Theodor von Wächter

Theodor Gustav von Wächter (born April 21, 1865 in Stuttgart ; † July 9, 1943 there ) was a German Protestant theologian and social democrat .

Live and act

Theodor von Wächter was born on April 21, 1865 in Stuttgart as the son of the lawyer and member of the state parliament Oskar von Wächter (1825–1902) and his wife Agnes born. Flattich born. His grandfather was the important legal scholar Karl Georg von Wächter (1797-1880). After graduating from the Karlsgymnasium in Stuttgart in 1883, he studied Protestant theology at the Universities of Tübingen , Zurich and Greifswald and passed the first theological examination in Tübingen in 1888. During his studies in Tübingen he joined the Luginsland student union . In 1889 he was vicar in Neubulach for a short time , after which he continued his theological studies at the universities of Erlangen and Halle / S until 1890 . away. In 1891 he passed the second theological service examination. Because of his doubts about the church doctrine, he took leave of absence from the Württemberg regional church . In the same year he became a member of the SPD and appeared for this party as a speaker and publicist. He ran for the German Reichstag twice (1893 and 1895) without success . Because of his membership in the SPD , he was removed from the list of candidates for preaching office by the regional church in 1893 (the "Guardian case").

In 1895 Theodor von Wächter resigned from the SPD. This was followed by an unsteady wandering life in Italy, where, in addition to various literary work, he gave language lessons. In 1909 he was appointed head of the Villa Romana in Florence , which was used by German artists to study abroad , but which had to be temporarily closed in 1915 due to the First World War. Wächter returned to Germany and joined the KPD in 1921 . He spent the rest of his life in Germany - more badly than right - writing and teaching. In 1942 he was sentenced to one year imprisonment for homosexual acts, which he was released on pardon. After a serious illness, he died on July 9, 1943 in Stuttgart.

Theodor von Wächter advocated a kind of Christian socialism and often advocated for people in need; For the church leadership at the time, his entry into the SPD was not compatible with his appointment to the pastoral service. There were also differences in the area of ​​church doctrine. In the later years of his life, Wächter openly acknowledged his homosexuality and published about it.

Fonts (selection)

• (as ed.): Stadt- und Landbote. Weekly paper for popular education. 1892.
• Christmas thoughts and a Christmas request to everyone for help in realizing true Christianity. Berlin 1891.
• (as ed.): Der Christ. Sunday paper for Christians of every creed to promote independent knowledge of God and practical love of neighbor. 1893-1896.
• The position of social democracy on religion. Stuttgart 1894.
• What the people are not allowed to read. A contribution to the cultural history of the 19th century. Vaihingen an der Enz 1894.
• Must there always be rich and poor, masters and servants? Stuttgart 1895.
• Social Christian. A reformation program. Stuttgart 1895.
• If you have two skirts, give the one who has none. Stuttgart 1895.
• Christians of all denominations unite. Stuttgart 1896.
• Love as a physical and emotional power transmission. A psychological-ethical study. Leipzig 1899.
• Albert Dulk as a thinker and poet of freedom. Stuttgart 1904.
• Goethe and Rome . Part 1: Rome's impression on Goethe. o. O. 1915.
• The law of development of history. “Peace on earth” as the ultimate goal of historical development. Schorndorf 1915.

literature

• Daniela Dunkel: The "Guardian Case". From the early days of relations between the Social Democrats and the Church. In: Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte, vol. 106 (1995), pp. 231–240.
• Gerd Wilhelm Grauvogel: Theodor von Wächter. Christian and Social Democrat. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-515-06565-2 .
• Gerd Wilhelm Grauvogel: Unite the incompatible. The extraordinary life story of the theologian and politician Theodor von Wächter - and what you can learn from it. In: Heimatblätter. Yearbook for Schorndorf and the surrounding area , vol. 30 (2016), pp. 53–70.