Paul Neumann (translator)

Paul Neumann (born July 11, 1943 in Deuthen ) is a state-approved translator for Russian and Polish . Against the background of his childhood in Poland , the experiences of the post-war period and the Cold War and his conviction as a Christian , he has been doing various voluntary activities since the early 1980s that contribute to encounters, reconciliation, ecumenism and international understanding between Germans and Eastern Europeans.

Life and professional history

Paul Neumann grew up with his mother and older brother in Deuthen in the Polish part of East Prussia after the Second World War , after his father has been missing since the Battle of Breslau . Here he learned not only the German mother tongue but also the Polish language. In 1958 the family moved via the Friedland and Osthofen camps to Berghausen (Palatinate) , where they quickly integrated into the community of St. Pankratius . From January 1963 to 1970 Paul Neumann served in the German Armed Forces . He then finished school with a secondary school leaving certificate . He then learned the Russian language at the Foreign Language Institute in Heidelberg and became a state-approved translator with the 1972 exam. In the same year he married his wife Luise, with whom he has two children. Until his retirement in 2008 he worked for 36 years in a patent law firm in Ludwigshafen as a translator for Russian and Polish.

voluntary work

Church work

In the parish of St. Pankratius in Berghausen he was active in various voluntary functions. In total he was a member of the parish council for 32 years , was second for four years and first chairman for over six years, and he was also a lecturer and communion helper for many years . In the course of his involvement in the parish, Paul Neumann has been helping for several years since 1986 with the integration and support of asylum seekers from Iran and Kurds from Turkey as well as Silesians and Germans from Russia who had come to Berghausen as migrants . Above all , he was able to help with contacts with the authorities and translations of documents and certificates thanks to his language skills.

Partnership between St. Pankratius Berghausen and the Cathedral Parish of the Holy Cross in Opole

In 1984 he was instrumental in establishing the sponsorship between his home parish and the Cathedral Parish of the Holy Cross in Opole in Poland. At the beginning this consisted of the transport of relief supplies for the population in need after the end of martial law in Poland , which Paul Neumann prepared and carried out together with the parish council, the parish priest Alois Zorn and other parishioners. The contacts to Opole intensified more and more in the following years and soon extended beyond the humanitarian aid . Particularly noteworthy is the work with young people in the East-West working group of the KJG from the Speyer dean's office . He planned the exchange of youth groups between the Deanery Speyer and Opole and also took part in these as a translator. Even after the end of the Cold War, parish relations did not decrease. When Opole was hit particularly hard by the flood of the Oder in 1997 , the cathedral parish could again rely on fast and unbureaucratic help from Berghausen. In 2014, the 30th anniversary of the partnership was celebrated.

Pax Christi

At the end of the 1980s, Paul Neumann took part in the Pax Christi project “Reconciliation with the peoples of the Soviet Union”. In the course of this there were several meetings in preparation for a reconciliation trip to the Soviet Union and the celebration of a service in the Pax Christi Chapel of the Bernhardskirche in Speyer. Against the background of the political developments that ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the trip no longer took place.

Chernobyl campaign by the parish of St. Pankratius Berghausen

The visits to Opole also gave rise to the idea of inviting children from the Chernobyl region to a three to four-week recovery stay in Berghausen, especially since this was already happening in Opole. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986 led, among other things, to a long-term weakening of the immune system and other symptoms of illness in children. Paul Neumann, initiator of the ecumenical action, has been organizing recreational stays for the children since 1990 in coordination with the parish council and the local pastor Alois Zorn together with other helpers in order to strengthen their health. Thanks to many donors, host parents and other voluntary helpers, the children's recreational stay can be financed and carried out every year. Around 400,000 children and young people are currently still living in the greater region around the nuclear power plant . The stay in Berghausen resulted in long-term contacts and mutual visits with the former guest children.

Spokesman for the Chernobyl initiatives of Rhineland-Palatinate

When Paul Neumann was elected to the speakers' council of the Chernobyl initiatives in Rhineland-Palatinate in 1998 , he had years of experience in dealing with children from the contaminated areas in Belarus . The council primarily serves to coordinate the aid of the individual initiatives from Rhineland-Palatinate, but also from other federal states. In addition, an exchange of experience and information can take place here. As chairman of the council, Paul Neumann traveled to Belarus for several years to attend the “Department for Humanitarian Activities of the President of the Republic of Belarus”, the “Joy for Children” foundation and the German Embassy in Minsk to take care of the children's recreational stays in Rhineland-Palatinate and to coordinate Germany. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Belarusian partners are grateful for the help and support the initiatives. Around 60 aid initiatives have been launched in Rhineland-Palatinate since the 1990s, of which around 10 still existed at the end of 2017.

Partnership between the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis and the District of Opole

The contacts that have been established over many years between the parish of St. Pankratius in Berghausen and the cathedral parish of the Holy Cross in Opole were, among other things, an important argument for the signing of the sponsorship between the Ludwigshafen district (now the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis) and the Opole district in 2002 In the course of this, Paul Neumann stood by the district in an advisory capacity and as a translator. On behalf of the district administrators , he also organized three citizens' trips to the Opole district and accompanied them as a tour guide and translator.

Friends of Speyer-Kursk

Paul Neumann has been the spokesman for the Speyer- Kursk Circle of Friends since 2010 and is therefore part of a further body that advocates reconciliation and good relations between East and West. Based on his experience of meeting young people from Opole, he planned exchanges between ecumenical youth groups from Speyer and the Russian twin town of Kursk together with members of the “Young Church” . Together with the city of Speyer, he plans and takes part in public trips to Kursk.

Renovabis

In spring 2016 Paul Neumann worked in the steering group of Renovabis “Solidarity Action of German Catholics with the People in Central and Eastern Europe” in the preparation of the opening service, which took place in 2017 in the Speyer Cathedral .

Sporting commitment

Since 1961 Paul Neumann has been an active middle and long distance runner at TSV Speyer. As early as 1965 he passed an exam as an examiner for the German sports badge at the sports school of the Bundeswehr. In 1967 and 1968 he took part in the so-called Holland March and the 100 kilometers from Biel . Since 1985 he has been taking the sports badge at TSV Speyer on a voluntary basis.

Awards

In June 2000 Paul Neumann was awarded the Medal of Merit of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate for his diverse commitment in relations with Poland, Belarus and Russia . In October 2005 he received the Pirminius plaque of the Speyer diocese for this . In September 2015, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis received the award: he was appointed wine sponsor of the district's Wingerts by the district administrator. The most significant award was the award of the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon in February 2017. In March 2010, he was awarded the Bronze Badge of Honor by the Palatinate Sports Federation for his services in sport.

literature

• Bettina Deuter: Speyer, The 90s and the big world, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2002, p. 42, ISBN 3-8313-1281-8 .
• Paul Neumann: The history of our partnership, in: MY i my, Wir und Wir, Kath. Kathedralpfarramt Hl. Kreuz Oppeln (ed.), Oppeln 1998, pp. 87–97.
• Paul Neumann: A Polish patriot and far-sighted bridge builder to Europe, in: W cieniu Opolekiej Katedry, Zycie i dzialalnnosc ks. Stefana Baldego 1935–2003, Helmut J. Sobeczko (ed.), Oppeln 2007, pp. 163–176, ISBN 978-83-60244-53-7 .
• Paul Neumann: Greeting on the occasion of the 30-year partnership between the cities of Speyer and Kursk, in: Kursk- Speyer: 30 years of friendship, Курск– Шпайер: 30 лет дружбы !, Kursk authors' collective (ed.), Kursk² 2019, p. 107– 112.
• NN: Allensteiner receives the Federal Cross of Merit, in: Allensteiner Heimatbrief No. 264, Meckenheim 2017, p. 60.
• Gerhard Sellinger: At home in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, Darmstadt 2010, p. 134f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.sprecherrat-tschernobyl-initiativen-rlp.de/
2. ↑ https://www.focus.de/regional/rheinland-pfalz/paul-neumann-erhaelt-bundesverdienstkreuz_id_6616485.html