Paul Ohlig

Paul Ohlig (born June 22, 1881 in Barmen , today: Wuppertal , † December 18, 1956 in Schwerte ) was a German Protestant pastor and local historian. As a member of the Confessing Church , he was an opponent of National Socialism .

Life

Study and job

From 1900 Ohlig studied theology at the Georgia Augusta in Göttingen and the Friedrich Wilhelms University in Bonn . There he became a member of the Göttingen Wingolf and in 1901 of the Bonner Wingolf . In 1908 he was ordained as a synodal vicar in Radevormwald . From 1909 to 1911 he served as an assistant preacher in Wermelskirchen and Barmen, and as a prison chaplain in Dortmund . From 1911 to 1946 he worked as a pastor in Schwerte.

effect

During his 35 years as a pastor in Schwerte, Ohlig shaped the city and community in a variety of ways.

During the First World War, Ohlig kept a chronicle for his community, which he published in 1922 as "War Chronicle and Heroes' Book". Further local historical publications followed.

As the person responsible for the Inner Mission , he was one of the founders of the Diakonie in Schwerte in the 1920s . Until 1946 he directed the affairs of the community service.

With the beginning of the church struggle, the majority of the presbytery members in the Schwerte parish joined the National Socialist German Christians . Against this, Ohlig and Pastors Millard and Kleinemeyer protest as members of the Confessing Church . They found support from Frauenhilfe Wandhofen and in youth work. On November 9, 1934, there was a public dispute at a community meeting with around 2000 Protestant Christians. The three pastors publicly denounced the presbytery and announced the formation of an alternative confessional presbytery on the basis of the Barmer Theological Declaration . In 1937 the three pastors and their youth workers were arrested, which led to violent public protests in Schwerte. They were released from custody after seventeen days. Pastor Kleinemeyer's imprisonment left persistent health problems.

In 1943, during evacuation work to protect the ecclesiastical art treasures of St. Viktor's Church, a crucifixion fresco was rediscovered in the apse of the south aisle. The discovery of the Gothic fresco is attributed to Ohlig. After the liberation in 1945, Pastor Kleinemeyer, with whom Ohlig had been imprisoned, was appointed mayor of Schwerte by the Americans. In 1946 Ohlig finished his pastoral service. Two years before his death he published the memorial book for the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in Schwerte.

Fonts (selection)

• War diary and heroes' memorial book of the Evangelical Church in Schwerte, 1914–1918, Schwerte 1922.
• St. Viktorkirche Schwerte and its art treasures, Schwerte 1939.
• Commemorative book for the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in Schwerte, Schwerte 1954, ed. from the presbytery of the Protestant community in Schwerte.

literature

• Alfred Hintz: Moved without notification, unknown: Schwerte under the Nazi regime , series of publications by Roland zu Dortmund eV, New Series Volume 2, Norderstedt 2008, edited by Christian Loefke.
• Alfred Hintz: August experience , contributions to recent city history, in: Forum industrial monument preservation and history culture , 2005, online version schwerte.de .
• Norbert Kaufhold: War Chronicle , Schwerte 1991.

Web links

• Ingo Rous: Schwerte 100 years ago: Enthusiasm for war is just a myth , Blickwinkel Schwerte, July 26, 2014, accessed on March 19, 2017.
• Paul Ohlig (editor): Greetings from home of the two evangelicals. Municipalities of Schwerte (Ruhr), January 30, 1916 , Berlin State Library , digitized collections, digitized data accessed on March 19, 2017.
• Schwerter Heimatverein (Hrsg.): Schwerter Sagen , collected by Ulrike Berkenhoff, Schwerte 2010, p. 15, Fig. The holy woman Kümmernis , accessed on March 19, 2017.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Philistine directory of the Göttingen Wingolf, Göttingen 1919, p. 4.
2. ^ History and People, Paul Ohlig on the Ruhrtalmuseum website , accessed March 14, 2017.
3. ↑ Chronicle of the Diakonie Schwerte ( Memento of the original from June 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 14, 2017. 
4. ↑ Parish conception of the Evangelical Church Community Schwerte , as of November 9, 2015, p. 4f.