Johann Heinrich Hochdörfer
Johann Heinrich Hochdörfer (born October 28, 1799 in Winzingen near Neustadt an der Haardt , † January 28, 1851 in Winzingen) was a German Protestant pastor , early socialist and publicist . He campaigned for the preservation of freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Germany and was a speaker at the Hambach Festival of 1832.
biography
Hochdörfer was born in 1799 as the son of a farmer. After his youth he went to Heidelberg to study theology. He completed this with moderate success, as did his subsequent training as a pastor.
In 1827 Hochdörfer became a Protestant pastor in Sembach. In the office of pastor he began to publish socially critical texts. Eleutherins first appeared in 1828 . The magazine was not a success and died. In 1831 he tried again and brought out the Rheinbayrischer Volksfreund , a magazine for human and civil rights, enlightenment, religion and morality . This also failed after a small edition of 500 copies. On April 1, 1832, Hochdörfer published the Bürgerfreund . Not economically profitable either, but with an impact on society. The government objected to this magazine through its subordinate censorship authority. He also made himself unpopular with his church superiors. In 1831, for example, he refused the collection to finance church buildings due to the poverty of the population. These and other revolts led to his suspension from office in February 1832 .
In May 1832 he stood out again on the occasion of the Hambach Festival . In addition to Philipp Jakob Siebenpfeiffer and Johann Georg August Wirth , he was one of the main speakers at the festival and spoke out in favor of a radical change in society based on the emergence of early socialism . Wirth found Hochdörfer's opinion too inciting and did not print the speech in his documentation of the festival. Instead, it appeared in Hochdörfers Bürgerfreund on June 2, 1832.
As a result of his speech at the Hambach Festival, he was initially charged with "calling for the overthrow of the state constitution" before the Assisengericht (jury court). However, on August 16, 1833, he was acquitted. Again put on trial this time, but for alleged libel offenses , Hochdörfer was sentenced to two years in prison on November 16, 1833 in the Zweibrücken Court of Appeal . He served the sentence.
In contrast to other thirties who emigrated to the USA, he emigrated like Siebenpfeiffer and Wirth to Switzerland after serving his sentence. He earned his income in exile by working as the first district school teacher in Waldenburg in the canton of Baselland. In 1839 he moved to Geneva because he again fell out with his colleagues because of his temper. In Geneva he continued his teaching activities in German classes.
There he made contact with the craftsmen of Junge Deutschland . He continued to be politically active and champion socialist ideas. In 1840 he published a treatise "On the Abolition of the Death Penalty and the Prevention of Criminals from the Viewpoint of Social Reform".
When the German Revolution broke out in 1848 , Hochdörfer returned to the Palatinate to fight for his political goals. After the failure of the Palatinate uprising in 1849, Hochdörfer was charged again. However, he previously died on January 28, 1851 in his hometown of Winzingen.
Works
- 1840 treatise on the abolition of the death penalty and the prevention of criminals from the standpoint of social reform
See also
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hochdörfer, Johann Heinrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Protestant pastor early socialist and publicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1799 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Winzingen near Neustadt an der Haardt |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 28, 1851 |
| Place of death | Winzingen near Neustadt an der Haardt |