Wilhelm Reichardt

Wilhelm Reichardt (born May 21, 1871 in Ronneburg (Thuringia) , † November 18, 1941 in Eisenach ) was a German theologian .

Life

Wilhelm Reichardt studied Protestant theology in Tübingen , Halle (Saale) and Berlin and was ordained a pastor in Altenburg in 1895 as an assistant preacher in the court rectory there . During his studies in Halle, he became a member of the Fridericiana (Halle) ( German Choir ). In 1897 he became the palace deacon and in 1908 consistorial councilor in Altenburg. In 1917 he received his doctorate as Dr. theol. in Jena , became chief preacher in 1918 and general superintendent in Altenburg in 1919 . From 1921 to 1933 he was provincial pastor of the Thuringian Protestant Church . As such, he took part in the World Conference on Practical Christianity in Stockholm in 1925 . In 1933 he was given the title of regional bishop before he retired on March 1, 1934.

Act

After the elimination of the sovereign church regiment in 1918, Reichardt played a key role in the formation of the Thuringian Protestant Church, which came into being in 1920 through the merger of the various particular churches. As a bourgeois-liberal-thinking theologian, he wanted to promote a “church for the people”. Regardless of this, he did not oppose the efforts of the German Christians , who strived for a church on a nationalist-racist basis and finally enforced it. This path has been evident in his behavior since January 30, 1933: In March 1933 he welcomed the transfer of power to Adolf Hitler "most joyfully" as the beginning of measures "to purify and renew our people's life", especially those demanded by the believers "Fight against godlessness". Under his leadership, under pressure from the church movement German Christians , the regional church council repealed the ordinance of 1931, which forbade pastors from political activity. In May 1933, together with the chairman of the regional church assembly Friedrich von Eichel-Streiber , he signed an ecclesiastical " Enabling Act " parallel to the state church , which withdrew powers from the church parliament , as well as a "law against Marxism ". On May 5, 1933, he put a new church ordinance into force, according to which a marriage could be refused “if there was a difference of race ”. Under his aegis, the law of September 12, 1933 on the position of church officials in relation to the nation was passed, according to which a “ non-Aryan ” or a theologian married to a “non-Aryan woman” could no longer be appointed pastor. A few months before his retirement, he called on the congregations to "fight together under the leadership of our People's Chancellor". On October 25th he called for the “election” of Hitler as the “ leader sent by God ”.

Fonts

• The war year 1914 in sermons and speeches , Altenburg: Bonde 1914.
• Church customs and traditions in the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg. Edited on the basis of questionnaires based on the status of 1913 (Als Hs. Dr.), Altenburg: Hiller 1917.
• From the construction time of the Thuringian Protestant Church. Sermons and essays , Eisenach: Verl. D. People's Service 1934.
• From the memoirs of D. Wilhelm Reichardt, former regional bishop , compiled for the regional church council of the Thuringian Protestant Church by his son Dr.iur. Dr.rer.pol Erich W. Reichardt, Eisenach, 3 volumes (unpublished; Landeskirchenamt Eisenach)

literature

• Thuringian Church Gazette and Church Gazette. Law and news sheet of the Thuringian Protestant Church , years 1933 and 1934.
• Erich Stegmann: The church struggle in the Thuringian Evangelical Church 1933–1945 , Berlin 1984.
• Dietmar Wiegand: Wilhelm Reichardt (1871-1941). Altenburg's last court preacher and Thuringia's first regional bishop , in: Thomas A. Seidel (Hrsg.): Thüringer Gratwanderungen. Contributions to the 75-year history of the Protestant regional church of Thuringia (= hostels of Christianity. Yearbook for German Church History, special volume 3), Leipzig 1998, pp. 101–119. ISBN 3-374-01699-5

Individual evidence

1. ^ Meißner, Paul (Ed.): Directory of the members of the Association of Alter Sängerschafter in Weimar eV (VAS), WS 1928/29, as of January 1929, Leipzig, Verlag Verband Alter Sängerschafter, page 200.