Wilhelm Viertmann
Karl Heinrich Wilhelm Fourth Man (* 10. November 1909 in the East Westphalian town of Guetersloh , † 12. December 1942 as a soldier in Utta in the Kalmyk steppe ) was a Lutheran theologian who is a member of the Confessing Church (BK) vehemently opposed the German Christians of NSDAP used. In studies, he was among other things influenced by the doctrine of theology professors Karl Barth , of Barth friends Fritz Lieb and Ernst Wolf and Wilhelm Stählin . As an assistant preacher in various congregations, he preached against the regime of Adolf Hitler and his party as the "wolves in sheep's clothing". In the church struggle of the Protestant Church against the ruling authorities of the German Reich , he was repeatedly admitted to the prison, and the corresponding criminal proceedings have been initiated. He took the theological opinion that only the word of God , as it is proclaimed in the Bible , is the standard for evangelical Christians with which Christianity can identify. His well-known sermons tell of this commitment against the strong influence of the ruling power, of which he always speaks of the "force majeure" even after the war. His letters to the congregation, to his confirmands and to his family from the front in front of Stalingrad bear witness to the serious doubts and needs with which he had to struggle as a Protestant pastor .
Childhood and Adolescence (1909–1929)
Wilhelm Viertmann, called Willi, was the first son of the master baker Ernst Heinrich August Viertmann and his wife Anna Wilhelmine Viertmann, nee. Bennemann. Over the years Wilhelm got 4 more siblings. On December 5, 1909, he received holy baptism. His sensitivity , coupled with a penchant for music, soon inspired the mother to give her son Wilhelm a different education. She made sure that he was allowed to attend the Evangelisch-Stiftische-Gymnasium in Gütersloh from Easter 1920. Many graduates of this high school left to become theologians . Wilhelm, too, was seized by this wish and encouraged by the pastor of the institute, Johannes Kühne. In the auditorium of this grammar school, Wilhelm Viertmann was confirmed by Pastor Kühne. His confirmation saying was Psalm 23 ( Ps 23 LUT ), which accompanied him and his future wife throughout their lives. On February 26, 1929 he passed his Abitur.
Studies and training (1929–1933)
Even as a sextan , he had made up his mind to become a pastor . The last years of his high school time confirmed this decision, shaped by the striving to serve the people. From March 1929 he studied theology for two semesters in Halle , where he also acquired knowledge of the Hebrew language . For the third semester he moved to Tübingen , especially to hear Professors Karl Heim and Adolf Schlatter . Here he learned about Karl Barth's doctrines, which fascinated him. There the lecture volume by Karl Barth "The Word of God and theology", but also the studies of Christoph Blumhardt and his brother as well as the reading of the "Diary of a Metropolitan Pastor" by Gerhard Jacobi were compiled. These statements had a decisive influence on the budding theologian for the period that followed. Influenced by these impressions, they also prompted him to move to the University of Bonn on November 4, 1930 , where Karl Barth, one of the main representatives of " Dialectical Theology ", taught his first semester. In his résumé he wrote: “I owe the basis of my theological training in all disciplines to the four semesters that I spent in Bonn in the lecture hall, seminar and home of Karl Barth”. Even now he was on a level that led to incomprehension in his environment. Barth's coining also included the warning against a “political theology” as it was also represented by the National Socialist German Christians . He spent the eighth semester in Münster . Theological significance for him there was above all the discussion with Wilhelm Stählin and the liturgical movement ( Berneuchen movement ). He de-registered on February 28, 1933 and registered for the First State Examination on October 16, 1933 . The last general superintendent of Westphalia, Wilhelm Weirich, chaired the examination board . The later President Pastor Karl Koch also belonged to the examination committee . Both theologians were critics of National Socialism. Wilhelm Viertmann gave his exam sermon on June 11, 1933 in the parishes of Rietberg and Wiedenbrück . In it he made a sharp distinction between divine and worldly action.
An excerpt from this sermon:
“Dear community! - Jesus wants to speak to us today about the kingdom of heaven. He wants to say, as it were: My dear people, what are you actually doing there? You moan and complain and fight and die - for what reasons? One turns around and thus destroys the others and himself. What a ridiculous spectacle it is! Look to the sky! Let Heaven remind you that you are just very pathetic little people! That there is a completely different empire than your wretched German Reich , no matter how powerful and how strong it is! "
On 20 November 1933 he was the consistory as a preacher of the Superintendent Adolf Clarenbachstift in Borgeln in Soest transferred. From May 1, 1934 he was given the task of teaching vicar . On September 15, 1934, Wilhelm Viertmann was commissioned by the fraternal council of the Westphalian Confessional Synod to attend the faithful, Reformed seminary in Wuppertal-Elberfeld . The leader of this seminar was Pastor Hermann Albert Hesse . Hermann Albert Hesse is asked for help by Viertmann in the later difficulties with the NSDAP . He finished the seminar on March 31, 1935 and on April 16, 1935 was commissioned to look after a parish in Werth near Bocholt .
The way to the rectory in Wattenscheid-Höntrop (1933–1942)
During the time as synodal and teaching vicar with the superintendent Clarenbach in Borgeln, as well as later, the “ Word of God ” played a very dominant role. He was already defending himself against the German Christians and vehemently represented the attitudes of the Confessing Church. His activities in the church struggle were decisively determined by the Barmen Theological Declaration .
His decision to proclaim the word of God in the sense of the Barmer Theological Declaration and thus the rejection of the German Christians as the church party of the NSDAP accompanied him throughout his short life. There was no reason for him to decide otherwise or to change. In Werth he received great self-confidence due to his acceptance by the community and thus a basic requirement for stability in the church struggle. On September 30, 1935, he returned to his parents' house and took the time there to prepare for his second exam. At the same time, he tried to get a briefing in an assistant preacher position as quickly as possible.
As early as the autumn of 1935 he had found a suitable preacher position that had become vacant , which belonged to the Lippe regional church , to which he applied, although he did not have the necessary confirmation of eligibility and the Westphalian Brother Council showed no reaction to his efforts. Wilhelm Viertmann informed the Brothers Council on January 18, 1936 that he was interested in this assistant preacher position and asked to be allowed to take up this service as soon as possible. At the same time, the request was made for an appointment for his 2nd state examination as soon as possible. The church council of the Lutheran parish of Detmold, which is responsible for the situation, approved his application as early as January 20, 1936. Viertmann then took up this position three days later. In a letter dated January 25, 1936, the Brother Council informed Wilhelm Viertmann that at the moment he could not give permission to take on an assistant preacher position in Lage because of the severe lack of ordained and soon ordained people in the Westphalian provincial church. Despite the negative attitude of the brother council, Wilhelm Viertmann remained in the Kapellen-Gemeinde situation, in which he delivered his sermon against the "wolves in sheep's clothing" on November 1, 1936, which was hostile to the National Socialists.
His 2nd state examination took place from March 25 to March 27, 1936 before the theological examination board of the Westphalian Confessing Synod in Bielefeld-Bethel. The result of the examination was: "Overall, passed well". Wilhelm Viertmann was thus able to vote.
During the time in Lage he concentrated more and more on the church struggle. In addition, he also had to deal with the most diverse views of his superior church institutions.
“On the instruction of the Westphalian Brother Council of September 1, 1936, Wilhelm Viertmann was ordained a pastor by Superintendent Münter from Bielefeld-Brackwede on September 6, 1936 after a previous discussion of the ordination vows in his home parish in Gütersloh with the participation of Pastors Schulde and Gronemeyer from Gütersloh. “On September 30, 1936, he married the sister of his college friend Fritz Gossing in Bad Driburg and from then on lived in Detmold. The disputes with the various church institutions and people increased steadily. “Despite warnings and bans, Wilhelm Viertmann did what he believed he had to do. He saw himself as an obedient member of the Confessing Church and thus acted in the firm belief that he had to say the 'one word of Christ' to his congregation. ”The end of his auxiliary preaching service in the Kapellen congregation determined his Reformation sermon on November 1, 1936 in Lage and Detmold on the proposed Bible text from the Gospel of Matthew , Chapter 7 : 15-21 LU with the theme: “ Be careful of the false prophets!” Here he risked a strong word against the political aspirations of the time and denounced the “wolves in sheep's clothing ”, who took a stand against the churches and God's Word in their high offices. Some passages from this sermon:
“If we want to listen to the word of Jesus Christ, follow him and be loyal students of Martin Luther, then we as a Protestant community and as believing Christians should call into our German people: Beware of false prophets! In fact, our people are inundated with a torrent of false prophets and lies. Men who hold high offices in the party and in the state abuse them to fight against God's word and the teaching of the church. A flood of newspapers and magazines of the so-called German faith has set itself the goal of publicly profaning God's word and everything that is sacred to us. A weekly newspaper about the reputation of the striker who pretends to fight for the truth, mocks and mocks the Bible in editorials, pictures and headlines. German Christians and so-called neutrals who pretend to belong to the Evangelical Church are silent about all of them for fear of their honor and their position. It is not an abuse of the pulpit when the pastors warn the people against those ideological acrobats who put on the prophet's cloak and thus seduce the people into error and lies "
On November 10, 1936, three police officers appeared at his home for a house search and took away everything related to the sermon. During a visit by his sick father in Gütersloh on November 12, 1936, the criminal police took him into protective custody and took him to Detmold prison. He was released from protective custody on November 20, 1936. On November 24, 1936, officials of the Secret State Police handed Wilhelm Viertmann a letter with the decision to expel him within three days “from the area of the Reich Governor for the Lippe and Schaumburg-Lippe states ”. "Since November 1, 1936, Viertmann was a dangerous resistance fighter for the Secret State Police who had to be observed with the greatest care and, if necessary, eliminated."
After his deportation, he returned to his parents' house in Gütersloh. From there he tried to find a new assistant preacher position at the Westphalian Brotherhood Council. On December 31, 1936 he was assigned one with effect from January 1, 1937 in Buer-Resse with Pastor Donner. He found a church synod there, which after the church elections in 1933 had split into a German-Christian and a faithful direction, the majority of which, however, had reached the German-Christians. This led to considerable difficulties in church work.
On July 10, 1937, shortly before the birth of his first child, he applied from Buer-Resse for the vacant pastoral position of the parish of Herford (Münster) . “Although the Protestant consistory in Münster confirmed the receipt of the application for the fourth parish of the Münster parish in Herford on July 27, 1937, it was not in a position to recognize this because Wilhelm Viertmann did not pass his second state theological examination before the theological there The second state examination had been taken before a confessional examination committee in Bethel, which, however, was not recognized by the German-Christian Protestant consistory in Münster. On September 1, 1937, he had also preached a sermon against the “tormentors of the state” in the Buer-Resse congregation, preaching about the imprisonment and expulsion of the Apostle Paul , Acts chapters 16 : 16-35 LU . The collection recommended by him at the exit of the church had, however, been banned by the Prussian minister for church affairs since July 9, 1937 for denominational services. On September 4, 1937, he was arrested by the secret state police in the rectory following a complaint from a church visitor. This detention lasted until November 24, 1937 (81 days). "He was one of 55 Westphalian clergymen who were arrested for more than a day in 1937 and who was commemorated on the confessional petition list of the provisional church leadership of the German Evangelical Church." The Confessional Synod decided on November 29, 1937 with regard to the Confrontations with some parishioners to instruct Wilhelm Viertmann as assistant preacher in the Protestant parish of Wattenscheid- Höntrop with effect from December 1, 1937 .
For Wilhelm Viertmann, the first services in Höntrop were immediately praying services for the arrested Pastor Lunke from Leithe . He also had problems with the community nurse, who was a slave to the local group leader of the NSDAP. He was only able to gain the trust of the parishioners with difficulty through home visits. When the NSDAP tried to reduce religious instruction in the Höntrop community school, he decided to take additional lessons in the parish hall. During his parish in Höntrop he paid special attention to catechumens and confirmation classes. “Viertmann contrasts the apparently“ clever myths ”of his time with the confession of the all-ruling power of Christ. And once again he did not lack clarity. "
On July 12, 1938, the assistant preacher Wilhelm Viertmann was elected pastor of the fourth parish in Wattenscheid-Höntrop with eight votes in favor and one abstention. On September 10, 1938, his second child, a daughter, was born. On December 21, 1938 he was confirmed in his pastor by the Protestant consistory. After that, on December 22, 1938, he had to take the oath of the "Führer".
Resistance in the church struggle against National Socialism and imprisonment
Wilhelm Viertmann's theological career was shaped by Karl Barth during his short life. In his contribution “Theological Existence Today”, published in 1933 by Christian Kaiser Verlag , the following was to be read: “That is why the Church, theology cannot go into hibernation even in the total state, nor can it put up with a moratorium or conformity. It is the natural limit of every state, including the total state. ”Viertmann acted according to this motto in the following years. In addition to the difficulties with the German Christians, there were also arguments with the members of the Confessing Church and the fellow believers, who did not take the principles of the Confessing Church so seriously.
With the eight-day protective custody in November 1936 because of his sermon, Viertmann's problems were not over. He was still under house arrest. On November 24, 1936, by order of the Reich and Prussian Minister for Church Affairs , Hanns Kerrl , Viertmann was informed that he had been expelled from the realm governor for the federal states of Lippe and Schaumburg-Lippe. He had to leave the area within three days. A complaint had also been drafted. “At the special court in Hanover (6 S Ms 109/37; 6 S 73/1596/36). Wilhelm Viertmann was charged with an offense under Section 2 of the Act against Unjust Attacks on State and Party and for the Protection of the Party Uniform of December 20, 1934, Section 20 (1) of the Press Act of May 7, 1874 and Section 74 of the Criminal Code because in Lippe / Lage on November 1 and 8, 1936, through two independent acts, he made publicly hateful, inflammatory and low-minded views about living personalities of the state and the NSDAP, which are suitable for the people to trust in the political leadership undermined and in the 2nd case by disseminating a pamphlet ”.
Various church authorities were dealt with the Viertmann case, some spoke out in favor of him, others against, so that Wilhelm Viertmann was sometimes quite disappointed about the lack of support. "Since November 1, 1936, Viertmann was a dangerous resistance fighter for the Secret State Police who had to be observed with the greatest care and, if necessary, eliminated."
“Contrary to all [sic!] Warnings from his colleagues, Wilhelm Viertmann held a supplication service for the persecuted and imprisoned brothers in the community of Gelsenkirchen-Buer-Resse on September 1, 1937. He based his remarks on an excerpt from Acts 16, 16-35, about the imprisonment and expulsion of the Apostle Paul. "He said:
“In his day, the apostle Paul would have been captured, scourged and thrown into prison because of his speeches that disturb the population. A judicial investigation would not have taken place against him then, as it is now in similar cases. After his release from prison, as is still the case today, he should be expelled. But when the city judges heard that Paul was a Roman citizen, they were frightened. Because at that time it was just as if a police commander had a man locked up today who later turned out to be the holder of the golden party badge. In addition, the Roman citizen of his time was a person with special rights who had more rights than all other national comrades. "
Viertmann was reported by a worshiper on the same day and arrested on September 4, 1937 in the rectory. The attorney Hermann Pinckernelle was placed at his side by the Confessional Synod . “It was not until November 18, 1937 that the court hearing finally took place before the Gelsenkirchen-Buer district court. He was charged with violating Section 2 (1) of the Heimtückegesetz in unity with Section 130a of the Criminal Code and the Collection Act. ”A conviction was postponed and reference was made to special court hearings in Dortmund and Hanover. On November 24, 1937, he was released from custody.
"In order to avoid further confrontations with some parishioners hostile to Viertmann, the Westphalian Confessing Synod transferred the assistant preacher Viertmann on November 29, 1937 with effect from December 1, 1937 to the Protestant parish of Wattenscheid for the administration of the Wattenscheid-Höntrop parish." moved into the newly built parsonage in a night-and-fog operation, hoping to avoid constant surveillance by the Gestapo, at least for a short time. But since the local group leader of the NSDAP had his office a few doors away, this precautionary measure was a failed action. On December 6, 1938 he and 32 other clergymen of the Confessing Synod in Gelsenkirchen made a petition to the Ministry for Church Affairs in Berlin with the following wording:
“We are grateful that the provisional church government (VKL), as the rightly in office emergency church regiment in the hours of imminent danger of war in the days of the September crisis, has called the Christian community to a supplication service for the maintenance of peace. In the draft of the prayer service determined by the Holy Scriptures and the confessions of the church, we see nothing that could cause us to abolish the fellowship with the authors of the order of worship or to deny them recognition as the spiritual leadership of the German Evangelical Church. "
The consistory in Münster responded to this on July 22nd, 1939 with a disciplinary order: “Your behavior is therefore a gross breach of duty, according to § 1 of the disciplinary code of the German Evangelical Church of April 13th, 1939 (Law Gazette of the German Evangelical Church 1939 page 27 ff.) in connection with the ordinance for the implementation of the disciplinary order of the German Evangelical Church of the Old Prussian Union of May 17, 1939 (Law Gazette of the German Evangelical Church, page 63) is punishable with a service penalty. On the basis of Sections 5 and 7 of the aforementioned disciplinary code of April 13, 1939, we set you a fine as a service penalty in the amount of one month's salary. "
Nothing significant has become known about further serious events.
Military service and death (1941–1942)
On October 18, 1941, Pastor Viertmann was sworn in as a soldier in the Wehrmacht and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment Replacement Battalion (366 motorized), which was stationed in Belgium. At the beginning he worked as a clerk and gas seeker. Military life was absolutely not his profession . Physically, he was not in a position to endure the hardships of a soldier's life. After only three months of training and a final examination of his suitability for war, he was transferred to the war front in the east with Field Battalion 16-1 (motorized) on January 25, 1942.
The only contact with the family or his community was the field post letters that he could write during the short breaks that the mission allowed him. So also on May 25, 1942 to his wife:
“I am sometimes so sad about my lot that I do not participate in anything completely apathetic, sit there thoughtlessly, neglect my service. It is apparently a chain of bad luck and bad luck that haunts me. It comes to the point that I am neither a war pastor nor an officer, nor get an office position, so that I remain a primitive soldier in the front line until I get caught. Far younger preachers sit in the war parish offices, I see very young fellows, quickly promoted to officers, who rule over me as superiors, and in the back office very young people have been stuck in their chairs for a long time, plus, as it sometimes seems to me, the Chain of missed opportunities. The only consolation for me is that I let God guide me and hardly intervened in my fate myself. But sometimes I just want to collapse inside because I'm usually pretty robust and persistent in such things. I have never been in need of help, advice and consolation as much as here. "
Since August 1, 1942, he was private . Viertmann reported on his situation in the east in a letter from the field post dated September 12, 1942 to his brother-in-law:
“As a shock division, we are only motorized by the fire. I haven't gotten out of the front line since then. I had to go through everything: river crossing, bridgehead widening, shock attacks, tank battles, use of secret weapons, heavy artillery battles. Excessive persecution and heavy defensive battles. Where after Donets, Don, Maitsch and Kuban crossings, Armaniz, Waiskop and Caucasus and now steppe fighting are (our current environment: sand, heat: 52 degrees, dust, little water, camels, also snakes and Buddhist Kalmyks population) the main stations of our advance. Unfortunately, 2/3 of our company have already failed (fallen or wounded). Many of our company commanders, too, eight days ago today. It's like a miracle that I'm still safe. As a combat officer, with the boss at the front, before the individual groups as the next to approach the enemy. My predecessors as combat detectors both fell. "
The combat operations got worse and worse. Often the situation seemed hopeless. And again and again he thought of his confirmation saying from Psalm 23 ( Ps 23 LUT ). On December 9, 1942, he received the Iron Cross, Second Class, from his boss, Captain Karl Torley. Three days before his death, he wrote to his wife in a letter:
“Today I have been walking around with the iron cross, second class, all day, because on the day it is presented one should and is allowed to wear it. It was ceremoniously presented to me this morning. If you ask me: what for? Then I can only say: it was my turn. The reason given was: For the reporting rounds that I had to make for Captain Torley during heavy fighting. "
Wilhelm Viertmann lost his life in a shock attack in the Kalmyk steppe near Utta on December 12, 1942. In a field post letter to his wife on March 4, 1942, he once wrote:
“The night has advanced (in fact, it is night in Europe and around the world). But the day has come near (the sun of the last day of the resurrection rises over it all). So let us put aside the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. Romans 13, verse 13. This part calls out to me: Become a servant of the Word of God in this war too! "
His family
After taking up service in the Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Lage at the beginning of 1936, Wilhelm Viertmann felt that the time had come to think about starting a family. He and the sister of his college friend Fritz Gossing, Margarete Gossing, nee. Engaged on August 22, 1908 in Detmold. He gave up his small room and after the ordination moved with his fiancée into a three-room apartment in Detmold.
On September 30, 1936, he married in Bad Driburg, the place where his in-laws lived. From the beginning, his wife had to see how Wilhelm Viertmann stood up for the Confessing Church. His ambition to act in accordance with the Barmen Theological Declaration put a strain on his family life. His sermon on wolves in sheep's clothing took place just a month later. With the house search on November 10, 1936, the suffering of the now pregnant wife began. After Viertmann was arrested in Gütersloh, she looked helplessly for help. Nobody told her where her husband had been taken. In her need she turned to her husband's colleague friend, Pastor van Senden in Detmold. This had found out that Viertmann was imprisoned in Detmold. She also went to see her husband in prison with him. After her husband was expelled from Lippe, she was busy clearing up her household in Detmold. She was very worried about her marriage and her husband's future career.
After her husband was instructed in a position as assistant preacher in Buer-Resse, she moved, heavily pregnant, into an apartment in Pastor Donner's parsonage. On July 26, 1937, she gave birth to a son for whom the couple chose the first name Martin as a reminder of the arrest of Martin Niemöller that month . Several more court appointments followed, which were very stressful for the family, but did not lead to punishment.
With the arrest on September 4, 1937, the problems in the marital union continued. “As often as Margarete Viertmann visited her husband in prison in the following days, he was always in good spirits that what he had done had only been his right as a good Christian. So he dismissed every fear of his wife with the sentence that nothing bad could happen to him because he had done nothing wrong. ”During this time, the young mother received a lot of support from the pastor family Donner. The visit of mother and child to the prison was a moving experience for Wilhelm Viertmann during his 3-month imprisonment.
Again he had to leave his place of work. With his move to the newly built rectory in Wattenscheid-Höntrop at the end of 1937, the family hoped for a little more peace and quiet. The second child in the family was born on September 10, 1938. It was a girl and was given the first name Christel.
Now, after many difficulties, Wilhelm Viertmann had achieved his goal. He had a family and he was an ordained minister with his own ministry. A subliminal calm returned to his life. When I was called up for military service on October 9, 1941, it was all over. His military training in Belgium gave him the opportunity to visit his family. But the family was already living in fear for their beloved husband or father. In the Christmas days of 1941 he was able to celebrate the Lord's Supper with his family and the congregation . After his suitability for warfare, he said goodbye forever on February 2, 1942. In a letter he asked himself: “Should it have been the last time? God grant it is not so. "
On the day before he was transferred to the Eastern Front, he described the day of the farewell to his wife: “... At first I didn't know what was bigger in me, the anger against the force majeure that separated me from you, or the longing after you and the children. ”“ So tomorrow I will drive knowing that I have three dear people at home who love me and for whom it is worth dying if need be. ”The correspondence between the spouses was the only way of contact. The divided family life was shaped by this separation. The letters documented the firm belief of both spouses in a merciful God. He now wrote his letters directly from the front. “Yesterday, the slogan and the teaching text went with me, Isaiah 45 and John 14, an excellent compilation.” “Should you ever be alone with the children, which may God forbid, this slogan and this teaching text will be my legacy to you."
During the father's absence, family life continued in the rectory in Höntrop. The children Martin and Christel grew up, but had to witness the bombing raids on the industrial city of Bochum up close with their mother. Wilhelm Viertmann wrote on April 9, 1942: “Today I have been a soldier for six months. I take this day as an opportunity to give an account of what I have lost and what I have gained in these six months before God and my conscience. With great longing, I am drawn back to you, our boy, our girl, our home and your excellent cuisine. Nor can I hide the fact that I long to do my ministry in the church. I haven't lost all of that, but I miss it every day as my most precious treasure so far, and God probably knew what He was doing when he separated me from it for so long. That quarter in Buer must have not been enough, and so, as a last warning, he separated me from all of that for a considerably longer period of time. You not only learn to appreciate things, but also to really appreciate people when you have to miss them for a long time. The small thing then becomes really small, and the big thing becomes really big. "
Wilhelm Viertmann also reports in his letters of letters from his wife whose content is particularly concerned with bringing up children. At the same time, these letters are accompanied by photos that should please him and give him strength. His unshakable belief in God's grace is documented again and again in the correspondence. So he wrote on June 5th and 8th, 1942: “Look at today's slogan for June 5th. Isn't it huge. Doesn't she have to comfort you very much in all this? Such scriptures strengthen me in the belief that rule over today's events is in good hands. What does it matter if we die? Certainly a lot when I think of you and the children. But that's not crucial. The decisive factor is that after this time we live here in the eternal kingdom of our Savior. ”“ I can only be victorious in this fight if the belief is burned in my heart: God wants it. If I fall, I fall into the almighty hand of my Lord and Savior. If I do not fall, he has given me back to life, you and the children for a new service for our Lord Jesus Christ. So whether I fall or not fall, I have fulfilled the will of the Lord in both ways, in dying and in life, I am Christ's own. You too have to know that and be very, very firm about it. One of us will one day grieve for the loss of the other. We know what we are losing in each other, even without bloody words. But if it should happen to you, do not offer the picture of a desolate widow. With all the whining, stay sober. Testify that the Lord's will is done. Know me in the hand of the risen one. Witness it to the condolers. ”“ I will see you and the children again. If not in this, then in that world. "
On October 10th he wrote to his wife: “It was a year ago today when you took me to the train station. The picture of you waving to me will be unforgettable. At that time we guessed what upheaval had come for our lives. ”“ I wrote you half a year ago that I had been led to a series of insights that I would not have had without this banishment. For one thing, personal piety, if I may call it that, has only been deepened by the almost constant combat activity during the advance since then. It is not so easy for a theologian who is accustomed to studying and thinking through the Bible with a strong mind, especially when he has lived as comfortably as I have. To allow the divine word to speak to you personally, which God's word may have spoken to me personally in the face of the terrible testimony of sin and death when it was the case up to then, I owe to the force majeure that banished me here. "" Who is this violence? Is it the leader or is it God who gave the leader the power? I believe you will also come to the realization that it is God himself who made me feel that I did not want to hear. That is the strange thing about him, he brings up his children by the powers that he has set over us. We feel it, like the child the rod, as the most terrible thing that can happen to us. ”“ You don't have to believe that God absolutely wants to destroy me and bury me here in Russia. You are doing him an injustice. Certainly, we have to reckon with the possibility, then my life would be fulfilled for marriage, family and people, for office, church and Christ. I would then be in the hands of my risen and returning Savior. But does that have to be? Can it not also be that God wants to make me mature for my real life task through this tough discipline? Only through the tough school of life commitment, be it in prison or on the battlefield, does he train his servants for special tasks. "
His last letter, dated December 6, 1942, once again referred to the upcoming Advent and Christmas season. Candlelight in the splinter ditch, looking at photos from home and listening to Christmas carols if it was possible. He wrote: “Oh, could you just look into my life for a moment. You would be amazed at our terribly primitive existence. But also about how we have to manage and have our little joys. "
The next and last message his wife received was that of his death. The community in Höntrop said goodbye to their pastor with a memorial service in the Höntrop chapel. Ms. Viertmann had to vacate her official apartment in the rectory in June 1943 and moved with the children back to their parents in Bad Driburg. She died there on February 8, 2008, without having remarried.
Memory of Wilhelm Viertmann
The tireless efforts of Rev. William Fourth man against the efforts of the National Socialist system to use the church for their political purposes, led after the Second World War in memory of him in the parish Wattenscheid-Höntrop and in the Holy Ghost Church in Location / Lippe to the endeavor to commemorate her former preacher.
The Lutheran congregation of Lage installed a bronze plaque in the Heilig-Geist-Kirche in memory of the courageous pastor on October 31, 1983. In his sermon on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's birthday, Pastor Ernst Erich Konik placed the full wording of Wilhelm Viertmann's Reformation sermon on November 1, 1936, at the center of the service. Pastor Konik: "Viertmann's sermon from 1936 is just as relevant today as it was then, you just need to exchange a few terms." Wilhelm Viertmann's widow and her son Martin attended the ceremonial unveiling of the tablet.
On May 8, 1985, the presbytery of the parish in Höntrop in the district of the Church of Reconciliation decided to name the 10-year-old kindergarten "Pastor-Viertmann-Kindergarten" in honor and in memory of Pastor Wilhelm Viertmann . A memorial plaque, designed by S. Haferkamp, was attached to the kindergarten on June 1, 1985 as a memento and unveiled by the widow Margarete Viertmann and the children Martin and Christel. Pastor Eberhard Haßler wanted this kindergarten to become a “nest of peace” on the basis of Christian faith. In this way, the community wants to build on the legacy of Wilhelm Viertmann.
literature
- Kai-Uwe Spanhofer: Wilhelm Viertmann - Confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor during the Nazi era. (= Writings on the political and social history of modern Christianity. Volume 2). Luther-Verlag, Bielefeld 1988, ISBN 3-7858-0308-7 .
- Viertmann, Wilhelm. In: Michael Basse , Traugott Jähnichen , Harald Schroeter-Wittke (eds.): Protestant profiles in the Ruhr area. 500 life pictures from 5 centuries. Spenner, Kamen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89991-092-6 , pp. 558 f.
- Viertmann, Wilhelm. In: Jürgen Kampmann, Günter Brakelmann , Peter Burkowski (eds.): On the trail of contemporary church history: Helmut Geck on his 75th birthday. In: The office of the Westphalian Consistorial President in the Third Reich. Berlin / Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-8258-1526-4 , p. 414.
Web links
Individual and collective records
- ↑ On Kühne (* 1885), who later was director of studies in the Evangelical Gymnasium Hermannswerder of the Hoffbauer Foundation near Potsdam , cf. Reiner Bookhagen: The Protestant child care and the inner mission in the time of National Socialism. Volume 2: Mobilization of the communities . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2002, p. 1023.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 82.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 11.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, document 1. u. 2: CV, p. 84.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 14.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 15.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 19.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 17-22.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 27.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 28.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, Doc. 9, pp. 112-118.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 39-40.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 47.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 49.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 55.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 59.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 13.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 39-40.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 51 and 129-130.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 51.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 52.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 52-55.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 56-57.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 64.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 65.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 69-70.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 68-69.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 70.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 76.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 27-37.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, pp. 47-50.
- ↑ Kai-Uwe clamping Hofer: Wilhelm Fourth Man - confession and resistance in the life of a Westphalian pastor in the Nazi era. 1988, p. 53.
- ^ Wilhelm Viertmann: Letter to his wife from February 2, 1942, Document 1, text created by Martin Viertmann based on a tape recording, spoken by the wife.
- ^ Wilhelm Viertmann: Letter to his wife dated February 6, 1942, Document 2, text by Martin Viertmann based on a tape recording, spoken by the wife.
- ^ Wilhelm Viertmann: Letter to his wife dated February 21, 1942, Document 3, text by Martin Viertmann based on a tape recording, spoken by the wife.
- ^ Wilhelm Viertmann: Letter to his wife of April 9, 1942, Document 4, text by Martin Viertmann created from a tape recording, spoken by the wife.
- ^ Wilhelm Viertmann: Letter to his wife from June 5 and 8, 1942, Document 6-7, text created by Martin Viertmann based on a tape recording, spoken by the wife.
- ^ Wilhelm Viertmann: Letter to his wife of October 10, 1942, Document 13, text created by Martin Viertmann based on a tape recording, spoken by the wife.
- ^ Wilhelm Viertmann: Letter to his wife dated December 6, 1942, Document 16, text created by Martin Viertmann based on a tape recording, spoken by the wife.
- ↑ Confessing courage honored posthumously In: Lippische Landes-Zeitung. Issue No. 255 from November 3, 1983.
- ↑ A kindergarten as a "nest of peace". In: Westfälische Allgemeine Zeitung. 3rd June 1985.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Viertmann, Wilhelm |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Viertmann, Karl Heinrich Wilhelm (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Protestant theologian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 10, 1909 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gutersloh |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 12, 1942 |
| Place of death | near Utta, Kalmyk steppe |