Johann Friedrich Oberlin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oberlin

Johann Friedrich Oberlin (often French Jean-Frédéric Oberlin ) (born August 31, 1740 in Strasbourg ; † June 1, 1826 in Waldersbach ) was a Protestant pastor , educator and social reformer from Alsace ; In early childhood education he is considered a pioneer of Friedrich Froebel and one of the fathers of the kindergarten .

Origin and studies

Oberlin is the younger son of Johann Georg Oberlin (1701–1770), teacher at the Protestant high school in Strasbourg, and Maria Magdalena (1718–1787), daughter of the lawyer Johann Heinrich Feltz. The philologist Jeremias Jakob Oberlin is his older brother.

Oberlin studied theology in his hometown between 1755 and 1761 and then worked in the household of the Strasbourg doctor Daniel Gottlieb Ziegenhagen as court master and private tutor . 1763 Oberlin with his dissertation "De Virium vivarum atque mortuarum mensuris" to master his doctorate . Four years later he passed his final theological exam with the work “De commodis et incommodis studii theologici” (“The advantages and disadvantages of studying theology”).

During this time Oberlin made the acquaintance of the pastor and social reformer Johann Georg Stuber . Through his mediation, he was appointed pastor in 1767 as Stuber's successor in the Protestant community of Waldersbach .

Work in Waldersbach

Oberlin improved fruit growing, meadows and agriculture, he built bridges and roads, which he built himself with the local farmers, and - supported by his Basel friend Johann Lukas Legrand , the father of the industrialist and philanthropist Daniel Legrand - founded several industrial companies . On his initiative, schools for small children were also set up, the first of which, the salle d'asile in Waldersbach, was run by his housekeeper Louise Scheppler . In 1785 Oberlin founded a lending and credit institution . With their help, a silk ribbon factory was able to be established in the Steintal in 1813 .

Postage stamp (1954) from the series Helpers to Mankind

Oberlin's upbringing principle was: "Raise your children without too much severity ... with constant tender kindness, but without ridicule." In order to promote the adults, he founded agricultural associations and introduced modern sowing and cultivation methods. Through his socio-educational work, Oberlin also opened up a path for women into the recognized professional world.

When Oberlin arrived in the Steintal, almost 100 families were living in the poorest conditions in the five villages of his community; At the beginning of the 19th century the population had already grown to around 3,000 people. His social work passed the toughest endurance test in the famine years of 1816 and 1817 .

Pastor Oberlin died on June 1, 1826 in Waldersbach at the age of 85. He found his final resting place in the cemetery of Fouday (Eng. Urbach) in the Bas-Rhin department .

museum

In Waldersbach (25, montée Oberlin), today's Museum Jean-Frédéric Oberlin developed from the house of Pastor Johann Friedrich Oberlin. It shows books, notes, paintings and maps from and about his time, as well as numerous toys. From there a hiking trail (45 minutes) leads to the cemetery of Fouday with Oberlin's grave. Oberlin's work is an occasion for colloquiums, special exhibitions and publications for the museum.

Honors and nominations

Facilities

Bust of Oberlin in the courtyard of the Oberlin Museum in Waldersbach

Oberlin College, founded in 1833, and the city ​​of the same name in Ohio are named after Oberlin . In Potsdam-Babelsberg , the Oberlinverein founded in 1871 runs the Oberlinhaus , several facilities for people with disabilities and illnesses, an orthopedic clinic and a special school. The JF Oberlin University in Tokyo also bears his name. In Munich-Pasing there is the Evangelical Friedrich-Oberlin-Fachoberschule with the Friedrich-Oberlin-Foundation founded in 1970. In Worms , in Olpe , in Bamberg , in Leonberg , Breisach am Rhein and in Rödinghausen Protestant kindergartens are named after him. In Neustadt an der Aisch , two day-care centers are run under Protestant sponsorship, one is named Oberlins, the other is named after Louise Scheppler . In Berlin there is the Oberlin seminar with a vocational school for social affairs, a technical school for social education and a technical college for health and social affairs, with a focus on social education. It is operated by Stephanus Bildung gGmbH . In Ulm there is a youth welfare facility with Oberlin as the namesake. In Homburg (Saar) there is an Oberlin school as a special school for intellectual development (FgE Hom) .

Remembrance day

The Evangelical Church in Germany has set up a memorial day for Oberlin on June 2nd in the Evangelical Name Calendar . The Oberlin seminar has been part of the diaconal Stephanus Foundation since November 1st, 2017.

Literary processing

Georg Büchner set him a literary monument in his story Lenz .

Fonts (selection)

  • De virium vivarum atque mortuarum mensuris . Strasbourg 1763.
  • De commodis et incommodis studii theologici . Strasbourg 1767.
  • Johann Friedrich Oberlins, pastor in the Steintal, complete life story and collected writings. Edited by Dr. Hilpert, Stöber and others. Compiled with consideration of all helpers and transferred by W. Burckhardt, Pastor. 4 parts, Stuttgart 1843

literature

Web links

Commons : Jean-Frédéric Oberlin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2013, article about Friedrich Oberlin.
  2. ↑ Home. Retrieved February 20, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Print version: page 52 f.
personal data
SURNAME Oberlin, Johann Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oberlin, Jean Frédéric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Protestant pastor, educator and social pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1740
PLACE OF BIRTH Strasbourg
DATE OF DEATH June 1, 1826
Place of death Waldersbach