Heinrich Schniers

Heinrich Schniers (around 1930)

Heinrich Schniers (born March 25, 1880 in Wippingen ; † August 30, 1942 in Dachau concentration camp ) was a Catholic clergyman and a victim of National Socialism.

Life

Heinrich Schniers attended the Antonianum grammar school in Vechta . In 1907 he was in Osnabrück for priests ordained. He took up his first position as a preceptor (spiritual teacher) of the Konviktes in Meppen , from 1910 to 1913 he was chaplain in Nordhorn , from 1913 to 1921 school rector in Fürstenau and from 1921 to 1933 chaplain at St. Bonifatius in Lingen (Ems) . On May 1, 1933, he was appointed pastor at St. Michael in Leer . He quickly got into an open conflict with the Nazi regime. On December 17, 1941, he was taken into “ protective custody ” because of alleged “defeatist statements” when visiting a family . At Christmas time he was released at the request of the parish and the city of Leer, but was arrested again on December 27th. He was taken to the judicial prison in Nordenham . After months of public prosecution investigations, he was transferred to the Gestapo and on March 19, 1942, in convict clothing, was taken through the streets of Leer. On April 3, 1942, he was deported to Dachau concentration camp. On August 30, 1942, he died there of starvation and extremely difficult work. His urn was buried on October 14, 1942 in Wippingen. Heinrich Schniers was the home pastor of the blessed Lübeck martyr Chaplain Hermann Lange .

Appreciation

The Catholic Church accepted Heinrich Schniers as a witness of faith in the German martyrology of the 20th century . Streets in Lingen and Wippingen are named after him. His chalice is exhibited in the Josefskirche in Lingen.

literature

• Heinz-Josef Abeln: Art. Schniers, Heinrich, in: Study Society for Emsländische Regionalgeschichte (Ed.): Emsländische Geschichte, Vol. 16, Haselünne 2009, pp. 226–237.
• Helmut Moll (publisher on behalf of the German Bishops' Conference), witnesses for Christ. The German Martyrology of the 20th Century , 7th revised and updated edition Paderborn u. a. 2019, ISBN 978-3-506-78012-6 , Volume I, pp. 566-568.
• “Witnesses for Christ”. The martyrs of the UNITAS association in the 20th century. A compilation of the life pictures of Bbr. Lambert Klinke MA with content and methodological considerations by Prelate Dr. Helmut Moll , Unitas 2/2000 (PDF; 635 kB), p. 8.

Web links

• Life dates