Karl zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg

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Karl zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1962)

Prince Karl Friedrich zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (* February 8, 1904 in Kleinheubach ; † August 23, 1990 there ) was President of the Central Committee of German Catholics from 1948 to 1967 . Born as Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg , the landowner appeared as Hereditary Prince until the death of his father in 1952 , then as Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg .

origin

The noble family Löwenstein-Wertheim goes back to the Wittelsbacher Friedrich I, the victorious , elector of the Palatinate (1425–1476) and his son Ludwig . Karl comes from the marriage of Aloys Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1871–1952) and Josephine Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau (1874–1946) and was the third of nine children.

Life

Karl Prinz zu Löwenstein attended the Stella Matutina Jesuit College in Feldkirch and then studied philosophy and law in Innsbruck, Munich and Würzburg. In 1928 he was at the University of Würzburg with a thesis Erbverzicht and settlement agreement for Dr. jur. PhD . He was the spokesman for the Catholic youth and from 1933 to 1938 chairman of the Union of Scientific Catholic Student Associations , until it was dissolved by the National Socialists in 1938 . At the Katholikentag in Nuremberg in 1931 he admitted his admiration for some aspects of the politics of the fascist regime in Italy. In his opinion, the "shamelessness" in the German press, art, theater and film industry went far too far. The values ​​of the Catholic Church were more important to Löwenstein than parliamentary democracy. Mussolini's Italy appeared to Löwenstein in 1931 as the better alternative, also with regard to the possibility of an official leadership role for the nobility in a society of estates. In contrast, Löwenstein criticized the extreme excesses of Nazi ideology in 1931, especially its racial theory . During the Nazi era, however, Löwenstein was a member of the SA and in 1934 asked the students of the Unitas to follow his example. In 1937 Karl zu Löwenstein denounced his liberal cousin Hubertus Prinz zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg , who denounced the Nazis' persecution of Catholics on a trip through America. After 1945, Karl zu Löwenstein dismissed this as a necessary tribute to the National Socialist era.

Karl Prinz zu Löwenstein was elected President of the Central Committee of German Catholics on September 6, 1948, one day after the end of the Catholic Day in Mainz . His father Aloys and his grandfather of the same name Karl zu Löwenstein also held this position. The latter was the founder of the ZdK in 1868 . Thus Karl zu Löwenstein was able to build on a long tradition. This met both the ideas of the church dignitaries and the allied occupying powers . Despite the political statements made by Karl zu Löwenstein in the 1930s, he was able to benefit from the prestige of his name. As President of the Central Committee, he showed an unconditional commitment to the Church and the Pope, and during the Adenauer era he gained respect in broad circles of West German post-war society. Even before the Second Vatican Council , Löwenstein promoted interdenominational dialogue. Together with the President of the Protestant Kirchentag, Reinhold von Thadden-Trieglaff , he organized ecumenical meetings of Catholics and Protestants. Like his father, Löwenstein supported the German missionaries and promoted international cooperation among Christians worldwide.

When Löwenstein's behavior during the Nazi era came into public discussion after his appointment as a member of the World Lay Council , he resigned as President of the Central Committee that same year. It was the journalist Leo Waltermann who recalled Löwenstein's Nazi past in a broadcast on WDR and made serious accusations. Waltermann had obtained source material that had been sent to him by Catholics abroad who would not accept a member of the World Lay Council with a Nazi past. Thus the tradition of the Löwenstein family, which had lasted for three generations, ended at the top of the German Catholic Days. Karl's son Alois Konstantin builds on this family tradition by being a member of the Board of Trustees of the Forum of German Catholics since 2001, leading through the programs of the annual congresses, Joy in Faith , organized by this organization in competition with the Central Committee , which are designed as a conservative alternative to Catholic Day .

family

Karl Prince zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg married Carolina dei Conti Rignon (1904–1975) in Rome in 1935 . The marriage had seven children:

Awards and honors

literature

  • Marie-Emmanuelle Reytier: The Löwenstein princes at the head of the German Catholic Days: the rise and fall of a dynasty ( 1868-1968 ) . In: Günther Schulz and Markus A. Denzel (eds.): German nobility in the 19th and 20th centuries. Büdinger research on social history 2002 and 2003 . Series: German Leadership Strata in Modern Times , Volume 26. Scripta Mercaturae Verlag, St. Katharinen 2004, ISBN 3-89590-145-8
  • Nicolai Hannig: The Waltermann Affair. Forms of scandalization in church radio, in: Rundfunk und Geschichte 34 (2008), pp. 5–17.

Web links

Commons : Karl Prinz zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Gerhard Heinrichs: "I and my house belong to the Lord." Prince Karl zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg died at the age of 86. In: Würzburger Catholic Sunday Gazette 35 (September 2, 1990)
  2. ↑ Hildegard Prize: On the death of Prince Karl zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Winner of the highest awards - initiator of large aid companies for needy peoples . In: Heimatbote for the Tachau and Bischofteinitz districts (September 7, 1990)
  3. ↑ The full name at birth according to the online Gotha was Karl Friedrich Franz Xaver Joseph Aloysius Antonius Ignatius Expeditus Maria Scholastica Prinz zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg . Article 109 of the WRV ( Weimar Constitution of August 11, 1919) stipulates that the privileges or disadvantages of birth or status under public law are to be abolished. Denominations of nobility are only [no longer] part of the name and may no longer be awarded. In the case of the descendants of the former Princely House of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg , all family members have since then carried the family name Prince or Princess zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg . Wikipedia does not yet know whether the name Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg , which goes back to the no longer existing and inheritable primogeniture nobility , using the first-born title “Fürst” as part of the name, was linked to a name change. However, the name Karl Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg has been found in all newspapers and in scientific literature since 1952.
  4. ↑ Dirk Palm: “We are brothers!” The Protestant Church Congress and the German Question 1949–1961. Göttingen 2002, pp. 29-45.
  5. ↑ Walther Killy (Ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 6. Verlag KG Saur and DTV, Munich 2001, p. 457.
  6. ^ Nicolai Hannig: The Waltermann Affair. Forms of scandalization in church radio, in: Rundfunk und Geschichte 34 (2008), pp. 5–17.
  7. ^ Archive of the Forum of German Catholics
personal data
SURNAME Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Karl zu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Karl Friedrich Franz Xaver Joseph Aloysius Antonius Ignatius Expeditus Maria Scholastica Prinz zu (full name); Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Karl Prinz zu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (1949–1968)
DATE OF BIRTH February 8, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Kleinheubach
DATE OF DEATH 23rd August 1990
Place of death Kleinheubach