Church research home
The Church Research Home in Wittenberg was DDR -times, especially in the 1980s, the intellectual center and focal point of the independent religious environmental movement in the GDR.
It was founded on February 10, 1927 by the theologian and ornithologist Otto Kleinschmidt on behalf of the ecclesiastical province of Saxony . At the turn of the century he played a key role in the redesign of the zoological concept of species, dealt critically with the theory of evolution and built up an extensive zoological, above all ornithological collection. When it was founded, the institute was called "Research Home for Weltanschauungskunde". It was his job to lead a dialogue between theology and science. Throughout four political systems, despite a few changes of name and location, this task of the ecclesiastical research home has remained and remains to this day.
During the period of dictatorships Kleinschmidt tried to reconcile his theories with the respective social systems, but failed because of insoluble problems. Under the National Socialist regime, the institution was given its current name. From 1953 Otto Kleinschmidt's son Hans ran the church research center. His father died a year later. In 1961, the church research home had to move from the Wittenberg Castle to its current location, as there were insurmountable differences with the city administration. Since this year, the church research center has its headquarters at Wilhelm-Weber Strasse 1a.
From 1980 the institute published the environmental magazine "Letters - Orientation in the Conflict Man - Earth" and the book "The earth is to be saved". This book was conceived as an ecological policy paper that took up the considerations of the World Ecumenical Conferences and the Club of Rome and transferred them to the GDR situation.
The first call for the GDR-wide environmental campaign Mobile without a car came from the research home in 1981 . "Mobil ohne Auto" has developed into the largest nationwide transport policy campaign after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Peaceful Revolution , which takes place annually on the 3rd Sunday in June. The book "Pechblende - Uranium Mining in the GDR and its Consequences" by Michael Beleites is an example of the work at the church research center in the 1980s . The discourse on new technologies, such as genetic engineering, nanotechnology or digitization, is one of the tasks of the research home to the present day. The further training of natural kindergarten teachers, the working group "Kirchenwald" and the working group "Agriculture and Environment" characterize further fields of activity.
Hans-Peter Gensichen , who headed the institute from 1975 to 2002, was also the founding curator of the German Federal Environment Foundation in 1990 .
The research home has belonged to the Evangelical Academy of Saxony-Anhalt since 2004 and was continued as a research center for ecological education and consulting under the direction of Thorsten Moos as a theological-ecological institute. Since 2011 it has been continued with an expanded concept as a study unit for natural sciences, ethics and the preservation of creation.
A sponsorship association supports the work of the Natural Science, Ethics and Preservation of Creation Study Unit ideally and financially.
Today the parish office of the castle parish and the office of the regional representative of the regional bishop for the Reformation and ecumenism are located in the rooms of the church research center.
Publications
- Genetics and Ethics , Wittenberg ( hectographed , research home) 1976
- The earth can be saved , Wittenberg (hectographed, research home) 1980 a. ö.
- Gardening differently - but how? , Wittenberg (hectographed, research home) 1986 a. ö.
- Science ethics today , Wittenberg (hectographed, research home) 1983
- What to do with the high technologies? , Wittenberg (hectographed, research home) 1984
- Beleites, Michael : "Pechblende - uranium mining in the GDR and its consequences" , Lutherstadt Wittenberg 1988 Hectographed manuscript. Kirchliches Forschungsheim Wittenberge 1988. The study was published in 1992 in book form under the title Altlast Wismut by Brandes & Apsel Frankfurt / M.
- Letters - Letters for orientation in the conflict between humans and earth. Probably the first regular internal church publication (hectographed, twice a year, later 4 times a year) with the focus on the preservation of creation
Web links
- Homepage of the Natural Science, Ethics & Preservation of Creation Study Unit
- Chronicle (PDF; 6.2 kB) of the church research home
Individual evidence
- ↑ THEMATA LEUCOREANA (PDF; 300 kB) by Peer Pasternack , 2002: Stiftung LEUCOREA, ISBN 3-933028-53-1 , p. 80
- ^ Leopoldina , Reports, Vol. 5, 1929, pp. 9-14
- ↑ a b Siegrun Höhne: Natural science, ethics and the preservation of creation. 90 Years of the Church Research Center in Lutherstadt Wittenberg (= Study Unit Natural Science, Ethics and Preservation of Creation [Hrsg.]: Letters - For Orientation in the Conflict Man - Earth . Volume 125 ). Lutherstadt Wittenberg 2017, p. 20-22 .
- ↑ a b Chronicle (PDF; 6.2 kB) of the research home
- ↑ News ( Memento of the original from October 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 135 kB) of the Leipzig Environmental Library, No. 10, 1/2002, p. 8
- ↑ Concept of the Natural Science, Ethics and Preservation of Creation Study Unit (PDF; 185 kB)
- ↑ Uranium mining in the GDR The underground publication Pechblende (accessed: July 10, 2015 9:17 am)
- ↑ Leipzig Environmental Library ( Memento of the original dated December 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (see under the heading Environment)
