Gustav Peters (local history researcher)

Gustav August Peters (born August 27, 1891 in Jarrenwisch ; † July 27, 1979 in Eutin ) was a German teacher and local researcher.

Life and work as a teacher

Gustav Peters was a son of the farmer Claus Peters (* October 28, 1832 in Jarrenwisch; † October 27, 1902 in Eutin) and his wife Antje Christine, née Hennings (* December 1, 1858, † January 14, 1947), their father the compatriot Peter Hennings was. The family's ancestors had lived as farmers in Dithmarschen for a long time.

Due to financial difficulties, his father had to sell the farm in Jarrenwisch. Instead, he leased a small piece of land with a restaurant in Bosau , where the family moved in 1892. The father suffered another economic shipwreck there, probably also due to age, so that the family became completely impoverished. In 1901 Peters went to Eutin with his parents, where he attended the extended boys' school.

After his confirmation in 1906, Peters started training at the CF Janus trading company in Eutin. He later published about the history of the company. His former teachers successfully asked Friedrich August von Oldenburg for a scholarship for their former student. This made it possible for Peters, who only had an elementary school certificate and dropped out of teaching, to attend the teachers' college in Lübeck from 1907 . On December 9, 1912, he received an apprenticeship at the municipal secondary school from the Eutin magistrate, where he was to teach preschool classes. He passed the teaching examination ten days later with distinction. He worked there from Easter 1913 and mostly gave science classes.

Peters served in the war during the First World War and was seriously injured on the Western Front. He used a vacation from the hospital to pass the second teaching examination in July 1917. During a stay in Berlin in November 1917, he prepared for the examination for secondary school teachers. In January 1918 he received leave from the Eutin School, which at the beginning of the Weimar Republic became a secondary school for boys and a lyceum for girls. Peters got a job at the girls' school. In November 1920 he passed the high school teacher examination for mathematics and biology.

In April 1924 Peters changed at his own request as head of the girls' elementary school in Eutin, whose rector he became a little later. He took up educational reform approaches from Eduard Spranger , Hugo Gauding and, above all, Georg Kerschensteiner's work school program and made numerous changes. This included school meals, a school kitchen, a school garden and health care. He demanded committed work from his colleagues and was able to inspire the teachers for his projects. For the necessary money, he collected donations from socially minded residents and sold products from the school garden. When unemployment rose significantly, he offered a voluntary ninth school year from 1928, in which mostly household topics were taught. The teachers worked unpaid; He made school operations possible through donations. In 1938 the education authority ended this program.

On August 11, 1928, Peters, who was positive about the Weimar Republic, gave a speech on the anniversary day of the Weimar Constitution . After seizing power in 1932, the NSDAP tried to remove Peters, whom they accused of disloyalty, from office. He followed repeated appeals from the Oldenburg State Ministry and joined the party so that he could continue to work in the school. Even after that, he was considered politically unreliable, but was allowed to continue to run the school.

After the end of the war, Peters initially worked as a provisional district school councilor. Because of his party membership, the British military government revoked his teaching license in August 1945. He went through a denazification process and from September 1, 1947 worked as the main teacher at the school in Fissau . In the spring of 1949 he took over the management of the Eutin boys' school. From 1952 until his retirement in 1957 he worked as the principal of the newly founded middle school in Eutin. The number of students tripled during his tenure.

Working as a local researcher

Peters was a well-known homeland researcher who dealt with the region and the city of Eutin. According to Eduard Spranger's ideas, he saw local studies as an important educational content that could clearly illustrate the interaction of nature, culture and history. In 1919 he created a pedagogical circle for practical implementation, which he headed from 1924 as chairman of an official working group. In the same year he joined the newly founded "Advice Center for Local Studies", which he headed from 1930. He also edited the “Blätter für Heimatkunde”, which was enclosed with a local newspaper, and headed the Heimatmuseum, which was initially located in a small gym. Since he could not hold any organized exhibitions here, he used vacant classrooms for teaching exhibitions, which over time developed into traveling exhibitions. In 1936 the museum moved to the premises of the previous St. Georgs Hospital. After the exhibits were looted towards the end of the Second World War, Peters relocated the remains. He took care of the museum on a voluntary basis until his death and organized the first exhibition at the previous location in 1968.

Peters carefully observed the prehistoric archaeological work in the region around Eutin. As he knew a lot about archaeological monuments and was familiar with the historical context, experts contacted him regularly as a consultant. He made a special contribution to the excavations and the accompanying documentation of the Braak couple of gods . In 1966 he took over as a founding member of the board of directors of the "Association for the care and promotion of local history in the Eutin district". He wrote a lot of small essays about his findings, which initially appeared in the “Blätter für die Heimatkunde”, then in the “Jahrbuch für Heimatkunde im Kreis Eutin”. In retirement he completed his portrayal of the history of the city of Eutin.

From 1945, Peters also ran the Eutin library on a voluntary basis . Due to the relocation of important holdings from the former state library , this was an extremely difficult task. Peters tried to maintain the Low German language and literature. His special concern was Wilhelm Wisser , whose stories he often read aloud. In 1947 he initiated the Low German "Stadtgill Eutin", which he headed until 1971 as chairman.

Honors

Peters has received numerous awards for his services:

• In 1958 he received the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon, and in 1974 the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class.
• In 1956 the University of Kiel awarded him the University Medal .
• In 1966 he received the Eutin Ring of Honor.
• In 1970 he was awarded the Freiherr vom Stein Medal .
• In 1971 the city of Eutin made him an honorary citizen.
• In 1973 the Schleswig-Holsteinische Heimatbund awarded him the Lornsen chain .
• The city of Eutin named a school after him during his lifetime.

family

In 1918 Peters married Helene Catharine Friederike Kort, who died on October 18, 1924 in Eutin. In his second marriage, he married the teacher Gertrud Franz (born March 20, 1906 in Dahlerbrück ) on October 6th . She was a daughter of the teacher Karl Franz. The second marriage had two daughters and a son.

literature

• Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 283-286.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 283.
2. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 283.
3. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 283.
4. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 283-284.
5. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 284.
6. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 284.
7. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 284.
8. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 284-285.
9. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 285.
10. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 285.
11. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 285.
12. ^ Otto Rönnpag: Peters, Gustav . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 283.