Magdalene Thimme

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Magdalene Louise Marie Charlotte Anna Thimme (born November 3, 1880 in Lohe , Nienburg / Weser district ; † May 12, 1951 in Bremen ) was a German educator , avowed Christian and pacifist, and an active opponent of National Socialism .

Life

Thimme was the third youngest daughter of eleven siblings in a pastor family. Like her brother Wilhelm, she was tutored by her father and, when she was fourteen, attended a public girls' school for a year. Her older brother Friedrich became a historian and publicist, while her brother Ludwig was also a theologian. She completed a teacher training college and passed on her knowledge to the younger brothers. Then she was a teacher for three years. Since 1905 she studied theology, English and German at the University of Göttingen .

Since 1913 the religious educator has been teaching at August Kippenberg's upper secondary school in Bremen. She was able to convince as a teacher at a high level with great charisma and through her stirring lessons. Above all, the lessons in German and religion served not only to impart knowledge, but also to orientate themselves towards life. Many students were enthusiastic about her.

In 1934 she was elected as the first woman to the fraternal council of the confessing community in Bremen; she was the first woman to take on a leadership role in the history of the Bremen church.

Since 1933, Thimme was in constant conflict with National Socialism. Schoolgirls reported that she had taken an open position against the persecution of the Jews. Despite repeated warnings, she openly expressed her opinion in class. The difficulties increased. She refused to join a sub-organization of the NSDAP . In a written declaration to the school authorities, she subsequently restricted her official oath, which she had taken under the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service in 1934, by placing obedience to God's word above the command of the authorities in cases of doubt. The employer initially accepted this, but not the Gestapo . She was interrogated and asked to join the NS-Volkswohlfahrt (NSV). She rejected this on the grounds that terminally ill and non-Aryans would not be supported by the NSV. The governing mayor then proceeded with her dismissal in 1938, as she - "alien to the National Socialist spirit" - was unsuitable as an " educator in the Third Reich ".

The parish leadership of Alt-Stephani-Süd - a parish of the Confessing Church - protested against the compulsory retirement with the statement that “a Christian official is removed from office because he expresses his faith and wants to act according to it.” In the parish took place After her release, take up her activity in the church fight. She belonged to the fraternal council and headed the helpers group.

After Pastor Gustav Greiffenhagen was banned from exercising his office by St. Stephen's Church in Bremen in 1935, she and many parishioners (including Elisabeth Forck , Tusnelde Forck, Maria Schröder, Hedwig Baudert and Anna Dittrich) supported the difficult church work. Together with Greiffenhagen, she wrote a paper on the fundamentals of the Protestant Church in 1935 that was submitted to the First Bremen Confession Synod for a vote. When the pastors moved in during the Second World War , Thimme also administered the pastoral office, prepared sermons that were read out on Sundays, and held confirmation classes. It ensured that cohesion was maintained in the community during the war.

In 1941 she was given a security deposit of 500 marks because of a letter to the governing mayor in which she and other parishioners justified the participation of several non-Aryan parishioners in the church service.

The staunch pacifist advocated during and after the war that a Christian should not do military service. In 1950 she wrote the text Word on Peace , in which she took a position against remilitarization. She wrote a work on church history that appeared only after her death.

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personal data
SURNAME Thimme, Magdalene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thimme, Magdalene Louise Marie Charlotte Anna (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German educator, professing Christian and pacifist and active opponent of National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1880
PLACE OF BIRTH Lohe , Nienburg / Weser district
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1951
Place of death Bremen