Johannes Maria Verweyen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johannes Maria Verweyen (born May 11, 1883 in Till , today Bedburg-Hau ; † March 21, 1945 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp ) was a German poet , philosopher , temporary Freemason and theosophist and resistance fighter against National Socialism .

Life

Verweyen, who grew up on a farm in Till , attended the local elementary school and then the Royal High School in Kleve , then for a few years the Collegium Augustinianum Gaesdonck near Goch and finally the Hohenzollern High School in Düsseldorf , where he graduated from high school in 1902. He then studied philosophy, psychology, natural and cultural sciences at the universities of Freiburg im Breisgau , Leipzig , Berlin , Strasbourg and Bonn - there among others with the important philosopher Adolf Dyroff .

In 1905 Verweyen received his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Bonn; In 1908 he obtained his habilitation and in 1918, after teaching for a few years as a private lecturer, he was appointed associate professor. His lectures brought record attendance, such as counted 550 visitors to his lecture on "Free Will". At times supporter of Freemasonry and Monism , he became a member of the Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG) in 1927 and General Secretary of the German Section in 1928 . In the same year James Ingall Wedgwood ordained him as a priest of the Liberal Catholic Church (LKK). In May 1935 Verweyen had a revival experience in Rome during the canonization of Thomas More and John Fishers , which he attended, so that on February 2, 1936, he again professed his Roman Catholic faith, although the Catholic Church was already undergoing persecution at that time and was exposed to pressure from the National Socialist regime. In the Bonner Kirchenblatt he publicly regretted "his departure from the Catholic Church as the greatest error of his life".

Because of Verweyen's open criticism of the ideas of National Socialism, his teaching license was withdrawn in 1934. But since he continued to give public lectures, in 1936 - after a lecture against the racial theory of the Nazis - all of his writings were also banned. Verweyen itself was provided by the Gestapo under close supervision and, on 27 August 1941 during a lecture tour, with whom he now earned his living in Frankfurt as part of the campaign against secret teachings and so-called occult sciences by the Gestapo arrested in Berlin Alex arrested police prison . He was deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp in May 1942 without charge or trial . But Verweyen did not let himself be broken there either, worked as a pastor for his fellow inmates and continued to give his lectures in the camp. When the camp was evacuated on February 4, 1945, he volunteered to be transported to Bergen-Belsen, where he arrived on February 7 and died of typhus on March 21, 1945 - shortly before liberation .

Honors

Fonts (selection)

  • Philosophy of the possible. Basics of a critique of knowledge . Hirzel, Leipzig 1913
  • Natural philosophy . Teubner, Leipzig 1915; Reprint: Nabu Press 2010, ISBN 1-174-92261-3
  • On the spirit of German poetry . Röhrscheid, Bonn 1917
  • The noble man and his values. A new type of character theory . Reinhardt, Munich 1919
  • Newer main directions of philosophy . Velhagen & Klasing, Bielefeld 1920
  • Form as an expression of being . Anthropos, Prien 1921
  • The philosophy of the Middle Ages . Association of Scientific Publishers, Berlin 1921
  • The religious man and his problems . Reinhardt, Munich 1922; Reprint: Kessinger 2010, ISBN 1-160-07107-1
  • The social man and his basic questions . Reinhardt, Munich 1924
  • Germany's spiritual renewal . Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1924
  • From the depths of consciousness . Cloud walkers, Leipzig 1924
  • Religion and culture . Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1925
  • Contemplation on mysticism . Cloud walkers, Leipzig 1926
  • Mastery of life . Reissner, Dresden 1926
  • Wagner and Nietzsche . Strecker & Schröder, Stuttgart 1926
  • The problems of mediumism . Enke, Stuttgart 1928
  • The new person and his goals. Human issues of the present and future . Hädecke, Stuttgart 1930
  • Practical knowledge of human nature and correct treatment of people . South German publishing house, Stuttgart 1934
  • The Lord's Prayer. Reflections and thoughts . Franke, Breslau 1936
  • World and worlds. Foundation of a worldview . Franke, Breslau 1936
  • Back to Christ. A book of contemplation and repentance . Franke, Breslau 1937
  • Essence and meaning of life . Widder, Leipzig 1939
  • Life and mysteries . Franke, Breslau 1939
  • Homecoming, a religious development . Franke, Breslau 1941
  • Soul moods in hymns . Boss, Kleve 1950

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Johannes Maria Verweyen  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Josef Niesen: Bonner Personenlexikon. 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Bouvier, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-416-03352-7 , p. 475.
  2. ↑ Jennifer Striewski: Johannes Maria Verweyen, Nazi resistance fighter (1883–1945) in the Rheinische Geschichte portal, accessed on December 18, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Verweyen, Johannes Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German philosopher, freemason and theosophist
DATE OF BIRTH May 11, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Bedburg-Hau
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 1945
Place of death Bergen-Belsen concentration camp