Heinrich Kasch

Heinrich Friedrich Lorenz Kasch (* 29. June 1889 in Flensburg , † 26. February 1941 in Timmendorfer beach ) was a doctor of German Evangelical Lutheran pastor and pastor in the Lutheran Evangelical Lutheran Church in Schleswig-Holstein , which after initial affiliation to the German Christians switched to the side of the Confessing Church .

Live and act

Origin and family

Kasch's father came from the area around Lake Plön and came to Flensburg as a young man . He became a teacher there and met a young woman from Handewitt , whom he married and with whom he had five children. Heinrich Kasch was the oldest son. The father died early (at the age of 58), the mother survived him by 30 years.

Studies and Vicariate

Kasch received his school leaving certificate at the Royal High School in Flensburg on September 8, 1909 and then studied Protestant theology in Erlangen , a. a. with Werner Elert . In October 1913 he passed his first theological exam. His thesis dealt with Wilhelm Löhe's doctrine of the Church, which he later expanded into an inaugural dissertation to obtain the dignity of a licentiate in theology.

On October 1, 1914, he was assigned to the church provost Löding in Lütjenburg as teaching vicar. On October 16, 1915, he passed the second theological examination and was ordained a pastor on October 31, 1915 in the Marienkirche in Flensburg. The royal consistory in Kiel sent him as “provincial vicar” first to Flensburg (October 31, 1915 to January 12, 1916) and then to Süderbrarup (January 13 to May 13, 1916) to represent the sick pastor Heinrich.

Pastor in Nordhackstedt

On May 14, 1916, Kasch was appointed pastor of the parish of Nordhackstedt . He also took over the local school supervision there. On June 3, 1919, he passed his oral licentiate examination in Erlangen. On September 25, 1919, he married his fiancée Martha Köster from Altena in Westphalia. Two sons were born: Wilhelm Kasch in 1921 and Gustav Kasch in 1923. Provost Hermann Siemonsen , Flensburg, praised the effectiveness of Kasch in Nordhackstedt in the church visit report of the church provost of Flensburg of December 8, 1926 as a "blessed" one.

Provost in leak

On October 16, 1928, Kasch was appointed provost of the Southern Tondern provost with the official seat in Leck .

At the end of April 1933, Kasch invited the Gauleiter of the German Christians, Pastor Adalbert Paulsen , to a lecture in front of the pastorship of the provost of South Tondern. He recorded as its German-Christian basic ideas: the inviolability of traditional beliefs, the connection between Christianity and German nationality and the creation of an imperial church.

“Of the three concerns, the new popular Christianity was the most important to him. The DC would have to break and bridge the previous walls between Christianity and nationality, but this does not mean a new understanding of politics and the state. For this German Christianity he expressly fends off any racial hatred as 'a farce, a pointlessness'. "

With such a measured and idiosyncratic interpretation of the faith movement, Paulsen remained far behind the official line of the DC, which had been articulated at its first Reich meeting at the beginning of April.

On July 11, 1933, Kasch wrote to Pastor Paulsen that Pastor Reinhard Wester was available as the "Propteilleiter of the Faith Movement of German Christians". With the same letter he sent his "declaration of accession to the German Christians" to Paulsen.

Pastor Ernst Henschen reported later that Heinrich Kasch asked the ministerial brothers “in the spring of 1933” at a pastors' convention in Niebüll to “register themselves in the present declarations ... as members of the German Christians. There would surely be a great wave of evangelism on our part from the DC , and it would be a shame if we were excluded from it. "

Pastor Wester from Westerland informed his provost Kasch on August 18, 1933 that he would resign from this movement and that his provost office would not be represented at the regional synod. It is not known when Kasch left the “German Christian Faith Movement”.

On October 25, 1933, Kasch was released from the administration of the provost's office in the provost's office in Südtondern and an appointment to a pastor's position at St. Jürgen's Church in Kiel was considered. This took place on November 15, 1933.

Pastor in Kiel

After Kasch's attempt to hold church and society, gospel and fatherland together, had been rejected by the new church leaders, SS people occasionally sat in his services during his time in Kiel to listen to him and to signal that he was seen as a critic has been.

In the list of members of the Schleswig-Holstein Confessional Community he has been listed since 1934 under the heading "Propstei Kiel".

Kasch took part in the pastors' meeting in Rendsburg in March 1935, which made its way to the Confessing Church. He and his colleague Richard Schacht made the St. Jürgen Church in Kiel available for the First Synod of Confessions on July 17, 1935. Kasch helped train vicars, including those who left the preacher's seminary in Preetz in July 1935 for reasons of confession. He participated in the second theological exams of the confessional community. The head of the Kiel Confessional Community, Johannes Moritzen, said: "If an agreement could be reached with Lorentzen , Hansen, Kasch and Jessen on a matter , then it could start."

Sickness and death

In the spring of 1938, Kasch fell ill with tuberculosis and "sought a cure from it in the south of our fatherland". In the spring of 1939 he was allowed to return to the community "significantly better". But despite some cooperation, the strengths were not enough to administer the office. It was not until February 1940 that the doctor issued the certificate to resume official work. But after a short time the office became too difficult again. Therefore, in June 1940, Kasch submitted the application for temporary retirement, which was granted on August 1, 1940 "leaving the salary and the official apartment" until October 1, 1940.

The family moved from Kiel to Timmendorfer Strand. The son Gustav went to school in Lübeck for almost a year before he graduated from high school in Flensburg, i.e. returned to his grandmother's house on Jürgensgaarder Straße . Wilhelm Kasch had already graduated from high school, did labor service, studied Protestant theology in Erlangen for two semesters before joining the navy , with the flak in Kiel and coming to Narvik with the raid on Norway .

Heinrich Kasch died on February 26, 1941 in Timmendorfer Strand. The coffin with the remains was brought by train from Timmendorf to Flensburg. The funeral took place on March 1, 1941 in the Adelbyer Friedhof . The funeral service for Heinrich Kasch was held by Provost Hermann Siemonsen , Schleswig.

After the war, his widow Martha Kasch became director of the Theological Study House in Kiel Monastery and recipient of the university medal from the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel .

Awards

On February 23, 1918, Kasch was awarded the " Cross of Merit for War Aid "

Fonts

• Wilhelm Löhe's doctrine of the church in its development presented and assessed by Lic. Heinrich Kasch, pastor in Nordhackstedt near Flensburg, Flensburg 1920 (inaugural dissertation to obtain a licentiate degree at the theological faculty of the University of Erlangen Nuremberg).
• Bridge to Eternity. A guide to brave Christian faith for seekers of truth , Breklum: Missionsbuchhandlung 1939.

literature

• Brother Council of the Confessional Community (ed.): What is right before God. First Confessional Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schleswig-Holstein on July 17, 1935 in Kiel , Westerland / Sylt: Office of the Confessional Community 1935.
• Paul M. Dahl, Experienced Church History. The time of the church committees in the Ev.-Luth. State Church of Schleswig-Holstein 1935–1938 . Manuscript completed in 1980, revised for the Internet and edited. by Matthias Dahl, Christian Dahl and Peter Godzik 2017 (online at geschichte-bk-sh.de) .
• Ernst Henschen: Happy and courageous through the country , in: Wolfgang Prehn (Hrsg.): Time to walk the narrow path. Witnesses report on the church struggle in Schleswig-Holstein , Kiel: Lutherische Verlagsgesellschaft 1985, pp. 47–52.
• Klauspeter Reumann: The church struggle in Schleswig-Holstein from 1933 to 1945 , in: Schleswig-Holstein Church history. Vol. 6/1: Church between self-assertion and external determination , Neumünster 1998, pp. 111–451.
• Klaus H. Kasch: On the bridge. Heinrich and Martha live believing in dark times , Rendsburg 2019 (private print).

Individual evidence

1. ^ KKA Südtondern, Leck, File II, 19, transcript from Propst Kasch. Quoted from: Klauspeter Reumann: Der Kirchenkampf in Schleswig-Holstein ... , 1998, p. 138.
2. ↑ Henschen: Fröhlich und courageous ... , 1985, p. 47.
3. ↑ http://www.geschichte-bk-sh.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Quellen/Pastoren_der_BK_in_SH.pdf
4. ^ Paul M. Dahl: Miterlebte Kirchengeschichte ... , 1980, p. 59.
5. ↑ During his short stay in St. Blasien he wrote the little book The Bridge to Eternity - A Guide to Brave Christian Faith for Truth Seekers . It became his theological legacy.
6. ^ From the parish chronicle of St. Jürgen.
7. ↑ Pastor Haupt: Report on the funeral of Heinrich Kasch , in: Am Sehrohr der Zeit “St. Jürgen Bote ” , March 16, 1941.
8. ↑ Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel: Personnel and course catalog summer semester 1971 , p. 4.