Heinrich Balthasar Wagnitz

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Heinrich Balthasar Wagnitz

Heinrich Balthasar Wagnitz (born September 8, 1755 in Halle (Saale) , † February 28, 1838 there ) was a German theologian and prison preacher. He is considered one of the most important reformers of German penal law.

Life

Wagnitz came to Halle a./S in 1755 as the son of a merchant. to the world. As the only child of his parents, he grew up well protected. The early Christian upbringing at home laid the foundation for his future life. At the age of 17 he began studying theology at the (Pietistic) Friedrichs University in Halle . His scientific inclination and his later thinking were shaped by the enlightenment approach of his teachers.

In 1775 Wagnitz left the university to take up the position of tutor for two years. In June 1777 he was elected fourth preacher of the Market Church of Our Dear Women . In this function he had few official business to do. This gave him space to pursue his scientific interests. He turned down attractive offers of a professorship in theology in Kiel or a position as field preacher in an infantry regiment .

The year 1784 was of particular importance for Wagnitz both professionally and privately. In addition to his position as a preacher at the Marienkirche, he also became a preacher at the breeding and workhouse in Halle. He kept this position until the institution was closed in 1817. In 1784 he married Louise Hirsekorn. The couple had a childless, but apparently happy relationship for 38 years. Both campaigned for poor children and students, who were mainly supported by the fund of the Hallische Patriotisches Wochenblatt , of which he was editor for many years.

His greatest creative power began with his office as preacher at the penitentiary . For 20 years he dealt with the "moral improvement" of the prisoners that moved him. Inspired by John Howard's efforts to improve penal institutions in England, Wagnitz devoted himself to the general improvement of penitentiaries in Germany. At his instigation, various changes were made to the furnishings of the breeding and work house in Halle, which was already one of the best in Germany at the end of the 18th century. Wagnitz supplemented his diverse practical work with a lively literary activity. In three large works he dealt intensively with the questions of the execution of custodial sentences, the appropriate establishment of penitentiaries, appropriate treatment of prisoners and their "moral improvement". With these writings he made a significant contribution to the fact that the public was interested in the unpopular subject of the penal system for the first time . Wagnitz massively criticized the faulty establishment of the penitentiaries. He put together a list of deficiencies based on his own observations or the evaluation of others, which concern the buildings, the economic system, the origin, selection and training of the officials and care, employment and "moral improvement" of the prisoners . The question of civil servants always remained a core problem.

The reports by John Howard and other contemporaries also show that the importance of suitable officials was clearly recognized as early as 1780. In particular, attention is drawn to the supervisory officers, their sufficient number and appropriate pay. But only Wagnitz took up these demands in full. His demand for training was fundamentally new. He energetically emphasized the importance of the prison staff for the realization of the purpose of the punishment: “Everything depends on them, on their knowledge of the world and people, on the way they treat their subordinates, on the example they give them, on the supervision, who lead them off ” . For the qualified training of the " Officianten " (see also General Enforcement Service ) Wagnitz suggested: "... for prison administrators, hospital fathers and prison guards , in every province and in the place where there is a prison and hospital, a seminarium (to be set up) in which not only what should be the main thing, their moral character and their intellectual powers tested, but in which they could also be prepared for their future service, as far as a preparation is generally possible ... " .

His suggestions for personnel selection, management and, above all, training were particularly pointed and extensive. He realized that this was the core of the grievances in the penitentiaries. As long as nothing was changed in the selection or the training of the staff, the deficiencies described would also remain. So he focused his penal reform proposals on two things, the establishment of penal institutions and the staff working in them. Wagnitz interests also had an impact on participation in public life. As a university teacher he received scientific honors , as superintendent clergy and, as it turned out on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in office at the Marienkirche in Halle in 1827, all the usual civil honors. Old age and frequent illnesses forced him to leave part of his duties as a preacher at the Marienkirche to his colleagues in office.

At his own request, Wagnitz was retired on July 1, 1834 after 57 years of service as a preacher and finally as chief preacher at the Marienkirche in Halle. He then gradually withdrew from public life. He died on February 28, 1838 at the age of 83.

The Hesse penitentiary operates a service center under the name HB Wagnitz-Seminar in the Joseph-Baum-Haus near Wiesbaden.

Awards

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ knast.net ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.knast.net
  2. ^ History of the Waldheim correctional facility
  3. ↑ Ralph Christian Amthor: The history of vocational training in social work: in search of professionalization and identity , Juventa publishing house, 2003, ISBN 3779917033 [1]
  4. ^ Repertory of the Entire German Literature 15 (1838), p. 11
predecessor Office successor
Georg Christian Erhard Westphal Senior Pastor at the Marktkirche Our Dear Women
1809–1834 		Fear god Christian Fulda
personal data
SURNAME Wagnitz, Heinrich Balthasar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian, university professor and prison preacher
DATE OF BIRTH September 8, 1755
PLACE OF BIRTH Halle (Saale)
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 1838
Place of death Halle (Saale)