Helmut Fahsel

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helmut Fahsel, 1929

Helmut Fahsel (born November 2, 1891 in Kiel , † January 15, 1983 in Muralto , Switzerland) was a convert to the Catholic faith, cath. Priest, well-known lecturer and author of religious books.

Live and act

Helmut Fahsel was the son of the editor and later commercial director of the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung , Wilhelm Fahsel († 1896). The boy grew up with his maternal aunt and her Jewish husband in Berlin. These foster parents were childless bankers, very wealthy and especially the uncle promoted the nephew sustainably.

After attending secondary school, Helmut Fahsel worked as a bookseller and antiquarian. On his own initiative and against the will of the foster parents, he also undertook intensive philosophical studies, which led him through Arthur Schopenhauer to Thomas Aquinas , whose philosophy he was most enthusiastic about. Via Aquin's so-called theory of Thomism , he reached autodidactically - as a baptized but internally completely unbelieving Protestant - gradually to accept the Catholic faith. In 1914, before Helmut Fahsel joined the 3rd Guards Regiment as a war volunteer , he officially converted to the Catholic Church in the chapel of the St. Hedwig Hospital .

Due to illness, he had to resign from the army in autumn 1915 and began studying theology to become a Catholic priest during the war at the Canisianum Innsbruck , later in Breslau . In between he worked for financial reasons u. a. as private tutor in the family of Theodor Wolff , editor-in-chief of the Berliner Tageblatt .

Fahsel's circle of friends included the later Jesuit priest, Crown Prince Georg of Saxony , who was also preparing for the priesthood, the Berlin Social Apostle Carl Sonnenschein , but also the famous Rabbi Leo Baeck , with whom he had philosophical and Old Testament interests.

On June 20, 1920, Helmut Fahsel was ordained a priest and employed as a chaplain at St. Clara Church, Berlin-Neukölln . During this time, the then Berlin pastor and later Ermländer Bishop Maximilian Kaller was his soul guide and spiritual advisor. Here, in addition to his pastoral work, the young priest gradually developed into one of the most famous philosophical and religious speakers in Berlin. As a result, he came into sharp contrast to the burgeoning National Socialism , where he was repeatedly labeled as a Jew because of his Jewish uncle, which, however, was not the case. The striker called him u. a. as a “baptized Jew” and “renowned chaplain of the secret Jewish masterminds”, who preached reconciliation with the Jews. From 1924 Fahsel worked as a chaplain with the Franciscans in Schöneiche ; He received sustained support from his bishop Adolf Bertram and finally released from all other services in 1927 for lecturing and publishing activities. Between 1924 and 1933 Helmut Fahsel was one of the most famous personalities of German Catholicism. Joachim Günther describes him in 1977 in his literary sheets Neue deutsche Hefte as “the most famous Catholic lecturer in Germany”, in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1925, Cardinal Karl Joseph Schulte had the chaplain for Pope Pius XI on a visit to Rome . personally, who encouraged him in his lecture work and gave him his special blessing for it.

After the takeover of government by the Nazi regime, Helmut Fahsel had to emigrate to Switzerland in 1934, where he was employed as a pastor and permanently settled. In the 1950s he returned to Germany at times, mainly to give lectures. He was one of the most ardent supporters and defenders of the publicly controversial stigmatized Therese Neumann von Konnersreuth at the time . Helmut Fahsel was also active as a fruitful religious book author. He is also known as "Kaplan Fahsel".

Henriette von Gizycki wrote a biography about Helmut Fahsel. Her late husband, school supervisor Paul von Gizycki, was the cousin and close collaborator of the philosopher Georg von Gizycki . From 1908 Fahsel lived in Berlin, in her house, because his foster parents had engaged Mrs. von Gizycki as a private tutor. The widow initially accompanied the religious and philosophical studies of her pupil critically, but eventually converted through him to the Catholic Church.

Works

In Germania-Verlag , Berlin, 1930, published biography

(Selection)

  • My lectures . Herder Verlag, Freiburg, 1925
  • The lectures at the Singakademie Berlin . Herder Verlag, Freiburg, 1926
  • Conversations with an ungodly . Herder Verlag, Freiburg, 1st edition 1926
  • St. Thomas Aquinas Commentary on the Letter to the Romans . Herder Verlag, Freiburg, 1927
  • Overcoming pessimism: a discussion with Arthur Schopenhauer . Herder Verlag, Freiburg, 1st edition 1925
  • Konnersreuth: facts and thoughts; a contribution to mystical theology and philosophy of religion . Thomas-Verlag, Berlin, 1931
  • The way to happiness . 1932
  • Closer, my God, to you! - Viewing and prayer book . 1941
  • The three kings in legend and based on the visions of Anna Katharina Emmerich . 1941
  • The change of Jesus in the world: depicted according to the visions of Anna Katharina Emmerich, taking into account the Christology of Aquinas . 1942
  • Marriage, love and sex problem . Herder Verlag, Freiburg, 2nd edition 1931
  • Of St. Thomas Aquinas Summa contra gentiles or The Defense of the Supreme Truths in 6 Volumes. Vol. 1 (1942), Vol. 2 (1945), Vol. 3 (1946) and Vol. 4 (1949) published by Fraumünster-Verlag, Zurich / Vol. 5 (1954) a. Vol. 6 (1960) published by Stauffacher-Verlag, Zurich

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Henriette von Gizycki: Kaplan Fahsel in his career with the help of his letters and notes . Germania Verlag, 1930, page 120
  2. ↑ Joachim Günther : Neue deutsche Hefte , Volume 24, 1977, page 173 Scan from the source
personal data
SURNAME Fahsel, Helmut
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Catholic priest, philosopher and writer
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Kiel
DATE OF DEATH January 15, 1983
Place of death Muralto , Switzerland