Joseph Wittig

Joseph Wittig (born January 22, 1879 in Neusorge near Schlegel , Neurode district , Silesia ; † August 22, 1949 Göhrde / Lower Saxony ) was a German theologian , writer and local researcher of the County of Glatz .

Childhood and origin

Joseph Wittig attended elementary school in Schlegel and was from December 1892 to March 1893 by the then topper Kaplan Henry May for the entrance examination in the lower third of the Breslauer St. Matthias High School prepared. He attended this from April 1893 until he graduated from high school in 1899. His parents were the carpenter Eduard Wittig and Johanna, geb. Strand field.

Studies and university career

Joseph Wittig studied Catholic theology at the University of Breslau and received his doctorate in theology in 1903. In the same year he was in Breslau Cross Church by Bishop Georg Cardinal Kopp for ordained priest and was then chaplain in Luban .

1904–1905 he studied Christian archeology in Rome with a travel grant from the German Archaeological Institute . Here he met Franz Joseph Dölger , who was the same age , with whom he went on a short study trip to North Africa. After his return to Germany he was first chaplain in Patschkau , then in Breslau with St. Maria auf dem Sande. In 1909 he was habilitated in church history by the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Breslau . He then took over as a private lecturer , replacing his sick teacher Max Sdralek . During this time he was also vice-president of the journeyman's association .

In 1911 he was appointed associate professor for ancient church history and Christian archeology, and in 1915 full professor for church history, patrology and Christian art at the University of Breslau, where he also held the office of dean in the academic year 1917/1918 .

Thrown off track

With the essay The Redeemed , which appeared in the cultural magazine Hochland in 1922 , the difficulties with the official church began. In the article Wittig contrasted theology, whose statements about salvation were often difficult to understand, in narrative form with the fears and redemption wishes of ordinary Christians borne by everyday experiences. He grabbed z. B. the Catholic confessional order and demanded "more bliss, more joy in God". In the same year the Archbishop of Breslau and Cardinal Bertram released him from the leadership of the Marian Congregation , and he was advised to give up the office of university preacher. In 1925, several of his academic writings, in which he advocated reform in the Catholic Church, were placed on the index of forbidden books . The disputes with the official church resulted in a leave of absence from the university and finally in 1926 the excommunication . As recent research has shown, the driving force behind Wittig's condemnation was not Cardinal Bertram, but Nuncio Eugenio Pacelli with his theological advisor Augustin Bea .

Further life

Joseph Wittig returned disappointed to his home village Neusorge and lived there as a private scholar and writer. In 1927 he married Bianca Geisler, daughter of the mayor of Habelschwerdt , and started a family.

In addition to working on theological topics, he wrote many popular stories and worked for magazines and radio stations. Together with the Jewish religious philosopher Martin Buber and Viktor von Weizsäcker , he published the magazine Die Kreatur . He wrote the extensive chronicles of Schlegel and Neurode . The city of Neurode made him an honorary citizen .

In 1946 the excommunication was lifted. Shortly afterwards, he was expelled from his beloved homeland. Joseph Wittig died in Göhrde on August 22, 1949 . He found his final resting place in Meschede / Westphalia. In his former house in Neusorge, which fell to Poland in 1945 as a result of World War II , there is now a museum.

Works

Pope Damasus I. Source-critical studies on its history and characteristics. In: Roman quarterly for Christian antiquity and church history, supplement 14th Herder / Spithöver, Rome 1902.
The early Christian sculptures in the museum of the German National Foundation on Campo Santo in Rome. Typographia Polyglotta, Rome 1906.
Filastrius, Gaudentius and Ambrosiaster. Aderholz, Breslau 1909.
The peace policy of Pope Damasus I and the outcome of the Arian disputes. Aderholz, Breslau 1912.
For the celebration. Supplement to Schlesische Volkszeitung No. 484 of October 20, 1912
The papacy. Its world-historical development and meaning in words and pictures. Hansa, Hamburg undated [1913].
Vincenz by Paul. Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1920.
An apostle of charity. The Breslau Canon Robert Spiske and his work. For the Congregation of the Venerable Sisters of St. Hedwig on the centenary of the birthday of her founder and spiritual father. Publishing house of the Mother House of the Sisters of St. Hedwig / C. König, Breslau 1921.
Gerhard Rauschen : Outline of patrology with special consideration of the teaching content of the father's writings. 6th and 7th editions, revised by Joseph Wittig. Herder, Freiburg 1921 (8th and 9th editions: Outline of Patrology. The writings of the church fathers and their teaching content. Ibid. 1926).
Of St. Basil d. Size Spiritual exercises at the Bishops' Conference of Dazimon 374/5 following Isaias 1-16. Aderholz, Breslau 1922.
Good Lord's knowledge of Wegrain and the road. Herder, Freiburg 1922.
Rebirth. 2nd Edition. Franke, Habelschwerdt 1923.
My "redeemed" in repentance, struggle and defense. Frankes Buchhandlung F. Wolf, Habelschwerdt 1923.
The church in the forest corner and other stories of faith and the kingdom of God. Kösel & Pustet, Kempten 1924.
Rock crystal. With pictures by Hans Franke. Franke, Habelschwerdt 1924.
Life of Jesus in Palestine, Silesia and elsewhere. 2 volumes. Kösel & Pustet, Munich 1925.
Easter fountain. Bergland-Verlag, Elberfeld 1926.
From the beautiful county. 44 pictures by Georg Marx with sketches by Joseph Wittig. Franke, Habelschwerdt 1926 (2nd edition: 50 pictures ..., ibid. 1929).
together with Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy : The Age of the Church. 3 vols. Schneider, Berlin 1927/1928.
The unbeliever and other stories of the kingdom of God and the world. Salzer, Heilbronn 1928.
Hearing god. Klotz, Gotha 1929.
Prospects and ways. Klotz, Gotha 1930.
Comfort me in my heart. Salzer, Heilbronn 1930.
Michael Gottschlich's hike. Salzer, Heilbronn 1931.
The fate of Wenzel Böhm. A story of God. Salzer, Heilbronn 1931.
Comforted, comforted, we are redeemed! Salzer, Heilbronn 1932.
The lost Our Father. Salzer, Heilbronn 1933.
Chronicle of the city of Neurode. City of Neurode, Neurode 1937 ( digitized version ).
From waiting and coming. Advent letters. Klotz, Stuttgart 1938.
Popular beliefs and customs in County Glatz. Klambt, Neurode 1939.
The new face. Thomas, Kempen 1947.
November light. Thomas, Kempen 1948.
Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Drei-Königen-Verlag, Cologne 1948.
Carbuncle. Secular conversations and sketches for the holy Christmas season. Regensberg, Münster 1948.
From Joseph Wittig's lost home, the beautiful county of Glatz. Pick, Cologne 1948.
Novel with god. Diary sheets of contestation. Log. Stuttgart 1950.
From waiting and coming. Advent letters. Klotz, Stuttgart 1951.
Chronicle of the community Schlegel, Vol. I and II, publisher: Heimatgemeinde Schlegel e. V. self-published, Hattingen / Neuss 1983.
Strength in weakness. Letters to friends. Edited by Gerhard Pachnicke. Brendow, Moers 1993.
The Christ birth on the road to Landeck: stories, poems, etc. Thoughts from d. Estate . Marx, Leimen / Heidelberg 1981.

literature

Stephan Dressler, Viktor von Weizsäcker : Medical anthropology and philosophy (= Ueberreuter science, Viennese studies of medicine, history and philosophy 1). Ueberreuter, Vienna / Berlin 1989.
Josef Hainz (ed.): Farewell to the God of theologians: In memory of Joseph Wittig (1878–1949) - fifty years after his death . Self-published, Kelkheim-Eppenheim 2000.
Josef Hainz (ed.): Reform Catholicism after 1918 in Germany: Joseph Wittig (1879–1949) and his time . Documentation of the symposium of the "Bibelschule Königstein eV" on 30./31. March 2001 in Koenigstein. Kelkheim-Eppenhain 2002.
Siegfried Kleymann: "... and learn to speak of yourself in faith." The autobiographical theology of Joseph Wittig (1879–1949) . Echter, Würzburg 2000, ISBN 3-429-02190-1 .
Joachim Köhler: Joseph Wittig . In: Schlesische Lebensbilder . Vol. VIII. ISBN 3-7686-3501-5 , pp. 255-262.
The Joseph Wittig book (Joseph Wittig in memoriam) . With an appreciation of his life's work from Paul M. Laskowsky. Klotz, Stuttgart 1949.
Alojzy Marcol (ed.): Joseph Wittig - śląski teolog i historiograf ( Joseph Wittig - Silesian theologian and historian ) / Sympozjum Naukowe z Okazji Otwarcia Domu Wittiga, Nowa Ruda - Słupiec, 8-10 V 1997 . Nowa Ruda 1997.
Eugen Rosenstock : Religio depopulata. To Josef Wittig's condemnation . Lambert Schneider, Berlin 1926.
Horst Stephan : A life with ups and downs . In: Schlesischer Kulturspiegel , Vol. 44, 2009, pp. 67–68.
Michael Habersack / Judith Krämer: Finding aid for the Joseph Wittig estate. Frankfurt am Main 2008.

Footnotes

^ Klaus Unterburger : Novel with God? The condemnation and excommunication of the Silesian church historian and writer Joseph Wittig (1879-1949) in the light of the newly available Vatican sources. In: Archive for Silesian Church History 70, 2012, pp. 199–224
↑ Jakob Hessing : The greeting call over and over. Whose creature was the magazine “Die Kreatur” founded by Martin Buber? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of May 10, 2017, p. N3.

Web links

Wikiquote: Joseph Wittig - Quotes

personal data
SURNAME	Wittig, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Wittig, Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German theologian, writer and local researcher
DATE OF BIRTH	January 22, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH	New care near Schlegel , Neurode district , Province of Silesia
DATE OF DEATH	August 22, 1949
Place of death	Goehrde

[1] Klaus Unterburger : Novel with God? The condemnation and excommunication of the Silesian church historian and writer Joseph Wittig (1879-1949) in the light of the newly available Vatican sources. In: Archive for Silesian Church History 70, 2012, pp. 199–224

[2] Jakob Hessing : The greeting call over and over. Whose creature was the magazine “Die Kreatur” founded by Martin Buber? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of May 10, 2017, p. N3.