Peter Hertel (journalist)

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Peter Hertel, Christiane Buddenberg-Hertel, Mayor Wolfgang Walter;
present the books Die Juden von Ronnenberg in 2013 after the lecture “From tomorrow you are not wanted here” in the House of the Hanover Region

Peter Hertel (born October 3, 1937 in Bockum ) is a German theologian , publicist and author .

Life

Peter Hertel attended elementary school in Bockum-Hövel from 1943 to 1947 and then humanistic grammar schools. First in Lüdinghausen until 1949 , then in the Allgäu with the Salesians of Don Bosco and from 1953 to 1956 in Würzburg . There he passed his Abitur .

Studies, job, interests

He completed his university studies in Catholic theology and social sciences from 1956 in Münster and Munich with the theology exam and in 1966 with the diploma for Christian social sciences in Münster.

In 1956/1957 he worked as a freelancer for daily newspapers in Bockum-Hövel; 1962/1963 as a volunteer and 1964 as a political editor at Ruhr-Nachrichten . In 1965/1966 he was sole editor for the Dortmund church newspaper Kirchlicher Anzeiger . He was domestic affairs editor 1966–1970 for the Westfälische Nachrichten and 1970/1971 for the weekly magazine Publik . 1972/1973 he was an editor in the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung for the magazine Liberal . Then he worked until 1995 as a radio editor in the North German Broadcasting Corporation for "Religion and Society". Since then he has been a freelance radio journalist and book author.

He is particularly interested in the relationship between Christianity and modern society, conversations with Judaism and issues relating to church politics. He also deals with fundamentalist currents in Catholicism . In 2008 he was awarded the honorary prize of the Catholic Adult Education in the Diocese of Hildesheim , among other things, for having dealt with Catholic fundamentalism fairly and knowledgeably and for having worked innovatively. Hertel plays the organ and other instruments.

Public activities

  • 1964–1966: Councilor in Bockum-Hövel.
  • 1974: Co-founder of the Ecumenical Initiative One World (ÖIEF)
  • 1980: Co-founder of the ecumenical initiative Steps towards Disarmament .
  • 1981–1995: Board member in the NDR staff council in Hanover ; Temporary member of the NDR General Staff Council Hamburg .
  • 1989: Election by the Hildesheim Diocesan Synod to its board.
  • 1996–2010: Chairman of Catholic Adult Education in the Hanover Region.
  • 1997: Initiator and team leader of the Catholic staff congregation Johannes XXIII. in the Hanover region.
  • 2014: Co-founder and chairman of the initiative Förderverein Remembrance Work Ronnenberg .

Memory work

Since the end of the 1990s, Hertel and his wife have explored the forgotten history of the Jews in Ronnenberg and created the exhibition "Imprinted in our memory - The Jews of Ronnenberg" with more than 200 photos. The exhibition is a case study of the complete expulsion of a compact Jewish community from a medium-sized German community between 1937 and 1939. It has so far mainly been shown in schools in Lower Saxony and Westphalia.

In 2017 and 2018 he and his wife visited three Jews from Ronnenberg who had escaped the Holocaust in Brazil, Israel and the USA. The more than 100 Jewish objects and documents they received will be exhibited in a learning and memorial site decided by the city council. As a result of these visits, 22 stumbling blocks were laid in Ronnenberg.

In Hammer, Bockum Hövel district, he uncovered the fate of seven forgotten Jews who were murdered in Auschwitz . Stolpersteine ​​are to be laid for them in January 2021. It was in this context that Hertel's book about childhood experiences in the place of birth was written. In it he combines experiences from that time with facts from that time that were hidden. He also brought the by the Gestapo in September 1944 on the Radbod built Arbeitserziehungslager (AEL) for 131 forced laborers to light. 16 women have disappeared from the camp without a trace.

Criticism of Opus Dei

The author became known to a broader public with his critical books on Opus Dei , especially through his main work “I promise you the sky” - the spiritual demands, social goals and ecclesiastical significance of Opus Dei (four editions in German so far). They belonged to the books published at the time that triggered “very specific representations and heated discussions”. He also clearly represented his view of Opus Dei in an ARD broadcast.

Peter Hertel presented the internal structure of Opus Dei based on statements from former members and substantiated his comments on the thought patterns of this organization and others. a. with quotes from Der Weg (1st edition!). He also criticizes Josemaría Escrivá's close ties to the Franco regime . His criticism also applies to the conspiratorial approach of Opus Dei in attracting young people as offspring and the secrecy practiced in relation to parents.

He examines the sources of money of Opus Dei and financial flows between the three levels of Opus Dei he sees particularly intensely. These are

  • the ecclesiastical personal prelature as the basis of the organization Opus Dei.
  • the corporate associations , e.g. B. "Arbor". In this regard, the prelature emphasizes that the associations are not their business, but rather the responsibility of members. The prelature denies any factual responsibility. Occasionally she takes on the “religious” care of the employees. In addition, Hertel stated that capital gains from corporate associations flow into the work of the prelature and that this is intended according to internal regulations. The information provided by the prelature is legally correct, but factually incorrect.
  • the foundations and banks , e.g. B. the Limmat Foundation . Here the prelature denies any cooperation. However, Hertel found that the majority of the management bodies and supervisory boards are made up of Opus Dei members who work in the spirit of the prelature and who have supported them in some cases with considerable financial resources. In addition to his own research, he also relies on third parties. He shows that even when public funds are donated, the decision-makers and other supporters of institutions are not clearly connected to Opus Dei.

In the updated and expanded 2007 edition of Creeping Takeover , he sees Pope Benedict XVI. , the Cardinals Koch and Lehmann and the Vatican authorities as sponsors of Opus Dei . He describes "Opus Dei's struggle for a Catholicism of yore: authoritarian-militant in the thought pattern of a combat unit in an evil world of enemies, of post-communists, liberals and liberation theologians ". As a result of the canonization of the founder of Opus Dei, Josemaría Escrivá, in 2002 he sees a strong rise in the order towards a steadily growing, politically right-wing and conservative community.

It also lists factual information such as honorary doctorates or other university awards from the Opus Dei University of Navarra as well as the “vocabulary” of Opus Dei. It also provides information about important sympathizers, centers, members, cooperative associations, foundations and banks that are very close to Opus Dei. In current publications he continues to refer to connections between church dignitaries and Opus Dei.

Hertel's publications on Opus Dei appeared in eight languages.

Publications (selection)

Books

  • Blowing tracks. The liberation of Weetz and his forced laborers. Friends of Remembrance Work Ronnenberg, Ronnenberg 2019.
  • On our doorstep. A childhood in the Nazi state - experienced early, explored late. agenda-Verlag, Münster 2018, ISBN 978-3-89688-596-8 .
  • with Christiane Buddenberg-Hertel: The Jews of Ronnenberg - A city confesses to its past. Published by Region Hannover / Ahlem Memorial. Hahnsche Buchhandlung Verlag, Hannover 2016, ISBN 978-3-7752-4903-4 .
  • Creeping takeover. The Opus Dei under Pope Benedict XVI. New edition. Publik-Forum , Oberursel 2007, ISBN 978-3-88095-161-7 .
  • “I promise you heaven” - Spiritual claim, social goals and ecclesiastical significance of Opus Dei. 1st edition 1985, ISBN 3-491-77632-5 ; 4th edition. Patmos, Düsseldorf 1991, ISBN 3-491-77804-2 .
  • with Ulrich Teiner: Basically black. German Catholicism and Politics. Torchbearers, Hanover 1975.
  • Secrets of Opus Dei. Classified information - Background - Strategies. Herder, Freiburg i. Br. 1995, ISBN 3-451-04386-6 .
  • Opus Dei - God's shock troop or “Holy Mafia”? Power and influence of Opus Dei in Switzerland and elsewhere. Paulus Academy, NZN-Buchverlag, Zurich 1992, ISBN 3-85827-091-1 .
  • Opus Dei Goals, Claim, and Influence. In: Freiburg academy writings. 5. Ed. Harald Schützeichel . Patmos-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1992.
  • With the face to the world. Echter, Würzburg 1996, ISBN 3-429-01768-8 .
  • Faith Guardians. Catholic traditionalists in German-speaking countries. Echter, Würzburg 2000, ISBN 3-429-02279-7 .

Audio CDs

  • Benedict's raiding party. Opus Dei and the German Pope , Ronnenberg 2005.
  • Stumbling blocks. Ronnenberg searches for Jewish traces , with Anna Gann, Ronnenberg 2006.
  • The Da Vinci lure. Thoughtful things about Dan Brown & Co , with Anna Gann, Ronnenberg 2007
  • “I a Pope? God forbid!". Saint John XXIII. , Ronnenberg 2014
  • Conversation with Rabbi Henry G. Brandt , Ronnenberg 2015.

Calendar sheets in the DLF (selection)

  • On Cardinal von Galen: (1941) ", July 13, 2011

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Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Honorary Award Ceremony, p. 13
  2. ↑ Foundation of OIEF
  3. ↑ Cardinal Lehmann Renewed World Responsibility from Faith. On the shape and meaning of the new Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Lecture on November 16, 2002 in Berlin in front of a selected audience; without publication details; the word actually spoken was not known.
  4. ↑ Discussion E. Drewermann and P. Hertel with H. Thomas from Opus Dei
  5. ↑ Peter Hertel Creeping Takeover - Josemaria Escriva, his Opus Dei and the power in the Vatican. 5th edition 2006, ISBN 3-88095-130-6 , pp. 79ff: Chapter 5 A work asks for cash.
  6. ↑ Swiss celebrities in the network of Opus Dei. In: Blick.ch . January 10, 2002, accessed July 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Doctorate from Bishop RM Woelki at the Pontificia Universitá della Santa Croce, Rome
  8. ↑ Lecture October 2019
  9. ↑ The three famous sermons of the "Lion of Münster"
personal data
SURNAME Hertel, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theologian, publicist and author
DATE OF BIRTH October 3, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Bockum-Hövel