Ludwig Stamer

Ludwig Stamer as a young priest

Ludwig Stamer around 1935

Volume 1 of Ludwig Stamer's main work

Ludwig Stamer (born August 26, 1892 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein , † October 6, 1977 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse ) was a German priest and historian. He was also the prelate of the Diocese of Speyer and the author of a 5-volume “Church History of the Palatinate”, which is one of the Palatinate standard historical works.

Life

Ludwig Stamer was born on August 26, 1892 in Ludwigshafen-Friesenheim as the son of a teacher. He attended high school in his hometown and then studied theology in Innsbruck and Munich . In 1914 Stamer volunteered for the Bavarian Army and joined the 23rd Bavarian Infantry Regiment "King Ferdinand of Bulgaria" . He suffered a serious wound near Ypres , was dismissed from military service on July 31, 1915 as unfit for war and continued his theology studies.

On April 15, 1916, Ludwig Stamer was ordained a priest in Speyer Cathedral by Bishop Michael von Faulhaber . From May 1, 1916, he worked as a chaplain in Rodalben , and from July 2, 1917 as a catechist in the Queichheim educational institution . On July 24, 1919, Stamer was promoted to cathedral chaplain in Speyer, and from November 21, 1921 he was appointed branch office in Böbingen . In 1925 he was at the University of Würzburg Dr. theol. doctorate and took over the north Palatinate parish of Winnweiler on November 6, 1925 . Finally, on September 1, 1930, Stamer went to the secondary school in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse as a teacher . Here he taught until 1945, then, until his retirement in 1957, at the old-language grammar school there. In 1956, Stamer had been awarded the title of Papal House Prelate . The diocesan documentation on persecuted Speyer priests during the Nazi era lists Ludwig Stamer and states that on October 12, 1935, a press attack against him on the NSZ Rhine front took place.

In addition to his priestly work, Stamer was a passionate church and local historian. Between 1936 (first volume) and 1964 (last volume) the priest wrote a 5-volume “Church History of the Palatinate” , a standard work for all historians who deal with the south-west of Germany. Philipp Weindel writes in an obituary about the origins of this church history:

“ Every religion teacher who was active at a higher school during the 3rd Reich had to watch with concern how an ominous agitation against religion and the church was carried into this group of students through the Hitler Youth. Old slackers were dug up, gross historical falsifications were served up in order to spread the distrust in the mostly uncritical youth. Direct countermeasures were a dangerous experiment for the religion teacher, as so many priests learned. In this situation, Stamer decided to immunize his students by resorting to history and to strengthen their loyalty to the Church. He paid special attention to the history of the diocese, which is why he decided to write a history of the diocese of Speyer. "

- Philipp Weindel: Obituary for Ludwig Stamer . In: Society for Middle Rhine Church History Volume 29, 1977

From 1953 until well after his retirement, Ludwig Stamer gave lectures on the history of the Palatinate church at the seminary in Speyer . 1962–68 he was Vice President of the Society for Middle Rhine Church History; he was also an extraordinary member of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science. The Speyer cathedral chapter commissioned him in 1961 to publish a commemorative publication on the 900th anniversary of the cathedral's consecration.

His younger brother Alfons Stamer (1895–1960) was also a priest, director of the Episcopal Konvikt, and Regens of the seminary in Speyer. Ludwig Stamer's uncle was also a priest.

Catalog of works (selection)

• The supernatural in Schleiermacher . Dissertation, Würzburg 1925.
• Church history of the Palatinate . 5 volumes. Pilgerverlag, Speyer 1936–64.
• What a Palatine Catholic should know about the history of the Diocese of Speyer . Pilgerverlag, Speyer 1938.
• From the youth of Paul Thierry, Baron von Holbach . Society for Middle Rhine Church History, Volume 9, 1957, pages 279–282.
• Alban Haas - 80 years old . In: Palatinate home . No. 8, 1957.
• Matthew von Chandelle - an appreciation of his personality and his episcopal activity . Society for Middle Rhine Church History, Volume 13, 1961, pages 234-262.
• 900 years of Speyer Cathedral. Festschrift for the 900th anniversary of the cathedral's consecration . Pilgerverlag, Speyer 1961.
• The anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral 100 years ago, 1861 . In: The Pilgrim . Born in 1961, p. 822.
• The Speyer bishops and the placet for the fasting patents . Society for Middle Rhine Church History, Volume 14, 1962, pp. 422–477.
• The construction of the Catholic parish church St. Marien in Neustadt an der Haardt . Festschrift by Pirmin Stoltz, 100 Years of Marienkirche Neustadt, 1962, pp. 9–37.
• Msgr. Dr. Jakob Bisson . Society for Middle Rhine Church History, Volume 15, 1963, pp. 459-460.
• The dispute between state and church over the expansion of the Speyer seminary 100 years ago . Society for Middle Rhine Church History, Volume 16, 1964, pp. 249-280.
• Elector Ruprecht I of the Palatinate . Annual report 1964/65 of the state elector Ruprecht Gymnasium Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, pp. 26–40.
• The inventory of the former Speyer part of the new diocese of Strasbourg, from 1804 . Society for Middle Rhine Church History, Volume 18, 1966, pp. 239–294; Volume 19, 1967, pp. 195-227; Volume 20, 1968, pp. 227-267.

literature

• Viktor Carl: Lexicon of Palatinate personalities . Hennig Verlag, Edenkoben 2004, p. 847.
• Ludwig Börst: The Palatinate theologians in the world war . Pilger Verlag, Speyer approx. 1930, p. 38.
• Philipp Weindel: Obituary . In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History . Volume 29, 1977.
• Obituary . In: Pilgrim Calendar . (Yearbook of the diocese). Speyer 1979.