian Stappenbeck (ed.): You have affirmed the right to revolution. Christians in the GDR . A contribution to 50 years of the “ Darmstädter Wort ”. Pahl-Rugenstein Verlag Nachf. GmbH 1997
  • Issue 2/1999 (40): Review: Simone Thiede: The dialogue between religions and secular world views. Shown using the example of the Christian-Marxist dialogue in the GDR. Frankfurt a. M., European Publishing House of Science 1999
  • Issue 1/2001 (47): Freedom that I mean
  • Issue 2/2002 (52): Media and Power

swell

  • Simone Thiede: The dialogue between religions and secular worldviews. Shown using the example of the Christian-Marxist dialogue in the GDR , Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1999, p. 114 ff, ISBN 3-631-33981-X (At the same time, dissertation at the University of Bremen 1998 - Gerhard Winter functions clearly in this book as "Interview partner 3").
  • Ingeborg Winter: CV Prof. Dr. sc. phil. Gerhard Winter , unpublished manuscript from September 21, 2011.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ingeborg Winter: "I can write it all down so precisely because I went to the same school with Gerhard Winter and was friends with him even then." (CV, p. 2)
  2. ↑ Gerhard Winter: Theses for Dissertation II (PDF; 101 kB)
  3. ↑ Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology - its reception and role in the process of Christians turning to socialism in the GDR , Dissertation B to obtain the academic degree of Doctor of Science (doctor scientiae philosophiae). Presented to the Senate of the Scientific Council of the University of Education " Liselotte Herrmann " Güstrow by Dr. phil. Gerhard Winter, Greifswald, May 1981.
  4. ↑ Quoted in: Simone Thiede: Dialog , p. 153.
  5. ↑ Herbert Gottwald, Michael Ploenus: Departure - Change - New Beginning . Document No. 157, pp. 243f
  6. ^ Positive list of the Thuringian Ministry of Science and Art from December 17, 1990. Jena University Archives, VA, No. 67
  7. ↑ Simone Thiede: Dialog , p. 218.
  8. ↑ angelfire.com
  9. ↑ UNIaktuell June 16, 2011 Newsletter for members and relatives of the university - issue 2/2011, p. 15 ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.3 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.uni-greifswald.de
  10. ^ Obituary notice (as of September 17, 2011).
  11. ^ Trutz Rendtorff (ed.): Protestant Revolution? Church and theology in the GDR: ecclesiological requirements, political context, theological and historical criteria , Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1993, p. 297.
  12. ↑ Gerhard Winter: Dietrich Bonhoeffer - fighters against war and fascism. In: Contributions to the history of the Humboldt University in Berlin . No. 5. Berlin 1981, p. 17.
  13. ↑ Ibid., P. 25.
  14. ↑ Since Issue 60/88 research collective "Marxist-Leninist science of religion" , since special issue 89 Research Collective religious studies .
  15. ↑ http://d-nb.info/016946154
personal data
SURNAME Winter, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Marxist philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH July 8, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Crimmitschau
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 2011
Place of death Gera