Peter Meyer (teacher)

Peter Meyer (born November 26, 1888 in Altenwerder , † June 28, 1967 in Hamburg ) was a German teacher , headmaster and member of the synod .

Live and act

Peter Meyer was the son of a fisherman. He attended a community school in his birthplace for three years and, from 1898, the secondary school in Seilerstraße . In 1908 he passed the high school diploma in front of the Holstentor. He then studied mathematics and physics at the University of Kiel and the University of Göttingen , followed by a three-month internship at the Psychological Institute in Hamburg, during which he dealt with experimental pedagogy. Meyer then completed practical training as a senior teacher with teaching assignments at the Reformrealgymnasium on Königsstrasse in Altona and the Christianeum .

Since he suffered from a heart disease, Meyer did not have to do military service. Instead, he worked from 1914 to 1919 as a teacher at secondary schools in Itzehoe and Heide . He then went back to Altona, where he took on an apprenticeship at the Oberrealschule Altona-Ottensen on April 1, 1920 . In 1927 he took over the school management, initially as a sickness replacement, and in 1931 he was appointed official director. Meyer was considered a teacher who used very good teaching methods. For this reason, he worked as a part-time scientific adviser in the Schleswig Provincial School College.

Peter Meyer, who lived in what is now Bernadottestrasse, was considered politically influenced by Wilhelminism and, in particular, the time of Otto von Bismarck . He confessed to Lutheran Protestantism and held several lay offices in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, including for many years in the synod that Altona was in charge of. During the time of National Socialism Meyer strictly rejected the NSDAP and its groups. Since he initially worked with like-minded officials, Meyer was not exposed to any denunciations or surveillance measures until Albert Henze took over the school administration in 1941 . Together with high school supervisor Herbert Saß, Henze took action against Meyer, whom he transferred to the Albrecht Thaer School as a simple teacher at Easter 1943. The transfer took place in the context of stricter persecution of the Swing youth and tougher measures against teachers and school principals who appeared to the Gestapo to be suspicious of failing to report activities of the Swing youth or teachers who support them. Meyer was not in a position to lead the college sufficiently tightly to bring about a consensus among colleagues on the worldview of the National Socialists, so the reason for the measure.

After the end of World War II , Meyer was returned to his previous office on July 7, 1945. In 1945 and 1946 he campaigned for a union of educators of all school types in school policy. He also participated in committees that worked towards a restart of the school. Since the British military government kept the school building of the upper secondary school Altona-Ottensen under confiscation, Meyer arranged for alternative accommodation in which he organized a three-shift operation. He recorded the experiences gained during this time in detail; they represent an important historical document. In 1949 the pedagogue took over the chairmanship of the Association for the Promotion of Mathematics and Science Education .

Peter Meyer's term of service ended on March 31, 1954, exceptionally extended by four months.

literature

• Uwe Schmidt: Meyer, Peter . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 4 . Wallstein, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8353-0229-7 , pp. 240-241 .