Bahá'í Faith in Germany
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
bringing their newfound religion. The first Bahá'í
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
Local Spiritual Assembly was established following the conversion of enough individuals to elect one in 1908. After the visit of `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, then head of the religion, and the establishing of many further assemblies across Germany despite the difficulties of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, elections were called for the first Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in 1923. Banned for a time by the Nazi government and then in East Germany the religion re-organized and was soon given the task of building the first Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
for Europe. After German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
the community multiplied its interests across a wide range of concerns earning the praise of German politicians. There are an estimated 5000-6000 Bahá'ís in Germany.
Early phase
Ibrahim Kheiralla, an early Bahá'í from Lebanon, traveled through Germany in 1892 attempting to making a living but found no interest in his inventions and moved on to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in February, 1893. There he managed to convert some individuals by 1895 (see Thornton Chase
Thornton Chase
Thornton Chase is commonly recognized as the first convert to the Bahá'í Faith of Occidental background...
.) Following these conversions, some German emigrants became Bahá'ís as well. Two in particular traveled back to Germany: Edwin Fischer and Alma Knobloch. Dr. Edwin Fischer, a dentist, had emigrated in 1878 from Germany to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, became a Bahá'í there, and then returned to Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
in 1905. Fisher used every opportunity, including talking with his patients, to mention the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, and in time a few Germans embraced the religion. The other German Bahá'í, Alma Knobloch, became a Bahá'í in 1903, before Fischer, but arrived in Germany in 1907. This small group of Bahá'ís began to organize and formed a Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in 1908 and by 1909 began self-publishing pamphlets and letters and Bahá'í books including the Hidden Words
Hidden Words
Kalimát-i-Maknúnih or The Hidden Words is a book written in Baghdad around 1857 by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith...
and a history of the religion by Knobloch. The second spiritual assembly in Germany was founded in 1909 in Esslingen.
In the German Colony
German Colony
The term German Colony can refer to:* German colonial empire, the former colonies of Germany* German Colony, Jerusalem a Templer settlement* German Colony, Haifa a Templer settlement...
in Palestine, as part of the world wide German diaspora, "Frau Doktor Fallscheer" was the family physician for the family of `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, son of the founder of the religion. Fallscheer later became a Bahá'í when she moved back to Germany by 1930. Prominent early Bahá'í Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory was a prominent member of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1951 he was posthumously appointed a Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith, by Shoghi Effendi.-Early years:He was born on June 6, 1874 to African-American parents liberated during the Civil War...
stayed at a hotel in the German Colony
German Colony, Haifa
The German Colony was established in Haifa in 1868 by the German Templers. It was the first of several colonies established by the group in the Holy Land...
in Haifa during his Bahá'í pilgrimage
Bahá'í pilgrimage
A Bahá'í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Akká, and Bahjí at the Bahá'í World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá'ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage....
to Palestine in the spring of 1911 and on his return trip visited in Germany at the request of `Abdu'l-Bahá in the fall of 1912.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Germany
`Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, visited Germany for 8 days in 1913, including visiting Stuttgart, Esslingen and Bad MergentheimBad Mergentheim
Bad Mergentheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.-History:Mergentheim is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe, who early in the 13th century assigned the greater part of their estates in...
. During this visit he spoke to a youth group as well as a gathering of Esperantists. In less than a decade Bahá'í sources state there were some 300 Bahá'ís in Germany by the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá's arrival. See `Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West
`Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West
`Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West were a series of trips `Abdu'l-Bahá undertook starting at the age of 67 from Palestine to the West from 1910 to 1913. `Abdu'l-Bahá was imprisoned at the age of 8 and suffered various degrees of privation most of his life...
.
`Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan
Tablets of the Divine Plan
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by `Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8,...
. The seventh of the tablets mentioned Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an regions and was written on April 11, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
. The seventh tablet was translated and presented on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West
Star of the West (Bahá'í magazine)
The Star of the West was a Bahá'í periodical which began publication on March 21, 1910 and ended publication under this title in March of 1935....
magazine on December 12, 1919 and mentioned Germany. He says:
"In brief, this world-consuming war has set such a conflagration to the hearts that no word can describe it. In all the countries of the world the longing for universal peace is taking possession of the consciousness of men. There is not a soul who does not yearn for concord and peace. A most wonderful state of receptivity is being realized.… Therefore, O ye believers of God! Show ye an effort and after this war spread ye the synopsis of the divine teachings in the British Isles, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Portugal, Rumania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, San Marino, Balearic Isles, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, Malta, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands, Hebrides and Orkney Islands."
`Abdu'l-Bahá praised the German Bahá'ís - "individuals...endued with perceptive eyes and attentive ears" were "attracted to the principles of the oneness of mankind" and treated "all the peoples and kindreds of the earth in a spirit of concord and fellowship." He predicted Germany will "surpass all other regions" and "lead all the nations and peoples of Europe spiritually." Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, head of the religion after the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, continued commentary about Germany and its Bahá'ís; he wrote that during the Nazi government the German Bahá'ís demonstrated that they were the "great-hearted, indefatigable, much admired German Bahá'í community".
World War I
As World War I was becoming more widespread in its ramifications, the Bahá'ís pursued other courses of action. In 1916 a plaque was raised to honor `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit at Bad Mergentheim. On May 23, 1916, Austrian Franz Pöllinger learned of the religion while staying in Stuttgart and on returning to AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
had a prominent role in the growth of the religion there. When the United States entered the war, individuals from there, as Fischer and Knobloch, had to leave Germany and both returned to the United States. On return to the US Fischer went to the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area and Knobloch went to New York. In a wave of anti-German sentiment (see German American internment
German American internment
German American Internment refers to the detention of people of German citizenship in the United States during World War I and World War II.-Civilian internees:...
for similar issues a generation later) Fischer was caught up in charges of espionage for Germany which were dismissed. As Germany was allied with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
of WWI played an important role with the Bahá'ís in Palestine - particularly the Battle of Megiddo
Battle of Megiddo (1918)
The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
in September 1918. As a direct result of the events of the battle, `Abdu'l-Bahá was rescued after death threats were made against him in case the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
side was to lose (events in which Wellesley Tudor Pole
Wellesley Tudor Pole
Major Wellesley Tudor Pole O.B.E. was a spiritualist and early British Bahá'í.He authored many pamphlets and books and was a lifelong pursuer of religious and mystical questions and visions, being particularly involved with spiritualism and the Bahá'í Faith as well as the quest for the Holy Grail...
played a significant part.)
Post-War closing
After WWI, the national Bahá'í community organized a German Baháí Publishing Trust and in 1920 Adelbert MühlschlegelAdelbert Mühlschlegel
Adelbert Mühlschlegel was a prominent German Bahá'í from a Protestant family. He became a Bahá'í in 1920, translated Bahá'í literature and served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany....
became a Bahá'í, and later appointed as a Hand of the Cause, individuals who have been considered to have achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion. He was the first of three believers who decisively influenced the German Bahá'ís. As with other German emigrants who converted to the religion, Siegfried Schopflocher who was born in Germany, as an Orthodox Jew, sought out a wider unity and found the Bahá'í Faith while in Canada in the summer of 1921; he was also later appointed a Hand of the Cause. `Abdu'l-Bahá's last tablet before his death was addressed to the Bahá'ís in Stuttgart in November 1921.
Inter-war period
In 1921 a new magazine Sun of Truth was first published as one of five Bahá'í journals produced by German Bahá'ís through the 1920s. It contained newly translated Bahá'í literature and news from the Bahá'í community around the world.In 1923 the first Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies were elected "where conditions are favorable and the number of the friends has grown and reached a considerable size". Along with India and the British Isles
Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom
The Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom started in 1898 when Mrs. Mary Thornburgh-Cropper , an American by birth, become the first Bahá'í in England. Through the 1930s, the number of Bahá'ís in the United Kingdom grew, leading to a pioneer movement beginning after the Second World War with sixty...
, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria was first elected in that year. In 1925 there were 95 delegates who performed the election. A 1925 list of local Bahá'í Centers mentions no less than 26 in Germany, compared to three in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and two in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In late 1926 and again in 1929 widely traveled Martha Root
Martha Root
Martha Louise Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously...
spoke in most German universities and technical colleges. Eugen Schmidt, the second of the three believers who decisively influenced the German Bahá'ís, became a Bahá'í and was elected a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany from 1932 for many years and served as chairman in the decisive years of re-building after World War II.
Among the Bahá'ís to visit Germany were Amelia Collins
Amelia Collins
Amelia Engelder Collins was a prominent American Bahá'í from the Lutheran family. She became Bahá'í in 1919. She made large donations to several Bahá'í projects in Haifa, Israel, like the building of the Western Pilgrim House, the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb the International Archives...
, Marion Jack and Louisa Mathew Gregory, wife of Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory was a prominent member of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1951 he was posthumously appointed a Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith, by Shoghi Effendi.-Early years:He was born on June 6, 1874 to African-American parents liberated during the Civil War...
. Another Bahá'í with links to Germany was Robert Sengstacke Abbott
Robert Sengstacke Abbott
Robert Sengstacke Abbott was an African American lawyer and newspaper publisher.-Biography:Born on November 24, 1870 in St. Island, Georgia to former slave parents. Abbott was still a baby when his father, Thomas Abbott, died...
whose adoptive father was German and, through his family connection, he kept in contact with his family in Germany. In 1930 the national convention included delegates from Stuttgart, Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
, Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Göppingen
Göppingen
Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils....
, Bissingen
Bissingen
Bissingen is a municipality in the district of Dillingen in Bavaria in Germany....
, and from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The 1931 national assembly included four women and five men. In 1935 Shoghi Effendi, then head of the religion, re-organized the German community to cover Austria as well so they shared a regional national assembly.
Nazi period
During the early Nazi period Bahá'ís had general freedom; May MaxwellMay Maxwell
Mary "May" Maxwell , an early American member of the Bahá'í Faith.-Early life:...
, wife of William Sutherland Maxwell
William Sutherland Maxwell
William Sutherland Maxwell was a well-known Canadian architect and a Hand of the Cause in the Bahá'í Faith. He was born in Montreal, Canada to parents Edward John Maxwell and Johan MacBean.-Education:...
, was still able to travel through Germany in 1936, though the plaque commemorating `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit had been taken down. By 1937 however, Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
signed an order disbanding the Bahá'í Faith's institutions in Germany. In 1939 and in 1942 there were sweeping arrests of former members of the National Spiritual Assembly. In May 1944 there was a public trial in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
at which Dr. Hermann Grossmann was allowed to defend the character of the religion but the Bahá'ís were instead heavily fined and its institutions continued to be disbanded. However for this service and others, Grossmann was ranked as the third of the three believers who decisively influenced the German Bahá'ís.
After the Nazi period
Following the fall of Nazi Germany, an American Bahá'í, John C. Eichenauer who was a medicMedic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
of the 100th Infantry division then at Geislingen
Geislingen
Geislingen can refer to:two towns in Baden-Württemberg, Germany:* Geislingen an der Steige, district of Göppingen.* Geislingen, Zollernalbkreis, Zollernalbkreis district....
started searching for the Bahá'í community in Stuttgart. He drove through Stuttgart looking and asking for Bahá'ís and was able to find an individual by nightfall/curfew. The next day saw the first meeting of Bahá'ís since their disbandment in 1937. Two other American Bahá'ís, Bruce Davison and Henry Jarvis, in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
respectively, also connected with the Bahá'í community in Germany. At the beginning of the partition of Germany
History of Germany since 1945
As a consequence of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II Germany was split between the two global blocs in the East and West, a period known as the division of Germany. While seven million prisoners and forced laborers left Germany, over 10 million German speaking refugees arrived there from...
there were about 150 German Bahá'ís in the American section and they became registered with the American authorities. The National Spiritual Assembly was re-elected in 1946 and by 1950 there were 14 Local Spiritual Assemblies:
| Bergstrasse | Darmstadt Darmstadt Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat... |
Esslingen | Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010... |
Göppingen Göppingen Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils.... |
Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808... |
Heidelberg Heidelberg -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of... |
| Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Leipzig Leipzig Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing... |
Nürnberg | Plochingen | Schwerin Schwerin Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:... |
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... |
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens... |
However in Soviet controlled East Germany, the Bahá'í Faith was again disbanded in 1948. In West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, by 1954 there were reports of large growth in the religion, and from 1951 to 1966 philately
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
stationary
Stationary
Stationary can mean:* In statistics and probability: a stationary process.* In mathematics: a stationary point.* In mathematics: a stationary set.* In physics: a time-invariant quantity, such as a constant position or temperature....
and a "Cinderella stamp
Cinderella stamp
In philately, a cinderella stamp has been defined as "Virtually anything resembling a postage stamp, but not issued for postal purposes by a government postal administration..." The term also excludes imprinted stamps on postal stationery.- Types :...
" religious stationary were produced in West Germany.
House of Worship
The construction of the Bahá'í House of WorshipBahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Langenhain
Langenhain
Langenhain is a village and a district in the town of Hofheim, Hesse, near Frankfurt, Germany. The village was incorporated into Hofheim in 1972, and it is in the north part of the city. The district currently has a population of around 3,200....
near Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, began in 1952. Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins
Amelia Collins
Amelia Engelder Collins was a prominent American Bahá'í from the Lutheran family. She became Bahá'í in 1919. She made large donations to several Bahá'í projects in Haifa, Israel, like the building of the Western Pilgrim House, the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb the International Archives...
represented the Bahá'í International Community
Bahá'í International Community
The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
at the groundbreaking 20 November 1960. Designated as the "Mother Temple of Europe", it was dedicated in 1964 by Hand of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
, representing the first elected Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
.
Development in West Germany
By 1963 the list of local assemblies was:| Aachen Aachen Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ... |
Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... |
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe... |
Bonn Bonn Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999.... |
Braunschweig Braunschweig Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser.... |
Darmstadt Darmstadt Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat... |
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the... |
| Ebingen Ebingen Ebingen is a town in the large district of Albstadt, district Zollernalbkreis, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Schmiecha, a left-hand tributary of the Danube, south of Tübingen and west of Ulm.- History :... |
Erlangen Erlangen Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants.... |
Essen Essen - Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of... |
Esslingen | Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010... |
Freiburg Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain... |
Giessen |
| Göppingen Göppingen Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils.... |
Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808... |
Hannover | Heidelberg Heidelberg -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of... |
Heilbronn Heilbronn Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.... |
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the... |
| Köln KOLN KOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials... |
Leinfelden | Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants... |
Mannheim Mannheim Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart.... |
München | Nürnberg | Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... |
| Ulm Ulm Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and... |
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens... |
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Isolated Bahá'ís were found in an additional 86 locations.
West German Bahá'ís were given the responsibility of trying to strengthen the Bahá'í community in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1963. During the 1960s and 1970s, a small number of Bahá'ís visited the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as tourists but no attempt was made to promulgate the religion. In 1986 Friedo and Shole Zölzer and Karen Reitz from Germany traveled into the Soviet Union but remained for only short periods of time. Continuing in the 1980s and into the 1990s the Bahá'í Esperanto-League
Bahá'í Esperanto-League
The Bahá'í Esperanto-League is the official organization of Bahá'ís who are Esperantists. It was founded on 19 March 1973 with the approval of the Universal House of Justice.- The Bahá'í Faith and Esperanto :...
began to prosper especially in West Germany. One reason behind this was that Esperanto had acquired the reputation of being an "entrance ticket" to countries behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
, countries to which the Bahá'í Faith had had little access during the preceding decades (the first post-WWII Bahá'í know to pioneer to Russia was in 1979.)
Reunion
Following the German reunificationGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1989-91 the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...
handed down a judgement affirming the status of the Bahá'í Faith as a religion in Germany. Continued development of youth oriented programs included the Diversity Dance Theater (see Oscar DeGruy
Oscar DeGruy
Oscar DeGruy is an American actor who has appeared in over a dozen films and TV shows over 30 years, started the Bahá'í Youth Workshop performance model in 1974, and has assisted Hip hop artists.-Acting career:...
) which traveled to Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
in February 1997. Udo Schaefer
Udo Schaefer
Udo Schaefer is a German lawyer and a Bahá'í author.-External links:****...
et al.'s 2001 Making the Crooked Straight was written to refute a polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
supported by the Evangelical Church in Germany written in 1981. Since its publication the Evangelical Church in Germany has revised its own relationship to the German Bahá'í Community. Former member of the federal parliament Ernst Ulrich von Weizsaecker commended the ideas of the German Bahá'í community on social integration, which were published in a statement in 1998, and Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
spoke at the 1992 ceremony marking the 100th Anniversary of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh.
Multiplying interests
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic developmentSocio-economic development (Bahá'í)
Since its inception the Bahá'í Faith has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and...
beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. World-wide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. Nearing the century mark of the Bahá'í community in Germany, the Bahá'ís in Germany have begun efforts in diverse fields of interest. An estimated 500,000 people visited the Bahá'í pavilion at the Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
Expo 2000
Expo 2000
Expo 2000 was a World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany from Thursday, June 1 to Tuesday, October 31, 2000. It was located on the Hanover fairground , which is famous for hosting CeBIT...
. The 170 square-meter Bahá'í exhibit, hosted by the Bahá'í International Community
Bahá'í International Community
The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany, featured development projects in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
that illustrated the importance of grassroots capacity-building, the advancement of women, and moral and spiritual values in the process of social and economic development. The German community organized a national Bahá'í Choir in 2001 which tours various events in Germany and Europe. In 2002 the director of the Ernst Lange-Institute for Ecumenical Studies held a meeting under the auspices of the German Federal Environment Ministry
Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Germany)
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, known by the initials BMU from the German name, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, is a ministry of the German federal government. Its headquarters are in Bonn, with a branch in...
titled "Orientation dialogue of religions represented in Germany on environmental politics with reference to the climate issue" for the interfaith community including the Bahá'ís. In 2005 former federal Minister of the Interior, Otto Schily
Otto Schily
Otto Georg Schily was Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany from 1998 to 2005, in the cabinet of former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .-Biography:...
, praised the contributions of German Bahá'ís to the social stability of the country, noting "It is not enough to make a declaration of belief. It is important to live according to the basic values of our constitutional state, to defend them and make them secure in the face of all opposition. The members of the Bahá'í Faith do this because of their faith and the way they see themselves." However the Bahá'ís have been excluded from other dialogues on religious issues. In 2007 a new memorial was unveiled replacing the one that had been taken down in Bad Mergentheim during Nazi Germany. Bahá'ís from much of Europe were among the more than 4,600 people who gathered in Frankfurt for the largest ever Bahá'í conference in Germany in February 2009.
Demographics
A 1997-8 estimate is of 4000 Bahá'ís in Germany (40 in Hannover).In 2002 there were 106 Local Spiritual Assemblies.
The 2007-8 German Census using sampling
Sampling (statistics)
In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
estimated 5-6,000 Bahá'ís in Germany. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 12,400 Bahá'ís.
Artists
Among the better known Bahá'í artists of Germany are:- Peter Held - Composer pianist.
- Parisa Badiyi - violinist and educator
- Brigitte Schirren - textiles
- Hans J. Knospe - photopoetry
- Anne Bahrinipour - painting, sculpture
Prophecies regarding Germany
The writings of Bahá'u'lláhBahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
and `Abdu'l-Bahá in the late 19th century and early 20th century contain some prophecies regarding Germany. The first mention related to Germany in the Bahá'í Faith is when the founder of the religion, Bahá'u'lláh wrote in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas is a central book of the Bahá'í Faith written by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion. The work was written in Arabic under the Arabic title , but it is commonly referred to by its Persian title, Kitáb-i-Aqdas , which was given to the work by Bahá'u'lláh himself...
in 1873:
O banks of the Rhine! We have seen you covered with gore, inasmuch as the swords of retribution were drawn against you; and you shall have another turn. And We hear the lamentations of BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, though she be today in conspicuous gloryGerman EmpireThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
In 1912, shortly before visiting Germany, `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of the increasing tensions in Europe:
We are on the eve of the Battle of Armageddon referred to in the sixteenth chapter of Revelationand in January 1920 he wrote:Book of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
... The time is two years hence, when only a spark will set aflame the whole of Europe... by 1917 kingdoms will fall and cataclysms will rock the earth.
The ills from which the world now suffers... will multiply; the gloom which envelops it will deepen. The Balkans will remain discontented. Its restlessness will increase. The vanquished Powers will continue to agitate. They will resort to every measure that may rekindle the flame of war.
External links
- Bahá'ís of Germany
- House of Worship in Germany
- Singe die Verse Gottes live recordings at the House of Worship in Germany