Johannes Marschang

Johannes Marschang (born February 26, 1884 in Essen , † December 18, 1978 in Anrath ) was a prison chaplain in Anrath and Krefeld and an honorary citizen of the city of Willich .

Life

Marschang was born as the son of auditor Johannes Marschang from Dernbach and his wife Maria Arens from Olpe-Stachelau. After graduating from high school in Borbeck in 1905 , he studied theology and was ordained a priest on March 6, 1909 in Cologne . From March 18, 1909 he was a chaplain in Erkelenz-Borschemich, from March 8, 1912 in Baesweiler, St. Peter, and from November 15, 1913 in Anrath, St. Johannes.

On September 7, 1921 he was transferred to the Anrath penal institutions as an assistant chaplain, where he was supposed to support the pastor Peter Limberg. In October of the following year he was appointed pastor, and he was to hold this office until 1949.

Marschang did a great deal of service during the Nazi era, when he took great care of the political and religious prisoners, not only through encouragement, but also through the forbidden distribution of food. Under the then head of the Anrath prison, Bodo Combrinck, it was common practice to systematically starve the mostly political prisoners. The only Austrian abbot Bernhard Burgstaller who was killed by the National Socialists also died of starvation in Anrath . Marschang tried to alleviate this situation within the scope of his possibilities by regularly smuggling food such as sandwiches into the institution with the help of an initiated prison guard. So that the prisoners could eat them safely, these visits were z. B. disguised as confessional talks, since no guards were present at these because of the confidentiality of the confessional. Of course, Marschang always came into conflict with Combrinck. He tried to get rid of him in 1941 by transferring him to the Wroclaw remand prison. With a medical certificate he was able to stay in Anrath and was also given pastoral care via the Krefeld regional court prison. Because of his services during this time, he was appointed papal secret chamberlain on October 26, 1944 .

In addition to his work in prison, Johannes Marschang was also a pastor in the parish of St. Johannes Anrath . For many years he was also the pastor of the St. Josef retirement home in Anrath. For a long time he was the longest serving priest in the diocese of Aachen .

In 1973 he was made an honorary citizen by the city of Willich for his commitment to young, old and sick people in Anrath and as pastor of the penal institution during the Third Reich . In 2002 the main and finance committee of the city of Willich decided to name a street in the Gietherhof building area after Johannes Marschang.

literature

• Ulrich Bons: The Anrath Prison in the Third Reich - The attempt at a reconstruction. In: Heimatbuch des Kreis Viersen 2002, p. 161 ff
• Goffried Daum: Prelate Johannes Marschang - an outstanding personality left our time. In: Anrather Heimatbuch 1981, p. 13 f