Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi (born October 9, 1852 in Wenden , Livonia Governorate , Russian Empire ; † February 21, 1918 in Kawershof near Walk , Latvia ), Latvian Heinrihs Leonhards Ādolfijs or Heinrihs Leonhards Adolfi , was a German-Baltic pastor and chess composer . He is considered an Evangelical Lutheran 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

Before the revolutions

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi was the son of the city doctor and well-known poet in Livonia, Alexis Adolphi , a religious man. Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi went to the district school in Wenden from 1862 to 1865 and to the Hollander's institute in Birkenruh from 1865 to 1871 , from which he graduated from high school. In 1871 he was tutor in the pastorate of Serbs in Livonia.

From 1872 to 1876 he studied theology at the University of Dorpat because of his inner drive . From 1872 to 1875 he was a member of the Dorpat Theological Association. In 1875 he became its archivist, later that year its president. He was considered a hard-working student and after graduating as a graduate student and passing the exams at the consistory in Riga from 1876 to 1879, he initially became a tutor again, this time in Ruil in the governorate of Estonia . He spent his probationary year in 1879 with Pastor Auning in Sesswegen in Livonia.

On December 30, 1879, he was ordained pastor of Adsel in Livonia by Ober-Pastor von Holst in the Jakobi Church in Riga , where he worked from 1880. At that time, as a pastor, it was possible for him to officially head the school system in his community. So he often held conferences with his subordinate teachers. He carefully monitored the basic home education of the children by their mothers with exams that preceded their school admission. The improvement of the school system meant a lot to him, but he saw his main task in his spiritual office, which he carried out conscientiously and unselfishly. He preferred to work at his desk; But he was also committed to the construction of the new church in his community, which had become necessary due to the dilapidation of the old wooden church. The new building was executed with granite.

Adolphi was involved in the publication of the Latvian hymn book. He has also composed songs and piano pieces.

On December 29, 1882, he married Anna Maria Brandt, a daughter of Pastor Karl Brandt.

In 1891 he donated a letter from Karl Ernst von Baer to Admiral Ferdinand von Wrangel to the library of the Society for History and Archeology of the Baltic Provinces of Russia .

During the Russian Revolution of 1905

During the Russian Revolution in 1905 and 1906 and its violent excesses, he stayed with his congregation despite the mortal danger for the country pastors. Opponents of the revolution could rely on him; Undecided people let him advise them; Revolutionaries had to fear him as a staunch opponent. The church registers, which contained all of the community's genealogical records, were also endangered by the revolution. For their protection, Adolphi buried them in the ground, with which he saved them from destruction.

Between the revolutions

The revolution was followed by a number of peaceful years, which were very positive for Adolphi. His children grew up, which ended his economic hardship, he noted with gratitude.

It is a letter of January 27, 1907 to Karl Girgensohn with comments on his work Twelve Speeches on the Christian Religion. An attempt to preach the ancient truth to modern people , believed to be from Adolphi.

On Tuesday, January 20th, ^Jul. / February 2, 1909 ^greg. , he gave a lecture in the afternoon at the 3rd annual meeting of the Livonian Mission Conference in Dorpat on the “Hero Age of the Missionary Brothers”.

In August 1910 he opened the Livonian Provincial Synod in Fellin with a morning prayer.

In addition to his spiritual work and his activity as a chess composer (see chapter "Chess") he was active as an author (for example the Christmas story Dseed 'mihła sirds bes breesmas ) and translator into Latvian. He worked extensively in the Latvian-language Protestant press. Adolphi's Latvian sermons have also been published (see chapter “Works”).

The outer mission was Adolphi's specialty. The book At the foot of the mountain giants of East Africa (see chapter "Works"), published in 1912, originated from his pen , which for the first time fundamentally described the work of the Leipzig Mission in East Africa. He also wrote numerous Latvian-language missions. He was also significantly involved in the new Latvian hymnbook.

During the First World War , in January 1915, Adolphi sent a silk scarf , seven pairs of socks and a pair of wrist warmers to the Protestant field hospital.

During the October Revolution

In time for the October Revolution in 1917, maximalist Bolsheviks of Latvian ethnicity came to power in Livonia . The Russian army could not do anything about it. Because of their atheistic ideology, the Bolsheviks also took action against the Church. In his sermons and pastoral activities, Adolphi resisted, which aroused the hostility of the Bolsheviks against himself.

On January 9, 1918, Adolphi refused to hand over the church keys to armed Latvian Bolsheviks who appeared in his pastorate. Nor did it reveal the location of the keys. He and his wife Ellen Adolphi (née Brand, widowed Krause) were seized and dragged to church. There they were greeted by a howling crowd with red flags. A speaker rushed against Adolphi in front of the church door and ruled: “The pastor serves the bloody tsar and the lords in the castles, but does not allow the people to use their property, the church.” From the crowd it echoed back: “In the sack with the black man, throw him into the Aa river . ”The danger for Adolphi grew more and more, but Adolphi did not change his mind, which turned the crowd even more against him. To prevent the pastor from being lynched, a member of the congregation gave the church keys. The church was stormed. Adolphi and his wife were imprisoned in Walk .

Some brave female parishioners stood up for the two of them and, after a few days, achieved the release and the return of the couple to Adsel. The pastor was forbidden to enter the church under penalty of death, which is why the services were now held in the pastorate.

Over the next few days it became increasingly clear to the clergyman that he was going to be martyred. On February 18, 1918, the German army advanced from Riga. The advance was unstoppable; the Russian army and the newly established Latvian rifle regiments fled. Before they left, the Latvian Bolsheviks arrested Adolphi and his wife. They were told that they should be taken to the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic as alleged spies . She and nine other members of the community of German-Baltic and Latvian ethnic groups were brought to Walk and imprisoned in the unheated church. 175 alleged spies from Wenden had previously been interned in Walk, but they had meanwhile been taken to Pleskau . Now it was considered how to deal with the newcomers. The Latvian riflemen believed it was easiest to shoot them. While this was being discussed, the prisoners continued to freeze in the church. With the German troops approaching inexorably, a quick decision had to be made.

On February 21, the prisoners were taken from the church by the Bolsheviks and placed on sleds. The streets were crowded with people who fled German troops when the prisoners were being taken away to Pleskau. The prisoners, including Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi and his wife Ellen Adolphi, née Brandt, were finally slain by their military escort 7.5 km away from Walk near an old jug in Kawershof. The killings were carried out with bayonet stabs and blows with rifle butts. The pastor's body suffered 18 wounds and his wife's 23 injuries. The prisoners were helplessly at the mercy of the soldiers. Those killed were looted.

They lay where they died for two days until German soldiers found them. Her remains were transferred to Adsel and buried in the local cemetery.

After people were killed for anti-religious reasons during and immediately after the Russian Revolution of 1905, another wave of persecution began during the first domination of the Bolsheviks in Livonia between the October Revolution and the entry of German troops in World War I, with Adolphi as the first Christian martyr this wave can be viewed. There was another wave of persecution after the withdrawal of the German troops in the Latvian War of Independence , during which the Bolsheviks temporarily took control again.

chess

Adolphi was a corresponding member of the Riga Chess Club. Several times he sent in correct solutions for the chess problems in the Düna newspaper , sometimes as the only person who sent the intended solution. In addition to the first Latvian-language chess textbook, with which he wanted to promote the spread of the game of chess in the Latvian-speaking area, he also published a German book with chess problems (see chapter "Works"). He headed the chess column in the Latvian magazine Austrums . In this role he organized an international problem tournament for two-moveers. By January 15, 1898, everyone who wanted to take part should send them a chess problem they had thought up and could be solved in two moves. He himself was one of the three judges, the first through third prizes were 25 rubles, 15 rubles and 10 rubles, respectively.

Here are some examples of music composed by Adolphi Two Züger, first of all Austrums :

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi
Austrums, May 1, 1892

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate in two moves

Solution:
1. Rb7 – b3 Ke4 – f4
2. Qc5 – d4 mate , or

1. ... d5 – d4
2. Qc5 – e5 also mate , or

1. ... g5 – g4
2. Qc5 – e3 also mate

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi
Austrums, June 1, 1892

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate in two moves

Solution:
1. Nb7 – c5 Kb4 – b5 or Kb4 – a5
2. Qd1 – a4 mate, or

1. ... Kb4 – c4 or Kb4 – c3 or Kb4 – a3
2. Qd1 – b3 also mate

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi
Austrums, July 1, 1892

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate in two moves

Solution:
1. Bb7 – e4 Kg8 – h8 or Kg8 – h7
2. Rf5 – f8 mate, or

1. ... g7 – g6 or g7 – g5
2. Be4 – d5 also

mate , or 1. ... Bh6– g5
2. Qd4xg7 also mate

From Adolphi's problem friend :

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate in two moves

Solution:
1. Bh4 – e1 Kc6 – b6
2. Rd8 – d6 mate

Another example from Austrums :

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi
Austrums, June 1, 1897

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate in two moves

Solution:
1. Ne4 – f2 Ke3 – d4
2. Qf5 – c5 mate

And from the Baltic youth publication :

Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi
Baltic youth publication, March 1899

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate in two moves

Solution:
1. Nc7 – a6 Kb7 – b6
2. Qa4 – b5 mate, or

1. ... Kb7 – c8
2. Q4 – d7 also mate, or

1. ... Kb7 – a8
2. Q4 – c6 also mate

Works

• Pamahzischana schacha spehlê . Jelgawâ, HJ Drawin-Drawneeka apgahdibâ, 1892.
• The little problem friend. A collection of easy two-move chess problems together with instructions for solving them. Leipzig, Veit, 1896.
• 16 Adolphi's sermons in OEF Krühn: Deews ar mums . Riga, K. Orlowski, 1899.
• Dseed´ mihła sirds bes breesmas . Agency for the Dissemination of Christian Folk Writings, 2nd edition 1902.
• H. Seidel: Militis . Translated into Latvian by HL Adolphi, Agency for the Dissemination of Christian Folk Writings, 1902.
• Letter from Adolphis (presumed author) to Karl Girgensohn dated January 27, 1907, call number NL 120 / A / A / 3, Leipzig University Library.
• At the foot of the mountain giants of East Africa. History of the Leipzig Mission on Kilimanjaro and in the neighboring mountains of H. Adolphi . Leipzig, publisher of evang.-luth. Mission, 1912.

literature

• Alfred Seeberg (Red.): Album of the Theological Association in Dorpat-Jurjew , published by the Theological Association. C. Mattiesen, Dorpat 1905, p. 37, No. 79 ( online ).
• Oskar Schabert : Baltic Martyrs Book . Furche-Verlag, Berlin 1926, p. 63 ff. ( Online ). The report is based on the records of Heinrich Leonhard Adolphis' son, Rudolf Adolphi.
• Twenty years ago . In: Evangelium und Osten: Russischer Evangelischer Pressedienst , No. 5, May 1, 1939, p. 165, online at [2]
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon , Volume I (1990), Column 41 ( Memento from June 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• Harald Schultze , Andreas Kurschat (eds.): "Your end looks at ..." - Protestant martyrs of the 20th century . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02370-7 , Part II, Section Russian Empire / Baltic States , p. 517.
• Kārlis Beldavs: Mācītāji, kas nāvē gāja . Luterisma mantojuma fonds, Riga 2010, ISBN 978-9984-753-56-0 (Latvian).
• Helmut Scheunchen : Lexicon of German Baltic Music. Verlag Harro von Hirschheydt, Wedemark-Elze 2002. ISBN 3-7777-0730-9 , p. 24.

Web links

• The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. 1914
• Nekropole.info (Latvian)
• Compositions by Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi on the Schwalbe's PDB server
• Portrait photos of Heinrich Leonhard Adolphis (top, far left) and his wife Ellen Adolphi (middle row, second picture from right)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. 1914
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Alfred Seeberg (Red.): Album of the Theological Association in Dorpat-Jurjew , published by the Theological Association. C. Mattiesen, Dorpat 1905, p. 37, No. 79 ( online )
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Oskar Schabert : Baltic Martyrs Book . Furche-Verlag, Berlin 1926, p. 63 ff. ( Online ). The report is based on the records of Heinrich Leonhard Adolphis' son, Rudolf Adolphi.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Twenty years ago . In: Evangelium und Osten: Russischer Evangelischer Pressedienst , No. 5, May 1, 1939, p. 165, online at [1]
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon , Volume I (1990), column 41 ( Memento from June 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Nekropole.info (Latvian)
7. ↑ Harald Schultze, Andreas Kurschat (ed.): "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. 517
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ Helmut Scheunchen : Lexicon of German Baltic Music. Harro von Hirschheydt publishing house, Wedemark-Elze 2002. ISBN 3-7777-0730-9 . P. 24.
10. ^ Society for the history and archeology of the Baltic provinces of Russia in Riga. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 72 of March 29, 1891, online under Adolphi | issueType: P
11. ^ The Dorpater "Schwarze Woche" in the Düna newspaper , No. 5 of January 8, 1909, online under Pastor Adolphi | issueType: P
12. ^ From the Livonian Provincial Synod in Fellin. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 193 of August 24, 1910, online under Adolphi | issueType: P
13. ↑ Protestant field hospital. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 19 of January 24, 1915, online under Adolphi | issueType: P
14. ↑ Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi on Enzyklo ( Memento from June 5, 2014 in the web archive archive.today )
15. ↑ Harald Schultze and Andreas Kurschat (eds.): "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. 517 ( Online , PDF)
16. ↑ Chess. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 40 of February 19, 1896, online under Pastor Adolphi | issueType: P
17. ↑ Chess. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 13 of June 17, 1896, online under Adolphi | issueType: P
18. ↑ Chess. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 25 of January 31, 1904, online under Adolphi | issueType: P
19. ↑ Chess. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 244 of October 26, 1892, online under Adolphi | issueType: P
20. ↑ Annual report of the Kurland director of the Latvian literary society in the Düna newspaper , No. 285 of December 15, 1893, online under Adolphi | issueType: P
21. ↑ Chess. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 146 of July 2, 1897, online under Pastor Adolphi | issueType: P
22. ^ Task from the problem friend on Futility Closet
23. ↑ Problems 101 to 103 from Yet another chess problem database
24. ↑ ^{a b c d e} [ compositions by Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi on the Schwalbe's PDB server ]
25. ↑ A Latvian Sermon Book. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 260 of November 18, 1899, online under Pastor Adolphi Pastor Pastor | issueType: P
26. ↑ New fonts. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 280 of December 12, 1902, online under Pastor Adolphi | issueType: P