Gustav Hoffmann (historian)

Gustav Hoffmann (born July 13, 1875 in Leukershausen near Crailsheim , † September 25, 1952 in Löchgau ) was a German Protestant pastor , historian and Württemberg church historian .

Life

Hoffmann was the son of a pastor and attended school in Oberroth , where his father worked at the time. He then switched to the Latin school in Gaildorf , where he could stay with his grandparents during the week. After attending secondary school in Hall , he studied theology in Tübingen from 1889 to 1897. He then spent his vicariate with his father, who had meanwhile moved to Mönsheim , where he was then parish administrator. In 1902 he came to Welzheim as city and parochial vicar . In 1906 he received his first pastor's position in Geifertshofen . In 1918 he became pastor in Löchgau and kept this pastor's position until his retirement in 1948.

From 1907 he was married to Selma Leitz, the daughter of the dean of Welzheim. The marriage had ten children, two of whom died young. All four sons died in World War II, four daughters survived their father.

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Even as a young man Hoffmann was interested in history, even though he had only taken one course on the Franco-German War of 1870/71 during his studies. Carl Heinrich Weizsäcker and the private lecturer Alfred Hegler may have imparted to him basic concepts of church history . Hoffmann acquired his extensive historical knowledge himself only after completing his studies. During his time in Mönsheim (1897–1902) he wrote a history of the village that appeared in 1904. He also carried out studies of local history at his other places of activity, the results of which appeared as separate publications or as articles in newspapers and magazines. He was a founding member of the Association for Wuerttemberg Church History, founded in 1920 . In 1932 he published his main work, which was essentially written as early as 1925, the reference work Church Saints in Württemberg , in which the patron saints of all churches, chapels and altars are listed with the time of their first mention. Hoffmann continued to work in the field of homeland and church history research into old age, with lecturing being the focus of his work in this regard in his later years.

Fonts

• with Karl Seeger: Chronicle of the community Mönsheim. Mönsheim community, Mönsheim 1904 and 1984.
• Church saint in Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1932.

literature

• Martin Leube: Pastor i. R. Gustav Hoffmann on his 75th birthday. in Blätter für Wuerttemberg Church History 50. p. 3, Stuttgart 1950.
• Obituary Gustav Hoffmann , in Blätter für Wuerttemberg Church History 52. S. 167, Stuttgart 1952.
• H. Haering: Gustav Hoffmann , in Blätter für Wuerttemberg Church History 55. pp. 130–142, Stuttgart 1955.
• Thomas Schulz (editor): Löchgau - contributions to local history. Ludwigsburg 2004.