German seaman's mission

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Seemannsheim Hamburg-Altona of the German Seemannsmission
Former logo of the German Seamen's Mission at the former seaman's home in Lübeck , An der Untertrave

The German Seemannsmission eV (DSM) is an evangelical pastoral care and social institution for seafarers . With its member associations, it operates 32 stations in Germany and abroad, in which over 700 full-time and voluntary employees work. The association's headquarters are in Hamburg . The DSM belongs to the International Christian Maritime Association and, according to the statutes, is affiliated to the Evangelical Work for Diakonie and Development as a professional association.

The German Seamen's Mission sees itself as an “advocate for seafarers and, through lobbying, draws attention to the often difficult working conditions of seafarers”. It also sees itself as a point of contact and mediator between seafarers and shipowners as well as between ship crews and dock workers.

history

Old seaman's home Wolfgangsweg in Hamburg (1906–1958)
New seaman's home Hamburg on the " Michel " (since 1959)

The first seafaring missions began in England at the beginning of the 19th century . In 1848, at the first Evangelical Church Congress in Wittenberg , Johann Hinrich Wichern called on the German churches to look after those in need in all areas, and in this context also spoke of the “moral neglect” of sailors in German and overseas ports. The first seaman's home was built in Bremen in 1854, initially as a private donation from the shipowner Johann Karl Vietor .

The actual initiative to found a German seaman's mission , however, came from German emigrant communities in Great Britain who got to know the work of the missions there and had increasingly taken their own steps in this area since the 1870s. In 1885, six local committees in Liverpool formed the general committee for German evangelical seafaring missions in England and Wales . In the following year (1886) the committee for the church care of German seafarers abroad followed in Hanover , which was mainly supported by the Lutheran regional churches . With their support, a first full-time seaman's pastor was appointed and the first seaman's missions were founded on German soil: in 1891 in Hamburg , 1896 in Bremerhaven and 1898 in Kiel . As a third association, a committee for the German Evangelical Seemanssmission was established in Berlin in 1895 , which was based on the Prussian regional church and was particularly active in the Baltic Sea region. In order to better coordinate their activities and to appear together towards government agencies, the three committees formed a “Zweckverband” in 1923, from which the current umbrella organization developed over time.

From 1933, the National Socialists tried in many places to take control of the seaman's homes and integrate them into the German Labor Front . During the Second World War - as in the First World War - many stations abroad were confiscated and closed, while those in Germany were often destroyed or converted into hospitals .

During the time of the German economic miracle and the associated boom in German maritime trade, numerous foreign stations and the like were opened in the 1950s and 1960s. a. New or reopened in Lomé , Istanbul , Alexandria , Bilbao , Dublin and Cape Town , the construction costs of which were partly borne by the German Foreign Office .

Since the introduction of the container and the associated shortening of ship lay times, however, many stations abroad have had to be closed again due to a lack of demand. For some years now, the seamen's mission has also been struggling with declining grants and donations (see section on financing ).

structure

The seamen's club Duckdalben in the Hamburg harbor ( Waltershof ) of the German Seamen's Mission Hamburg-Harburg eV

According to the statutes, members of the Verein Deutsche Seemannsmission eV can be "all legally competent and unincorporated associations or other corporations in Germany and abroad that operate the evangelical seaman's mission as a diaconal missionary service to seafarers and their relatives in their respective locations". The individual stations are mostly carried by local associations, which in turn are members of the DSM umbrella organization.

Seaman's homes, clubs and lounges

Classic seaman's homes with overnight accommodation are now only available at larger locations. Most of the locations are day care facilities ( seaman's clubs ) where seafarers can stay for hours during their shore leave . The so-called Seafarers' Lounges (currently in Hamburg and Kiel) have been specially designed for seafarers on cruise ships . They are integrated directly into the cruise terminals so that seafarers can visit them without having to go through the usual security check.

The offerings of all locations typically include smaller shopping opportunities, purchasing phone cards , doing financial transactions ( transfers , etc.), lounges with free hot drinks, foosball , billiards and the possibility of using the Internet and e-mail as well as small libraries . In some cases, free medical care is also offered.

Staff, seafarers' pastors, deacons

Sailor pastor in protective clothing for visits on board

The missions are led by seafarers' pastors ( port chaplain ) or deacons . Often social workers and related professional groups also work in the facilities, as well as people who do a federal voluntary service (formerly civil service ) or a voluntary social year . The staff in the foreign stations mostly consists of locals. A large part of the work is also done by volunteers. All pastors and deacons meet every four years in Germany to exchange experiences.

financing

The work of the seamen's missions at home and abroad is financed from church and state grants, own income (e.g. from renting rooms) and donations, including voluntary contributions from the shipping companies . In 2017 the budget of the DSM was around 2.5 million euros, from which 17 foreign offices and seven positions in the DSM office were financed. For years, however, the DSM has recorded a significant decline in shipping company fees. Due to falling church tax revenues, the EKD allocations will also be reduced from 1.35 to one million euros from 2020.

Stations

Germany

  • Shuttle bus from the Braker sailors' club Pier One
    Brake - ecumenical seaman's club Pier One (opened in 2006 by DSM Unterweser eV in cooperation with the Catholic seaman's mission Stella Maris). Before that, there had been a seaman's home with 40 places since 1958.
  • Bremen - Seaman's Club of the Bremer Seemannsmission eV The seaman's home, built in 1956, was closed in 2017.
  • Bremerhaven - Seemannsclub Welcome (since 1992) and Seemannsheim Schifferstrasse (opened in 1900, new building in 1950 and renovated in 2013), another sailor's home existed from 1913 to 1979 in the fishing port.
  • Seemannsmission Brunsbüttel - 1958 founded Seemansclub of the DSM Westcoast eV, since 2013 there is another branch in Glückstadt
  • Cuxhaven - Station of the DSM Hannover eV, today's seaman's home has existed since 1978, after the larger house that had existed since 1921 had to be abandoned in 1973
  • Duisburg - Protestant inland navigation service with church boat "Johann Hinrich Wichern" , the former "House of the Schiffergemeinde" was closed in 2015
Seaman's Mission Emden
Seemannsheim Kiel
Oasis seaman's club in Stade-Bützfleth

Europe

  • Seaman's mission in Amsterdam (with a star in the window)
    Amsterdam (Netherlands) - founded in 1888, since 1954 a guest house on Keizersgracht 733, plus mobile work
  • Antwerp (Belgium) - founded in 1890, with its own home before the Second World War, today involved in the ecumenical Antwerp Seafarers' Center
  • Genoa (Italy) - since 1892
  • Le Havre (France)
  • London (Great Britain) - since 1886, previously with its own seaman's home, today in cooperation with other partners
  • Mäntyluoto (Finland) - since 1962, in cooperation with the Finnish Seaman's Church, its own seaman's club
  • Rotterdam (Netherlands) - since 1890, formerly with its own seaman's home, today in cooperation with partners

Africa

  • Douala (Cameroon)
  • Durban (South Africa) - since 1962, with own seaman's home until 2007, mobile work since then
  • Lomé (Togo) - since 1965 seaman's home and club "Foyer des Marins"

America

  • Seafarers & International House in New York, since 1983 also the seat of the German Seamen's Mission
    New York (USA) - since 1907 first in Hoboken (New Jersey) , since 1983 in Seafarers & International House on 15th Street near Union Square , plus mobile mission in surrounding ports
  • Santos (Brazil) - since 1912, today shared seaman's home with the Catholic. Seafarer's mission Stella Maris
  • Valparaíso (Chile) - since 1899

Asia

  • Hong Kong (China)
  • Singapore - in cooperation with the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore

Former stations

literature

  • Reinhard Freese: History of the German seaman's mission. Bielefeld 1991. ISBN 3-7858-0339-7
  • FM Harms: The history of the German evangelical seaman's mission . Szczecin 1909.
  • W. Thun: Becoming and growing the German Evangelical Seemannsmission. Bremen / Hamburg 1959. ( Online )

Web links

Commons : Deutsche Seemannsmission  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ German seaman's mission moves from Bemen to Hamburg. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c statutes of the German Seemannsmission eV (PDF) In: http://www.seemannsmission.org . April 23, 2015, accessed April 28, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c Thun, becoming and growing of the German Evangelical Seemannsmission. Pp. 13-19.
  4. ↑ This branch, later also referred to as the "Lutheran Association", was converted into the German Lutheran Seemannsmission Foundation in 2004 , see https://www.stiftung-seemannsmission.de/informationen-zur-stiftung/
  5. ↑ Thun p. 19 ff. After the Second World War, this Berlin or “Central German” branch lost most of its locations as a result of the division of Germany and Europe. In 2017, it was transferred to the Seemannshilfe Foundation , a. engaged in Estonia . See https://www.deutsche-evangelische-seemannsmission.de/ueber-uns/historie/ (accessed April 30, 2019).
  6. ↑ a b Reinhard Freese: History of the German Seemannsmission. Bielefeld 1991.
  7. ↑ a b Seafarers Lounge Hamburg. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Seafarers' Lounge at DSM Kiel. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  9. ^ Federal voluntary service in the seaman's mission. Retrieved May 2, 2019 .
  10. ↑ a b c German seaman's mission must save a lot. In: evangelisch.de. June 16, 2017, accessed May 5, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Thun p. 87.
  12. ↑ Drop anchor, page 15. Accessed June 27, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Peter Hanuschke: Overnight stay in Germany's oldest seaman's mission . Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  14. ^ History - Deutsche Seemannsmission Bremerhaven - DE. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  15. ↑ sko: Seemannsmission opens its own club | shz.de. Retrieved April 27, 2019 .
  16. ^ History of the seaman's mission in Cuxhaven. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Welcome Duisburg. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  18. ^ History - Seemannsheim Emden. Retrieved on May 6, 2019 (German).
  19. ^ Deutsche Seemannsmission Kiel eV - names and addresses. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Our story. In: seemannsmission-luebeck.de. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Sassnitz receives another seaman's mission. In: kirche-mv.de. April 14, 2016, accessed May 6, 2019 .
  22. ↑ New seaman's mission opened at Mukran ferry port. In: ostsee-zeitung.de. September 19, 2016, accessed May 6, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Mission Humanity: Seamen's Club celebrates its birthday. In: ostsee-zeitung.de. August 21, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Stade Club. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  25. ↑ About us. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  26. ↑ German Seamen's Mission Amsterdam - Welcome. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  27. ^ Seaman's mission in ecumenical partnership. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  28. ↑ London Partner. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Welcome to the German Seamen's Mission Mäntyluoto. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Welcome to Rotterdam. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  31. ^ History of the Durban Seafarer's Mission. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  32. ^ Seafarers International House | History. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Port Mission | Seafarers International House. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Welcome to Santos. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  35. ↑ Welcome Singapore. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .