Gottfried Kruger

Johann Friedrich Gottfried Krüger (born August 2, 1863 in Treuenbrietzen , † July 3, 1941 in Lutherstadt Wittenberg ) was a German doctor and homeland researcher .

Life

Johann Friedrich Gottfried Krüger was born as the son of a businessman in Treuenbrietzen. After attending high school in Wittenberg, he studied medicine in Freiburg im Breisgau , Halle and Berlin . In Berlin he was then a student of the famous physician Rudolf Virchow and Professor Leiden, with whom he did his doctorate on "The History of Bloodletting" . Because of his excellent performance in the state examinationthe newly qualified doctor was offered an assistant position in Berlin. However, because of the miserable pay and because he wanted to marry the merchant's daughter Helene Fleischhauer, who came from Treuenbrietzen, he did not want to accept this.

The medic

The former practice and apartment on Markt 9 on the first floor

Instead he settled in Wittenberg in 1888 as a general practitioner. The first practice was on Schlossstrasse and started after initial health and financial difficulties. When a diphtheria epidemic occurred in Elster (Elbe) , despite many objections, he was the first Wittenberg doctor to treat patients with serum . Due to the steadily increasing popularity, the practice increased, and he set up a practice on Markt 4. However, the conditions here were anything but rosy, because the then owner of the grocery store owner, City Councilor Merker, was extremely stingy. The practice at that time suffered from the miserable house conditions. In 1908, Krüger moved to the practice at today's Markt 9.

During the First World War , Gottfried Krüger was appointed chief physician of a large hospital , where he mainly performed surgical tasks according to the motto “Better to preserve limbs than to amputate them”, which his patients in particular thanked him. Because of his kind, friendly manner and as a tirelessly careful doctor, he enjoyed the trust of the patients.

He was a contracted family doctor and member of the board of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Infirmary and received an honorary salary there, which he made available to the poorly financially strong house. Furthermore, he worked in several municipal and ecclesiastical offices for the good of the city. The city council of Krüger belonged to the city church commission for nursing. For many years he was the shop steward of the Wittenberg medical profession, which he represented in several committees and which elected him to be their chairman and representative in contract negotiations. Within the medical association in the administrative district of Merseburg, he had the delicate trust function of a contract chairman. All contracts concluded with a doctor in the administrative district had to be presented to him for confirmation. His task was to ensure that the performance and payment corresponded to the framework agreements of the time under the conditions of free contract design. In 1920 the medical council and district doctor Krüger was also responsible for the medical care of the toddler schools (kindergartens).

The losses in cash caused by the inflationary period also affected the deposits he had saved for retirement. Also due to declining practice income, which was due to his increased age, he had to give up his practice at Markt 9 and moved to a smaller apartment at Lutherstrasse 51. There he continued practicing until his death and processed all statutory health insurance bills of all Wittenberg doctors on a voluntary basis.

The home explorer

Chapel of the Holy Body at the city church in Lutherstadt Wittenberg

Kruger was not only interested in medicine, the board of directors of the Wittenberg High School Students Association and literature, his greatest passion was local research. During his time at the Wittenberg grammar school, he built a deep inner relationship with Wittenberg. That is why he became one of the initiators of the "Association for local history and homeland security in Wittenberg" founded on February 10, 1910. Fifty-two friends of local history in Wittenberg came together to “look after all areas of local history, especially the history of the city, to collect local history objects and to carry out practical homeland security”. Kruger became the first chairman and contributed with numerous articles in newspapers, lectures and treatises to the fact that the association flourished.

As early as 1910 the desire to build a local history museum grew in the Heimatverein . In addition, some objects came together so that in May 1911 the first museum could be set up in the former courtroom of the town hall on the second floor. On June 16, 1912, this museum was opened for viewing. In March 1913 the local history museum had to move for the first time.

The church authorities granted accommodation in the chapel dedicated to the holy corpse. The opening took place in October 1913. However, due to the constant growth of the collection, the small chapel next to the town church became too small. Since the electoral palace came into municipal ownership in an exchange process, Gottfried Krüger and his friends of the local area were able to move into the first floor with the local history museum in April 1927. On September 30th of the same year the opening took place with numerous guests.

Honorary citizenship

On August 2, 1933, Sanitary Councilor Gottfried Krüger celebrated his 70th birthday. "In grateful recognition of his excellent service in researching local history and collecting historical memorabilia from Wittenberg's past", Krüger was awarded the highest honor in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, the honorary citizen , by the then acting mayor Werner Faber .

Book of honorary citizenship certificates from Gottfried Krüger

Seal on Gottfried Krüger's book of honorary citizenship certificates

The declaration of honorary citizenship is on three pages on handmade paper.

Declaration of honorary citizenship of Gottfried Krüger 1st sheet

Declaration of honorary citizenship Gottfried Krüger's 2nd sheet

Declaration of honorary citizenship Gottfried Krüger's 3rd sheet

On the evening of the same day, the people of Wittenberg, who reverently called him “Ohm Krüger”, celebrated their honorary citizen with a torchlight procession. Gottfried Krüger died on July 3, 1941 at the age of 77 as a result of a stroke. His grave is in the newer northern cemetery on Dresdner Strasse.

Aftermath

The fruit of Kruger’s work, the local history museum, was closed after the end of the Second World War . The exhibits in the castle that were re-erected on October 12, 1952 were transferred to the "property of the people" on January 6, 1954 and temporarily found their home in the Melanchthon House under the direction of Heinrich Kühne until, in 1967, the consideration was given to this local history museum either in the old grammar school at the town church or in the castle. By resolution of May 23, 1968, the local history museum was merged into the newly founded “City History Museum”, which is located in the castle again and whose exhibition was redesigned in 2005.

His second major legacy, the "Association for Local Lore and Home Protection in Wittenberg", was incorporated into the "Working Group of Nature and Home Friends" in the Kulturbund in 1948. It later became the “Society for Local History”, which was also organizationally integrated into the Kulturbund. On March 24, 1992, the “Heimatverein der Lutherstadt Wittenberg und Umgebung eV” was re-established in the “House of Associations” (once “ Hans-Heinrich-Franck-Klub ”, today AOK office building). According to tradition, the Heimatverein declared itself the goal of promoting the imparting and acquisition of knowledge about local history, nature, landscape and environmental protection and the preservation of monuments. Research into local historical events and their connections, research into and maintenance of local traditions, customs and usages, the promotion, preservation and maintenance of the historical cityscape with its monuments and monument ensembles with the support of the preservation of monuments should be the main concern of the association. In order to implement this concern, the Heimatverein supports publications and collections related to the homeland in the various subject areas and offers excursions or hikes.

Fonts

• Hans Lufft and the beginnings of Wittenberg letterpress printing.
• The tragedy in the Zimmermann house.
• 25 years association for local history and homeland security in Wittenberg.
• The Wittenberg local history museum.
• The end of the University of Wittenberg.
• Lutherstadt Wittenberg through the centuries.

literature

• Medical Council Dr. Gottfried Krüger †. In: Wittenberger Tageblatt. 4th July 1941.
• The crown to the merit. In: Wittenberger Anzeiger. August 2, 1933.
• Gustav Gottfried Ulrich Krüger: Some things about my ancestors. Essay.
• Wolfgang Böhmer : Series of publications by the Wittenberg City History Museum. Part 8: On the history of the Wittenberg health and social system Part IV: The first half of the 20th century. Edited by Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 1988.
• Home history sheets. Supplement to the Wittenberger Zeitung. February 1935.
• Heinrich Kühne : Past and present of the Wittenberg City History Museum. In: New Museum Studies. 4/86, ISSN  0028-3282 .
• Burkhard Richter: The Wittenberg cemetery on Dresdner Strasse. In: 2004 home calendar of Lutherstadt Wittenberg & Wittenberg district.
• Christa Johannsen: Lutherstadt Wittenberg between yesterday and tomorrow. Union, Berlin 1967.
• Jens Hüttmann, Peer Pasternack (ed.): Traces of knowledge - education and science in Wittenberg after 1945. Three chestnuts, Lutherstadt Wittenberg 2004, ISBN 3-933028-85-X .
• Founding resolution and statutes of the "Association for local history and homeland security in Wittenberg" of February 10, 1910 in Wittenberg.

Web links

• Literature by and about Gottfried Krüger in the catalog of the German National Library