Willi Kobe

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Erich Wilhelm (Willi) Kobe (born February 15, 1899 in Zurich ; † August 10, 1995 in St. Gallen ) was a Swiss Protestant clergyman and peace activist .

Life

Willi Kobe was the son of the cabinet maker Karl Friedrich Kobe, who immigrated from Eckartsberga in Germany, and his wife, the tailor Wilhelmine Elise (née Gringel); In 1916 he was naturalized in Zurich.

After receiving a commercial apprenticeship as a textile merchant, he made up his Matura during the First World War , matriculated at the University of Zurich and began studying theology, which he continued at the University of Marburg .

After completing his studies, he was ordained in 1922 and was initially pastor in Mitlödi from 1923 to 1926 , in Lohn from 1926 to 1932 and in Schwamendingen- Oerlikon from 1932 to 1964 .

Willi Kobe was married to Martha Rosina (née Kägi) (1898–1971) for the first time on November 5, 1923; they had five sons together. On August 24, 1988 he married the speech therapist and peace activist Margaritha Maria Besmer (née Andermatt) (1934–1995) for the second time .

Theological and pacifist work

Willi Kobe was influenced by the ideas of the theologians Leonhard Ragaz and Rudolf Otto , Mahatma Gandhi , whom he also met personally, and the Quakers . He had met the Quakers in England while preparing for missionary work in India . On medical advice, he had to forego India because of his “too big heart”. He then decided to return to Switzerland to "convert the Helvetic pagans", as he put it ironically.

As a religious socialist , he was pacifist all his life and was a pioneer of the Easter marches . He was also a co-signer of the Zurich Manifesto , in which numerous personalities criticized the police's approach to the riot on the globe . He also fought against alcoholism .

Writing

One of the early German-language books about Gandhi (1925) came from Willi Kobe. He also translated a biography of the Quaker and chocolate manufacturer John Cadbury and wrote numerous articles in the New Ways , in the magazine Never Again War and in the atomic bulletin , which he edited for many years . It was also particularly important to him to share his experiences with the younger ones.

honors and awards

On the Appenzeller Friedensweg , newly created in 2017 by the Dunant 2010 plus association , which connects the towns of Walzenhausen , Wolfhalden and Heiden , the Walzenhausen cemetery is one of the stations where the couple Willi and Margaritha Maria Kobe-Besmer are remembered.

Memberships

  • Willi Kobe joined the Association of Antimilitarist Pastors in 1925 , which was later converted into the Ecclesiastical Peace League of Switzerland , and of which he was president during the Second World War .
  • As the successor to Leonhard Ragaz, he became President of the Swiss Central Office for Peace Work in 1946 .
  • He was also president of the Swiss Movement Against Nuclear Armament .
  • In the 1950s he became president of the Chevallier dual initiative for disarmament .
  • From 1957 to 1960 he was President of the Zurich Parish Association .
  • He was represented on the board of the Swiss Peace Council.
  • He was the managing director of the information center for refugees . This was founded after the annexation of Austria by Germany and stood up above all for those for whom there was no existing aid organization; among others the «Rome-free Catholics», the «Pacifists», the «Religious and Socialists», the «Democrats and Liberals». After the prohibition of the Red Aid at the end of 1940, the information center also took care of the communist refugees.
  • In 1965 he was president of the Easter March Committee.
  • In retirement, Willi Kobe later chaired the Swiss branch of the International Union of Reconciliation and the Religious-Social Association .

Fonts (selection)

  • Mahatma Gandhi's world and life view. Publishing house of the Canary Islands Mission, Zurich 1925.
  • George Cadbury: a pioneer in the social field. F. Reinhardt, Basel 1930.
  • Church serve! On the question of the alcohol-free communion wine. Berlin 1932.
  • Elisabeth Rotten ; Willi Kobe: The power of non-violent resistance in the light of the past, present and future. Ecclesiastical Peace Alliance of Switzerland, Zurich 1940.
  • The Church and Future Peace. Cooperative printing company, Zurich 1943.
  • The Swiss churches and building peace. Zurich 1944.
  • Armistice and then? Müller, Gstaad 1945.
  • The Effects of the Cold War on Our Children. Zurich 1954.
  • To the presenter of the gospel message. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1964.
  • A rich life: attempt at self-expression, written for one's children. Zurich 1974.
  • Thoughts on a present-conscious, energetic theology. Zurich 1980.
  • IFOR history brochure. 1981.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kobe, Willi (1899-1995) (Ar 105). Retrieved February 24, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Matriculation Edition. Retrieved February 24, 2020 .
  3. ^ AZW 1: Two pioneers of the Easter March remember. Retrieved February 24, 2020 .
  4. ^ Signatory of the Zurich Manifesto. Retrieved February 24, 2020 .
  5. ^ The newly opened peace stations in Appenzellerland. In: Friedenszeitung 21-17. 2017, accessed February 24, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Activists got a place on the Peace Walk. Retrieved on February 24, 2020 (Swiss Standard German).
  7. ↑ Heiden peace stations: Margrit Besmer and Willi Kobe. Retrieved February 24, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Hansuli: From the Church Peace Alliance to the Reconciliation Alliance . In: IFOR Switzerland - MIR Suisse. September 15, 2010, accessed on February 23, 2020 (German).
  9. ↑ Our association, parish association. Retrieved February 24, 2020 .
  10. ↑ 2nd episode: Unconditional order: Rothmund wants a salutary deportation. February 7, 2012, accessed February 24, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Kobe, Willi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kobe, Erich Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss Protestant clergyman and peace activist
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH August 10, 1995
Place of death St. Gallen