Horst Kasner
Encyclopedia
Horst Kasner was a German Protestant theologian and father of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
.
suburb of Berlin
, where he was also brought up. Little is known about his wartime
service, and he was held as a prisoner of war at the age of 19. From 1948 he studied theology, first in Heidelberg
then in Hamburg
. He married an English
and Latin
teacher, Herlind Jentzsch (born July 8, 1928 in Gdansk
), and their daughter Angela was born in 1954.
Kasner moved to the East according to the wishes of Hamburg Bishop Hans-Otto Wölber who feared a shortage of parish priests in the East would work against the church. The priest found a pastor's position with the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg and the family moved to a rectory in the village of Quitzow by Perleberg. The East German church and Christianity at the time was characterized by oppression on account of the Eastern Socialist Party
. Priests took various positions in their willingness to cooperate with the "construction of socialism."
. There, at the request of General Superintendent Albrecht Schönherr, he took a development position in the religious education office. Schönherr, in a 2004 interview indicated he made the appointment "due to the good working conditions and Kasner's abilities as a pedagogue." The location of the continuing education buildings was the Waldhof, a complex of church buildings erected outside the center of Templin, which from 1958 on, also housed a facility for the mentally handicapped.
The family bore a son Marcus on July 7, 1957 and a second daughter, Irene, on August 19, 1964.
Kasner was regarded as a religious leader and idealist who did not oppose the church governance or the policies of the Socialist party, unlike Schönherr and Hanfried Müller (members of the Weissenser Worker's Circle standing in opposition to dominant national-conservative trend of Berlin bishop Otto Dibelius). From a perspective of governance, Kasner was considered one of the more "progressive" forces. His nickname during GDR times, quoted repeatedly in the press, was "Red Kasner." He was the longtime director of the Pastoral college in a key position within the Evangelical church. All theologians were required as part of their education and training to spend some time as a vicar with their second theological examination in Templin. In this context there is little record of any pressure put on priests to conform to the system. Theologian Richard Schröder wrote in 2004:
Kasner took trips abroad as part of the National Front
and was given the privilege of traveling to the West either by company car or private vehicle, which could be procured through Genex. On the other hand, his wife, Herlind, was forbidden to do so due to her position as a GDR teacher. A recruitment effort by the Stasi is presumed to have failed. Unlike the children in other pastor's families, the higher education of the Kasner children was not impeded.
From the late 1960s onward, Kasner criticized the social order of West Germany and he did not support reunification.
Kasner's regular interlocutors in terms of church politics were Wolfgang Schnur and Clemens de Maizière, the father of the later GDR president Lothar de Maizière
. Schnur, later chairmen of the opposition party Democratic Awakening
, was a member of the Synod of the Evangelic church in Mecklenburg and temporarily vice president of the Synod of the Evangelic Church Union and the Synod of the Evangelic Churches in the GDR. He was, alongside the Synod of the Berlin/Brandenburg Church, one of the earliest members of the Christian Democratic Union in East Germany
. Also negotiating alongside Kasner, Schnur, and Maizière in the East German government from 1979 to 1988 was state secretary for church affairs, Klaus Gysi.
After Die Wende
, Kasner advocated against further military use of the Bombodrom, a military allotment in northern Brandenburg and fell out of good relations with Lothar de Maizière when the latter's association with the Stasi was exposed.
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
.
Biography
Kasner was born in 1926 as the son of a policeman in the PankowPankow (locality)
Pankow is a locality of Berlin in the district of Pankow. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Niederschönhausen, Wilhelmsruh, Rosenthal, Blankenfelde, Buch and Französisch Buchholz.-History:...
suburb of 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...
, where he was also brought up. Little is known about his wartime
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service, and he was held as a prisoner of war at the age of 19. From 1948 he studied theology, first in 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...
then in 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...
. He married an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
teacher, Herlind Jentzsch (born July 8, 1928 in Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
), and their daughter Angela was born in 1954.
Migration to the German Democratic Republic
Several weeks after the birth of their daughter, the family moved from Hamburg to East Berlin. The interior border was not yet completely closed, but most German migration was in the opposite direction. In the first five months of 1954, 180,000 people had fled the GDR, and during the building of the border defenses between 1949 and 1961, around 2.5 million had left.Kasner moved to the East according to the wishes of Hamburg Bishop Hans-Otto Wölber who feared a shortage of parish priests in the East would work against the church. The priest found a pastor's position with the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg and the family moved to a rectory in the village of Quitzow by Perleberg. The East German church and Christianity at the time was characterized by oppression on account of the Eastern Socialist Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
. Priests took various positions in their willingness to cooperate with the "construction of socialism."
Pastor in Templin
Three years later in 1957 Kasner moved to the small Brandenburg town of TemplinTemplin
Templin is a small town in the Uckermark district of Brandenburg, Germany. Though it has a population of only 17,127 , it is with 377.01 km2 the second largest town in Brandenburg and the seventh largest town in Germany by area...
. There, at the request of General Superintendent Albrecht Schönherr, he took a development position in the religious education office. Schönherr, in a 2004 interview indicated he made the appointment "due to the good working conditions and Kasner's abilities as a pedagogue." The location of the continuing education buildings was the Waldhof, a complex of church buildings erected outside the center of Templin, which from 1958 on, also housed a facility for the mentally handicapped.
The family bore a son Marcus on July 7, 1957 and a second daughter, Irene, on August 19, 1964.
Kasner was regarded as a religious leader and idealist who did not oppose the church governance or the policies of the Socialist party, unlike Schönherr and Hanfried Müller (members of the Weissenser Worker's Circle standing in opposition to dominant national-conservative trend of Berlin bishop Otto Dibelius). From a perspective of governance, Kasner was considered one of the more "progressive" forces. His nickname during GDR times, quoted repeatedly in the press, was "Red Kasner." He was the longtime director of the Pastoral college in a key position within the Evangelical church. All theologians were required as part of their education and training to spend some time as a vicar with their second theological examination in Templin. In this context there is little record of any pressure put on priests to conform to the system. Theologian Richard Schröder wrote in 2004:
For me, Kasner was always trustworthy and certainly no conformist. The Pastor's College in Templin was always for us a window on the West through means of Western lecturers and Western literature. The theological speakers were not handpicked to tow the line.
Kasner took trips abroad as part of the National Front
National Front (East Germany)
The National Front of the German Democratic Republic was an alliance of political parties and mass organisations in East Germany...
and was given the privilege of traveling to the West either by company car or private vehicle, which could be procured through Genex. On the other hand, his wife, Herlind, was forbidden to do so due to her position as a GDR teacher. A recruitment effort by the Stasi is presumed to have failed. Unlike the children in other pastor's families, the higher education of the Kasner children was not impeded.
From the late 1960s onward, Kasner criticized the social order of West Germany and he did not support reunification.
Kasner's regular interlocutors in terms of church politics were Wolfgang Schnur and Clemens de Maizière, the father of the later GDR president Lothar de Maizière
Lothar de Maizière
Lothar de Maizière is a German christian democratic politician. In 1990, he served as the only democratically elected Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic, and as such was the last leader of an independent East Germany....
. Schnur, later chairmen of the opposition party Democratic Awakening
Democratic Awakening
Democratic Awakening was an East German opposition political movement. It was founded in October 1989, based on existing politically active church groups. Founding members included Wolfgang Schnur, Friedrich Schorlemmer, Rainer Eppelmann, Günter Nooke and Thomas Welz. The organisation was...
, was a member of the Synod of the Evangelic church in Mecklenburg and temporarily vice president of the Synod of the Evangelic Church Union and the Synod of the Evangelic Churches in the GDR. He was, alongside the Synod of the Berlin/Brandenburg Church, one of the earliest members of the Christian Democratic Union in East Germany
Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany until 1989....
. Also negotiating alongside Kasner, Schnur, and Maizière in the East German government from 1979 to 1988 was state secretary for church affairs, Klaus Gysi.
After Die Wende
Die Wende
marks the complete process of the change from socialism and planned economy to market economy and capitalism in East Germany around the years 1989 and 1990. It encompasses several processes and events which later have become synonymous with the overall process...
, Kasner advocated against further military use of the Bombodrom, a military allotment in northern Brandenburg and fell out of good relations with Lothar de Maizière when the latter's association with the Stasi was exposed.