Heinrich Bosse (clergyman)

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Heinrich Bosse (born August 6, 1871 in Wohlfahrt , Livonia Gouvernement , Russian Empire ; † February 16, 1919 in Bickern Forest near Riga , Latvia ), Latvian Heinrihs Bose , was a German-Baltic clergyman. He is considered a Protestant martyr and is recorded on the Riga Martyrs Stone.

The dates in this article are based on the Julian calendar for the period up to 1918 unless otherwise noted.

Life

Inauguration

Heinrich Bosse's grandfather and father were pastors in welfare. Heinrich Bosse himself was ordained on April 26, 1898. After almost ten years as a religion teacher at the Riga Stock Exchange Commercial School, he was also appointed preacher in welfare in 1910 by the patrons of the parish with the consent of the community. The consistory agreed. He took office at the beginning of July.

When Heinrich Bosse took office, he found a completely different situation than his father or grandfather. The Russian Revolution of 1905 had also changed the position of the pastor, who could no longer act as patriarch as before. There were numerous grievances in the community, which bosses had to deal with in a clear way. Even though he sometimes passed harsh judgments, he felt connected to the community. This was particularly evident in his active concern for destitute parishioners. Everyone who sought help from him received it. In addition to pastoral matters, Bosse also took care of school matters. In doing so, he constantly took action against the nihilism that was spreading among younger teachers. He feared that it could spoil the school youth. This fight earned bosses numerous opponents. But the core of the community stood behind him.

World War and Revolution

The First World War brought numerous difficulties for Heinrich Bosse. So 40 Russian soldiers were billeted in his parsonage. An undisturbed family life was no longer possible under these circumstances.

After the October Revolution , there were conflicts with the Bolsheviks . An example may be a situation where a squad with a red flag came to bosses and asked them to accompany them to church. They intended to sing revolutionary songs in which they would accompany the organ. The pastor should also give a speech. Bosse firmly refused, so that the squad had to withdraw again.

A little later, a group of young men entered his office. They arrested him and detained him at the meeting house. He could still call out to his wife:

"They can kill my body, my soul is in God's hands."

Word of the arrest spread in the community. Followers of the clergyman immediately banded together and freed him. For a short time he was left in peace.

As the war progressed, the Russian troops withdrew. Latvian Bolsheviks remained, who now exercised control. In the middle of the night the wife of the parish clerk, a Latvian woman, came and reported that she had overheard a Bolshevik gathering from hiding. It had just been decided there to shoot Bosse and his entire family.

A little later, Latvian Red Army soldiers actually went to the rectory. The pastor was able to flee to trusted parishioners. The Latvian who warned bosses was later shot dead by the Bolsheviks as a traitor.

The German occupation followed, during which there was no longer any danger to bosses from the Bolsheviks. The family returned. The German troops now carried out a purge against the Bolsheviks. The field court also passed a death sentence against Feldscher Rogul, who was particularly prominent in the actions of the Bolsheviks. A son of Rogul had been involved in the arrest of Bosses. The identity of the informer against Rogul is unknown. It was later ruled out that it was the pastor; But opponents made him responsible.

Exile and imprisonment in Riga

At the end of the world war, the German troops were withdrawn. In the Latvian War of Independence that followed , the Bolsheviks moved in again. It was clear to Heinrich Bosse what this would mean for him and his family. Friends convinced him to go into exile with his family in Riga.

On February 3, 1919, a son of Rogul recognized him there on the street. He ran up to the pastor, calling out loud; Communists rushed over and cuffed the priest's hands behind his back. Heinrich Bosse and his wife, who had accompanied him, were taken into custody. An angry detective and Rogul's son interrogated him. He was mistreated and beaten for being held responsible for Rogul's death. Bosse and his wife were taken to Matthew Prison. The pastor was detained in a solitary cell.

The following night was full of horror for him. Bolsheviks kept coming into the cell and not letting him sleep. He was threatened with a gun; He was also alleged to have taken revenge on his children by hanging them and throwing their bodies on the street. The pastor's psyche collapsed; he had a fit of anger. His wife was detained across the corridor. She found it difficult to convince a guard to let her see her husband. She comforted him, seeing through that the report about the children was deliberate misinformation intended to torment bosses. He calmed down and seemed to regain hope.

The woman had also arranged for him to be transferred to a shared cell with good company. Bosse calmed down further and found his trust in God again. He now held devotions with his fellow prisoners. He even prayed for the Bolsheviks.

Death sentence and execution

On February 13, 1919, Heinrich Bosse was represented at the eighth session of the Bolshevik Revolutionary Tribunal together with the tenant Ernst Bergson, the landowner Friedrich von Lieven and Dr. med. Edgar Mey was sentenced to death for so-called "offenses" committed during the Russian Revolution from 1905 to 1907. Two alcohol-dependent thieves were also sentenced to death.

Other thieves only received sentences of 1½ to 3 months of community service because of their “difficult material situation”. One burglar was even acquitted because his break-in was supposedly an unauthorized search of a house.

Ms. Bosse was released on February 15. She said goodbye to her husband, who now looked composed and said:

"I know my way, raise our children in faith and fear of God."

On the morning of February 16, 1919, a car could be heard outside the prison. The sound was familiar to the prisoners and made them flinch every time. The pastor and a fellow prisoner were called out of the cell. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. They were put in the vehicle and brought quickly through the darkness to the Bickern Forest. The exact circumstances under which Heinrich Bosse was shot are unknown.

On May 22nd, Riga was conquered by the opponents of the Bolsheviks. Bosses remains have now been found. His outerwear was gone; his left upper arm had also been crushed. He was buried in the Wohlfahrter Friedhof.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oskar Schabert : Baltic Martyrs Book . Furche-Verlag, Berlin 1926. pp. 110-113. ( Digital copy , the report is based on the records of Mrs. Heinrich Bosses, née Förster, and Pastor O. Krauses from Ermes )
  2. ↑ a b c Theological Association: Addendum to the album of the Theological Association in Dorpat , C. Mattiesen, Dorpat 1929, p. 42, No. 135 (there confused with Alexander Anton Bosse, see Alfred Seeberg : Album of the Theological Association in Dorpat-Jurjew , Theological Association, Dorpat-Jurjew 1905, p. 60, No. 135 )
  3. ^ A b Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz:  Heinrich Bosse (clergyman). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 712-713. Reading sample online at [1] .
  4. ↑ Kārlis Beldavs: Mācītāji, kas nāvē gāja , Luterisma mantojuma fonds, Riga 2010, ISBN 978-9984-753-56-0 (Latvian). Reading sample as pdf under Archived Copy ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lmf.lv
  5. ↑ Harald Schultze and Andreas Kurschat (editors): "Your end looks at ..." - Evangelical Martyrs of the 20th Century , Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02370-7 , Part II, Section Russian Empire / Baltic States , P. 523. Reading sample as pdf under [2] .
  6. ^ Calendar reform by the Bolsheviks on February 1st July. / February 14,  1918 greg. , Declaration of independence of Latvia on November 5th jul. / November 18,  1918 greg.
  7. ↑ The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. 1914.
  8. ↑ a b c domestic. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 124 of June 2, 1910, online at Bosse Pastor | issueType: P
  9. ↑ a b Twenty years ago . Article in the Rigaschen Rundschau No. 36 of February 13, 1939, online at periodika.lv
  10. ↑ Claus von Aderkas : The Testimony of the Baltic Martyrs in the Years 1918/1919 . In: Church in the East. Studies on Eastern European Church History and Ecclesiastical Studies , Vol. 39, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1996, ISBN 3-525-56385-X , pp. 13-29; therein on Heinrich Bosse pp. 24–25. Reading sample on Google Books
  11. ↑ Twenty years ago. In: Evangelium und Osten: Russischer Evangelischer Pressedienst , No. 5 of May 1, 1939, p. 166, online at periodika.lv
personal data
SURNAME Bosses, Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bose, Heinrihs
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Baltic clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH August 6, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Rectory of Wohlfahrt , Livonia Governorate , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1919
Place of death Bickern Forest near Riga , Latvia