Karl-Heinz Tekath

Karl-Heinz Tekath (born August 23, 1955 in Labbeck ; † December 8, 2004 in Geldern ) was a German historian , archivist and champion of German-Dutch friendship.

Life

The farmer's son Karl-Heinz Tekath studied history, German and Dutch studies at the University of Cologne from 1974 to 1979 . He passed his first state examination in 1979. From 1975 to 1979 he was a student trainee at the Historical Archives of the Archdiocese of Cologne . From 1980 to 1984 he was a research assistant there. 1984–1986 he attended the archive school in Marburg (21st year) as an archive trainee . 1986–1988 he was again a research assistant at the “Historical Archive” of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Since 1988 he has been head of the district archives of the Kleve district in Geldern, most recently as senior district archivist. He died of a heart attack on December 8, 2004 while training volleyball in the gym.

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As editor, author, editor and collaborator, he was involved in a wide variety of historical and cultural projects. The cross-border exhibition “The Golden Age of the Duchy of Geldern ” deserves a special mention . History, art and culture in the 15th and 16th centuries / De gouden eeuw van Gelre. Art en cultuur in het oude hertogdom ”(March 24 to June 24, 2001 Niederrheinisches Museum für Volkskunde und Kulturgeschichte Kevelaer, September 8 to November 18, 2001 Museum Het Valkhof Nijmegen, December 1, 2001 to February 10, 2002 Stedelijk Museum Zutphen , March 2 to April 28, 2002 Stedelijk Museum Roermond) and the co-editing of the standard work on the history of the Duchy of Geldern: “Gelre - Geldern - Gelderland. History and culture of the Duchy of Geldern ”, Geldern 2001. The major European project“ Laat vriendschap helen, wat border delen ”. The Duchy of Geldern as a link between the Netherlands and Germany ”was mainly due to him. Most recently he brought the German-Dutch project “Adel connects” on the way.

As a connoisseur of the history of the Lower Rhine , Karl-Heinz Tekath had long been bothered by the fact that “the historical importance of the Duchy of Geldern had not yet been properly appreciated”. “That the Niederrheinlande [...] in the Middle Ages had a cityscape of unique density and enormous economic potential is often only known to experts today. Also that in the Middle Ages this area had a bridging function between the high-standing Romanesque culture of France and Burgundy and the Central and East German area and was still an important link between the Netherlands and Prussia in the 17th and 18th centuries . " of the former Duchy of Geldern "[should]" point out their common roots in language, history and culture. "

The bridging function of the Duchy of Geldern should be made usable for the present and the future. Karl-Heinz Tekath therefore ensured that young people could also be included: with the modern, bilingual “History book for schools, museums and archives” about “The Duchy of Geldern”, of which he himself became a co-author.

Karl-Heinz Tekath also wrote the publication on “25 Years of the Kleve District ” and was currently working on the follow-up volume on the 30th anniversary. He wrote about the war cemeteries in the district and was deputy chairman of the dialect care association “För Land en Lüj”. For many years he was a librarian and board member of the historical association for Geldern und Umgegend eV, editor and author for the “Geldrische Heimatkalender”.

In addition, he was active in many archivist associations and also maintained contacts with Dutch archives, museums and history associations. He vehemently took the position that the district or city archivist eo ipso must be able to cover all the tasks of a “city historian on site” in his person.

Karl-Heinz Tekath was an extremely competent specialist in the history of the Lower Rhine area and the neighboring Dutch areas. History has always been close to his heart. Tireless and full of joy in the matter, he was a contact person for everyone. His great desire was to convey history to young people. He has helped many school and university students with historical competitions, as well as with technical papers or theses. Karl-Heinz Tekath was the source of ideas and coordinator of important book projects, and a tireless supporter of budding historians. He left a wife and three children.

Karl Heinz Tekath Prize

In order to keep the memory of him and his achievements for the history of the Lower Rhine alive, the Historical Association for Geldern und Umgegend eV awards the "Karl-Heinz-Tekath-Förderpreis" every two years. In his spirit, young, committed, technically outstanding scientists and / or archivists who have distinguished themselves in the field of regional history should be honored and promoted.

Works

• Karl-Heinz Tekath: The problem of the German Catholics in the German nation-state between Kulturkampf and 1. World War. Cologne 1979.
• Karl-Heinz Tekath: The Immaculate Conception of Mary - main patroness of the Archdiocese of Cologne , in: Bistumspatrone in Germany , ed. on behalf of the Federal Conference of Church Archives in Germany by August Leidl, Munich 1984, pp. 58–77.
• Karl-Heinz Tekath and Jörg Becker (eds.): 1794–1814. French on the Lower Rhine. Goch 1994.
• Karl Heinz Tekath and Meinhard Pohl: Rhenish impressions. Historic landscapes on the Lower Rhine. Duisburg 1996.
• Karl-Heinz Tekath and Jörg Becker (eds.): Black - Red - Gold. The German Revolution of 1848/49 and the Lower Rhine. Goch 1998.
• Karl-Heinz Tekath: The church on the Lower Rhine in the 19th century. 1848–1933 , in: Two millennia history of the church on the Lower Rhine. Münster 1998 (2nd edition 2001), pp. 426–446.
• Karl-Heinz Tekath: War cemeteries in the Kleve district (series of publications by the Kleve district), Kleve 2000.
• Johannes Stinner and Karl-Heinz Tekath (eds.): Gelre - Geldern - Gelderland. History and culture of the Duchy of Geldern. Geldern 2001, pp. 395–402 (Publications of the State Archives of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Series D, Volume 30).
• Johannes Stinner and Karl-Heinz Tekath (eds.): Gelre - Geldern - Gelderland. Geschiedenis en cultuur van het hertogdom Gelre. Geldern 2001.
• Ralf G. Jahn, Karl-Heinz Tekath and Bernhard Keuck (eds.): The Duchy of Geldern in the area of ​​tension between alliance and competition on the Meuse, Rhine and IJssel. Geldern 2005.
• Guide through the archives of the Kleve district. Kleve-Geldern 2000.
• 25 years of the Kleve district. A round thing. Kleve 2000 (series of publications of the Kleve district, volume 8).

Web links

• Literature by and about Karl-Heinz Tekath in the catalog of the German National Library