Hermann Umfrid

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Hermann Umfrid (born June 20, 1892 in Stuttgart , † January 21, 1934 in Niederstetten ) was a German Protestant pastor in the city of Niederstetten, who resisted National Socialism and was himself a victim.

biography

Hermann Umfrid was born on June 20, 1892 in Stuttgart as the son of the theologian and pacifist Otto Umfrid . After initially studying law , Hermann Umfrid switched to theology . After passing his exams in 1917, he received his first permanent pastor's post after nine vicariate and pastor administratorships in Kaisersbach in 1922 , because the church disapproved of his father's activities as a pacifist.

In 1922 he married his wife Irmgard Silcher, with whom he had four children. In 1929 he was transferred to the small Franconian town of Niederstetten.

Resistance to National Socialism

On the morning of March 25, 1933, a troop of SA and Gestapo men and detectives came to Niederstetten and other Hohenlohe communities. They broke into the houses and apartments of Jewish citizens, searched them and took the men to the town hall. There they were detained, mistreated with steel rods, and some of them were taken to concentration camps.

In his sermon the following day, Pastor Hermann Umfrid condemned these acts in the strongest possible terms and reminded them that true Christianity must not stand up for crimes of this kind.

After his sermon, Umfrid received a reprimand from the Oberkirchenrat and was harassed by the National Socialists. He was interrogated and threatened with imprisonment in a concentration camp. Despite the pressure on him, Umfrid continued to show solidarity with the Jews. Umfrid himself received no support from any side. In January 1934 he was asked by the district leader to give up his office. On January 21, 1934, Umfrid finally committed suicide, probably also to protect his family.

literature

  • Saul Friedländer: The Third Reich and the Jews. The years of persecution 1933–1939. The years of annihilation 1939–1945 . Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-423-34519-4 .
  • Eberhard Röhm, Jörg Thierfelder: Jews – Christians – Germans . Volume 1: 1933-1935. Marginalized . Calwer Verlag, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 978-3-7668-3011-1 , p. 123 ff.
  • Bruno Stern: It was like that. The life and fate of a Jewish emigrant. An autobiography. Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1985, ISBN 3-7995-7622-3 .
  • Jörg Thierfelder: Hermann Umfrid (1892-1934) - Protest of a pastor against the pogrom in Niederstetten 1933. In: Angela Borgstedt et al. (Ed.): Courage proved. Resistance biographies from the southwest (= writings on political regional studies of Baden-Württemberg , published by the State Center for Political Education Baden-Württemberg, vol. 46), Stuttgart 2017, ISBN 9783945414378 , pp. 177-190.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Björn Mensing: Pastor Umfrid resisted and paid with his life ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Sunday newspaper Bavaria, issue 12 of March 23, 2003 (accessed on December 22, 2009)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sonntagsblatt-bayern.de
  2. ↑ Manfred Schmid:  Umfrid, Otto. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 12, Bautz, Herzberg 1997, ISBN 3-88309-068-9 , Sp. 910-916.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  3. ↑ Bruno Stern: It was like that . The life and fate of a Jewish emigrant. An autobiography. Jan Thorbecke Publishing House. 1985. ISBN 3-7995-7622-3 , p. 46
  4. ^ Spiegel Online : The Path to Dictatorship. Swastika on the altar (accessed January 6, 2010)
  5. ↑ Bruno Stern: It was like that . The life and fate of a Jewish emigrant. An autobiography. Jan Thorbecke Publishing House. 1985. ISBN 3-7995-7622-3 , p. 49
  6. ↑ a b FAZ .net: Gradual encirclement before the murder , accessed on January 6, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Umfrid, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant pastor in the city of Niederstetten
DATE OF BIRTH June 20, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1934
Place of death Niederstetten