Otto Günnewich
Otto Günnewich (born April 4, 1902 in Lügde ; † August 10, 1942 in Hartheim ) was a German Catholic priest and opponent of National Socialism , who was interned in the Dachau concentration camp and murdered in the Hartheim killing center .
Life
Otto Günnewich grew up with eleven siblings in Lügde. In 1924 he began his theological studies and received on April 5, 1930 in Paderborn the priesthood . Then he was vicar in Gommern near Magdeburg .
In 1934 he became parish vicar in Salwey in the Sauerland . There he aroused the hostility of the Nazi mayor with his decidedly ecclesiastical attitude. On June 12, 1941, he led the Corpus Christi procession 150 meters down the village street in the opinion that a permit from the previous year would allow this. Two party officials who were about to drive through the village at this point were stopped.
He was arrested on July 11, 1941. He was taken to the Gestapo prison in Dortmund and on August 15 to Bochum in solitary confinement . On November 21, he was deported to Dachau concentration camp. He was assigned to Priest Block 26 and was given prisoner number 28707. Forced labor and malnutrition weakened him. In the summer of 1942 he came to the infirmary, where he recovered easily and performed nursing services.
On August 10, 1942, he came to Hartheim Castle near Linz on an "invalid transport" and was killed in the gas chamber . The official cause of death was "intestinal catarrh". An urn with ashes was sent to Lügde and buried there on October 8, 1942.
There was no trial in his matter. A prison guard in Bochum testified to Otto Günnewich's continued trust in God.
In 1999 the Catholic Church accepted Otto Günnewich as a witness of faith in the German martyrology of the 20th century .
literature
Helmut Moll (publisher on behalf of the German Bishops' Conference), witnesses for Christ. The German Martyrology of the 20th Century , Paderborn et al. 1999, 7th revised and updated edition 2019, 572-574.
Web links
- Otto Günnewich (Lebensspuren.schloss-hartheim.at)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Günnewich, Otto |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Catholic priest and Nazi victim |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lie |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 10, 1942 |
| Place of death | Hartheim |