Werner Moritz
Werner Moritz (born March 8, 1928 in Hamburg ; † July 7, 1967 in Magdeburg ) was a teacher of physics and biology and director of a polytechnic high school (POS) in the community of Rogätz in the Magdeburg district .
After the train accident in Langenweddingen , in which, according to official figures, at least 94 people were killed on July 6, 1967, he rescued twelve students from the burning train . One day after the accident in a Magdeburg hospital, he succumbed to severe burns and was posthumously awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver. In addition, a primary school and the local association of the German Red Cross in Rogätz bear his name in his honor.
Life
Werner Moritz moved to Rogätz with his parents at the age of eleven. Until 1944 he attended secondary school in Tangerhütte . He was unable to complete a subsequent shipbuilding apprenticeship in Rostock because of the consequences of the war . From 1947 to 1949 he completed a new teacher training course . He then took up his first job as a teacher in Parey in the northeast of Saxony-Anhalt . Two years later he was transferred to Wolmirstedt , where he first taught at a vocational school and later at a middle school. In 1962 he moved to a polytechnic high school in Rogätz.
On July 6, 1967, he was together with around 250 travelers in the P 852, which traveled the route from Magdeburg to Thale . The goal of his trip was an ornithologist conference in Almond Wood in the Harz Mountains . Also on the train were numerous school children on their way to a holiday camp. At a level crossing near Langenweddingen , the train collided with a tank truck that was filled with around 15,000 liters of light petrol . In the explosion that followed, at least 94 people were killed, including 44 children and young people. Werner Moritz rescued twelve students from the wreck of the train, but suffered severe burns. He died one day after the accident in a hospital in Magdeburg, leaving behind a wife and three children.
Web links
- Annemarie Zähle: Moritz, Werner Entry in the Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Moritz, Werner |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German teacher and school director, lifesaver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 8, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 7, 1967 |
| Place of death | Magdeburg |