Karl Pavlowski

Karl Pawlowski (born April 9, 1898 in Hagen , † August 22, 1964 in Bielefeld ) was a German Protestant theologian and diaconal entrepreneur in Bielefeld.

Life

Pawlowski studied theology in Marburg , Halle-Wittenberg and Bonn . In 1919 he joined the Marburg , later the Halle and Bonn Wingolf . From 1924 to 1926 he was assistant preacher in the parish of Radbod (now Bockum-Hövel ). From 1926 he headed the Protestant Youth and Welfare Office in Bielefeld. In 1932 he took over and renovated the Johannesstift in Bielefeld- Schildesche , of which he was head until 1964.

During the “ Third Reich ” Pawlowski was a close confidante of the Westphalian President Karl Koch and belonged to the moderate wing of the Confessing Church . From 1945 to 1950 he was the authorized representative and managing director of the Evangelical Relief Organization in Westphalia , and from 1946 to 1950 he was also managing director of the Westphalian regional association for internal mission . In 1951 he founded the Johanneswerk (now Ev. Johanneswerk) in Bielefeld. In 1963 he was awarded the Great Federal Cross of Merit for his services to “his life's work to ensure and maintain social peace” . When Pawlowski died in 1964, the Johanneswerk had around 80 facilities, approx. 7000 beds and home places and 1500 employees.

Pavlovsky as a “peacemaker” at the end of the war

When American troops took the "fortress" Bielefeld on April 4, 1945, Pawlowski played a decisive role in preventing further bloodshed and further destruction. With his gown fluttering and the cross in his hand, he rode off German defensive positions ready for action on his bicycle to persuade them to give up: “If you withdraw now, the fight is over!” Then he drove towards the advancing American units and informed them that he had advised the German soldiers to give up the fight. The capture of the city of Bielefeld by the Americans was largely bloodless, which regional historiography considers Pawlowski's merit.

Services

In 1938, Karl Pawlowski designed a model of a resident-oriented inpatient care for the elderly , in which he incorporated educational elements of youth work into an employment and educational concept for residents of old people's homes. The model can be seen as a forerunner of modern education for the elderly / geragogy . Pawlowski was one of the founders of the Espelkamp refugee settlement . There he set up the first special needs school for children from emigrants in Germany in 1947/48. 1950 founded one of the first psychosomatic specialist clinics in West Germany (Wittgenstein Clinic in Bad Berleburg ). For the first time, Pawlowski operated denominational hospitals exclusively with "free" nurses (Wittgenstein Clinic 1950, Ev. Versmold Hospital 1956). In 1957 he built the first three-tier center for the elderly in the Federal Republic, the Tersteegen-Wehme in Iserlohn .

Honors

1952: Cross of Merit (Steckkreuz) of the Federal Republic of Germany
Great Cross of Merit
In Bielefeld-Schildesche a street is named after Karl Pawlowski. In Gelsenkirchen, Espelkamp and Bielefeld, old people's and care facilities bear his name.

literature

Gerald Schwalbach: “Widen the view of the church!” Karl Pawlowski (1898-1964) - diaconal entrepreneur on the borders of the church and Inner Mission , Bielefeld 2012
Gerald Schwalbach: "Bigger and more modern than Bethel!" - The Johanneswerk in Bielefeld and the guiding principles of its founder Karl Pawlowski (1898-1964) . In: Matthias Benad (ed.): Friedrich v. Bodelschwingh dJ and the Bethel Institutions - piety and shaping the world . Stuttgart etc. 1997, pp. 207-213

Bärbel Thau: Karl Pawlowski (1898-1964). A life for social peace . In: Alfred Pothmann, Reimund Haas (ed.): Christen an der Ruhr , Vol. 2, Bottrop etc. 2002, pp. 128ff

Bärbel Thau: "The local association for Inner Mission in Bielefeld - early centralization of diaconal work (1926-1945)", in: Udo Krolzik (ed.), Future of Diakonie - Between Continuity and New Beginning, Bielefeld 1998, pp. 163–170

Individual evidence

↑ Quoted from: Gerald Schwalbach: “The Church Widen the View!” Karl Pawlowski (1989-1964) - diaconal entrepreneur on the borders of Church and Inner Mission . Bielefeld 2012, p. 450.
↑ Quoted from: Pastor Pawlowski encouraged soldiers . In: Neue Westfälische v. April 3, 1985, press archive of the Neue Westfälische, Bielefeld.
↑ Hans-Jörg Kühne: Between War and Peace. Bielefeld 1945 (= Bielefeld Contributions to City and Regional History, Vol. 19). Bielefeld 2004, p. 24.
^ Karl Pawlowski, Employment Opportunities for the Old and Infirm . In: Die Innere Mission, monthly newspaper of the Central Committee for the Inner Mission of the German Evangelical Church, 34th year 1939, Wichern-Verlag Berlin-Spandau, p. 9ff.
↑ Gerald Schwalbach: “Widening the Church's View!” Karl Pawlowski (1989-1964) - diaconal entrepreneur on the borders of the Church and Inner Mission . Bielefeld 2012, p. 457f.

personal data
SURNAME	Pavlovsky, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German Protestant theologian and diaconal entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH	April 9, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH	Hagen
DATE OF DEATH	22nd August 1964
Place of death	Bielefeld

[1] Quoted from: Gerald Schwalbach: “The Church Widen the View!” Karl Pawlowski (1989-1964) - diaconal entrepreneur on the borders of Church and Inner Mission . Bielefeld 2012, p. 450.

[2] Quoted from: Pastor Pawlowski encouraged soldiers . In: Neue Westfälische v. April 3, 1985, press archive of the Neue Westfälische, Bielefeld.

[3] Hans-Jörg Kühne: Between War and Peace. Bielefeld 1945 (= Bielefeld Contributions to City and Regional History, Vol. 19). Bielefeld 2004, p. 24.

[4] Karl Pawlowski, Employment Opportunities for the Old and Infirm . In: Die Innere Mission, monthly newspaper of the Central Committee for the Inner Mission of the German Evangelical Church, 34th year 1939, Wichern-Verlag Berlin-Spandau, p. 9ff.

[5] Gerald Schwalbach: “Widening the Church's View!” Karl Pawlowski (1989-1964) - diaconal entrepreneur on the borders of the Church and Inner Mission . Bielefeld 2012, p. 457f.