Ludwig Wolker

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Ludwig Wolker (born April 8, 1887 in Munich ; † July 17, 1955 in Cervia / Ravenna ) was a German Roman Catholic priest and a leading figure in the Catholic youth movement and co-founder of the Association of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) .

" The General " - Prelate Ludwig Wolker owes this name to his organizational talent and his Bavarian-Baroque manner. However, he only partially does justice to the General Praeses of the Catholic Young Men's Associations of Germany (KJMVD) and the first Federal President of the Federation of German Catholic Youth. In addition to the organizer, Wolker was also a pastor and as such tried to win German youth over to God and the Church .

Career

Ludwig Wolker grew up as the son of a Customs Council in Munich and earned the Royal Luitpold-Gymnasium , the High School . His father was an avowed Protestant until shortly before his death , so that Ludwig Wolker had to keep the change from studying medicine to theology a secret. Two of the three sisters entered the monastery. He studied Catholic theology and philosophy in Munich and Innsbruck and received on June 29, 1912 by Archbishop Francis Cardinal of Bettinger in the cathedral of Freising , the ordination . First he worked as an assistant chaplain in Oberaudorf before he was appointed chaplain in Salzburghofen on January 21, 1913 . Since September 10, 1915, he worked as a Brotherhood chaplain and catechist at St. Peter and since 16 April 1924 as a teacher at the vocational school in Munich.

From the beginning he was active in the then little-regarded youth work and in June 1926 finally became Diocesan President for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and State President for Bavaria of the Catholic Association of Young Men . His pedagogical impulses and the publication of a youth magazine (Jung-München) made him known beyond the limits of his narrow work.

Therefore, on November 9, 1926, Wolker was appointed the new General Praeses of the Catholic Young Men’s Association in Germany and chairman of the German Youth Force and came to Altenberg near Cologne in the Bergisches Land , to the Haus Altenberg youth center founded by Carl Mosterts in 1922 next to Altenberg Cathedral . Ludwig Wolker made Haus Altenberg the center of the Catholic youth movement in Germany in 1926; it was the forerunner of today's youth center in Düsseldorf . During his tenure, the association was further strengthened internally and appeared self-confident on the outside. Wolker called on the young people to profess their faith and to build a youth kingdom with all their might.

Ludwig Wolker was instrumental in the development of a German standard text for the texts of the Ordinarium of the Holy Mass by a working group that met in 1928 on the private initiative of the Cologne pastor Joseph Könn in his rectory at St. Aposteln in Cologne. In the foreword to Church Prayer in 1932, Ludwig Wolker speaks modestly of the translation of the liturgical ordo missae "based on the unified text that has happily now been obtained". The text version was published for the first time in the 1930s edition of the prayer book Kirchengebet, first published by Wolker in 1928 , and from then on it was incorporated into the current folk mess books (Schott, Klosterneuburger Messtexte, Ilbenstädter Messbuch) and several diocesan hang books, so that uniform texts in the German-speaking countries could naturalize.

The time of National Socialism

Together with many of the association he worried about Germany, but he chose after the seizure of the Nazis not the way to 1,933 active resistance. The concern of the “general” about the freedom of Catholic youth work went hand in hand with the pastoral care of the priest for “his” young people until 1945 , to whom he tirelessly recommended “loyalty to faith, church and fatherland”.

It was his endeavor to convey the religious and ideological stamping to large parts of the youth even under the changed political conditions of the National Socialist regime. In loyalty to the episcopate , he tried again and again to take a position and to point out impending dangers. Although initially he did not adequately capture the regime's claim to totality , in the course of 1933 he gave up his limited willingness to cooperate and became an advocate of the legal position of the Catholic associations. The implementation provisions of Article 31 (protection and independence of Catholic associations) of the Reich Concordat, which were kept open, made the arduous negotiations more difficult. Despite a serious illness in 1934, he fought until the end against the dissolution of the youth associations.

On February 6, 1936, he was arrested along with 57 other employees of the youth center in Düsseldorf . The charges were of contact with illegal communist groups. Ludwig Wolker was able to refute the accusation and was released from prison three months later.

After the associations were banned, it became necessary to find new organizational forms of youth work. Religious ceremonies, rallies and pilgrimages with large numbers of participants were now held all over Germany. Wolker's commitment to such forms (e.g. the Confession Day on June 7, 1936) paid off. Ludwig Wolker liked to describe himself as "Rufer von Altenberg", his work as "Pastorale Altenbergense". He declared the Madonna von Altenberg “Queen of the League” and suggested the publication of “ Hymn. A selection of spiritual songs ”(1938) and“ Church prayer for community service ”(1939), both of which were of great importance for the liturgical renewal of the Catholic Church in Germany up to the Second Vatican Council.

In 1937 the diocesan associations of the KJMV were also dissolved, and its literature ( Die Wacht and “Am Scheideweg”) was banned. In 1939 the youth center was confiscated by the Gestapo and Wolker returned to his homeland.

He then worked in the pastoral care of young people , organized priestly and youth retreats and tried to keep in touch by letter with the young companions who were on duty at the front. In addition, he was appointed by the Bishop of Mainz to the “Council of Three of Youth Pastoral Care”.

Reconstruction after the Second World War

After the war , Wolker immediately tried to reorganize the work of the association. By resolution of the Werler Bishops' Conference (July 4 to 6, 1945), the restoration of the Catholic clubs and associations as before 1933 was rejected. Instead, lay activity should be reorganized in line with Catholic Action . The KJMV was not re-established because the bishops preferred the church-organizational structure of youth work by diocese , deanery and parish . Wolker was entrusted with the coordination of the church youth work to be redesigned and more influenced by the episcopate. Cardinal Frings appointed him rector of Haus Altenberg and head of the main episcopal office for youth pastoral care.

So it was primarily organizational tasks that shaped Wolker's work, which he tackled from Altenberg . In 1947 , the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) was founded, which brought together the boys and girls' associations, the Düsseldorf youth center was rebuilt and the interests of young people represented in the young democracy. However, pastoral care was not lost sight of. Wolker founded the "Altenberger Singewerk" in 1948. In this series, Christophorus-Verlag first brought out the “Altenberger Singebuch” in 1948, a “basic song book” which, according to Wolker's preface, “gives boys and girls from all classes and tribes, groups and fraternities a family of songs that they all sing should connect "; this was followed by other songbooks and choir pieces in the 1950s. After the war, Ludwig Wolker continued to formulate the “ Pastorale Altenbergense ”, the foundations of youth pastoral care developed in Altenberg, which he finally wanted to put on paper after his replacement by the Fulda Bishops' Conference in 1952. However, his sudden death in 1955 thwarted these plans.

After the funeral in Altenberg Cathedral , Ludwig Wolker found his final resting place on July 25, 1955 in the Düsseldorf North Cemetery.

Wolker's services to sport

With Wolker's death not only the Catholic youth in Germany had lost a personality, but also German sport. Since the election as chairman of the Reichsverband der Deutschen Jugendkraft (DJK) in 1926, the Reichsverband für physical exercises in Catholic associations, Wolker had made many important contributions on the subject of ethos and sport. He gave sport a special role in the development of young people. He strongly involved the young people in the organizational work of the association. In addition to a religious-ecclesiastical, an educational and a social-charitable task, Ludwig Wolker also assigned a national political task to the work of the association since the early 1930s. After the Second World War he stood up for the establishment of the German Sports Confederation (DSB) beyond denominational boundaries and was a member of the National Olympic Committee . He was convinced that in a unitary association the role of the Catholic associations could play a more important role than in a separate association.

Honors

Ludwig Wolker badge

The German Sports Federation (DSB) drew 1,980 to 2,006 every two years with the Ludwig-Wolker-badge a personality that is very efficient for the ethos and human dignity has been used in sports. The award then went into the DOSB ethics award, which, according to the German Olympic Sports Confederation, is “awarded in continuity with the Ludwig Wolker plaque”.

Ludwig Wolker relief

The German Youth Force (DJK) awards the Ludwig Wolker relief. It can be awarded for outstanding commitment and for special services to the DJK, especially for employees who already have all the honors of the respective DJK diocesan association.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Church prayer (edition 1930), Generalpräses Wolker: Foreword , p. 3.
  2. ↑ Willi Bokler: Foreword. In: Carlfried Halbach: The cathedral to Altenberg. With a cycle of poems by Georg Thurmair and a contribution by Hans Peters. Verlag Haus Altenberg. Altenberg and Düsseldorf 1953.
  3. ↑ Main office of the Federation of German Catholic Youth, Jugendhaus Düsseldorf EV (Hrsg.): Altenberger Singebuch. Christophorus-Verlag Herder GmbH, Freiburg im Breisgau, eighth edition 1958, p. 5. Foreword to the first edition 1948 , Ludwig Wolker
  4. ^ Arnd Krüger : Sport and Politics. From gymnastics father Jahn to state amateur. Torch bearer, Hanover 1975 ISBN 3-7716-2087-2 .
  5. ^ Announcement of the DOSB Ethics Prize. In: German Olympic Sports Confederation. Retrieved January 14, 2020 .

literature

  • Handbook of the Archdiocese of Cologne, 23rd edition, Cologne 1933, p. 849.
  • Barbara Schellenberger: Ludwig Wolker. 1887–1955 , in: Zeitgeschichte in Lebensbildern Vol. 5, Mainz 1982, pp. 134–146.
  • Maria Wego: Ludwig Wolker. Pastor and “General” , in: Düsseldorfer Jahrbuch 76 (2006), pp. 207–250.

Web links

Wikiquote: Ludwig Wolker  - Quotes
personal data
SURNAME Wolker, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German clergyman, member of the Catholic youth movement and co-founder of the Association of German Catholic Youth
DATE OF BIRTH April 8, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 1955
Place of death Cervia / Ravenna