Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin
Encyclopedia
The Archdiocese of Berlin is a Roman Catholic archdiocese, seated in Berlin and covering the northeast of Germany.
As of 2004 the archdiocese has 386,279 Catholics out of the population of Berlin, most of Brandenburg
(except of its southeastern corner, historical Lower Lusatia
) and Hither Pomerania
, i. e. the German part of Pomerania. This means that a little over 6% of the population in this area is Roman Catholic. There are 122 parishes in the archdiocese.
had been reorganised by the Bull "De salute animarum", issued in 1821. Before the Prussian Provinces of Brandenburg
and of Pomerania were part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany
since the Protestant Reformation
in the Duchy of Pomerania
in 1534 and in Electorate of Brandenburg in 1539 and the conversion of the majority of the inhabitants made the area a Catholic diaspora. In the late 16th and the 17th c. the competent Bishoprics of Brandenburg, Cammin, Havelberg
, Lebus
, and Roskilde
had been secularised, the Holy See considered them as sedes impeditae. In memory of the former bishoprics Berlin's archdiocesan coat-of-arms combines the symbols of the dioceses of Brandenburg, Cammin, Havelberg and Lebus.
With the annexation of most of Silesia
until 1763 the bulk of the Diocese of Breslau had become a part of Prussia. Part of its diocesan territory happened to be within the new Province of Brandenburg, because this had been constituted in 1815 including formerly Lower Lusatia
.
and Lauenburg (Pommern)
(until 1922 both part of the Diocese of Culm), were subordinated to Breslau's jurisdiction as an episcopal delegation in 1821, ending the mandate of the Vicariate Apostolic there. The jurisdiction was titled the Prince-Episcopal Delegation for Brandenburg and Pomerania , since Emanuel von Schimonsky was invested to Breslau's see as prince-bishop in 1824.
In 1821 the Delegation district comprised altogether six established Catholic congregations: Berlin (St. Hedwig), Frankfurt upon Oder, Potsdam (Ss. Peter and Paul), Spandau (Ss. Peter and Paul on Gewehrplan, Haselhorst), Stettin, and Stralsund (Heilige Dreifaltigkeit, i.e. Holy Trinity).
Breslau's Prince-Bishop Heinrich Förster (1853–81) gave generous aid to the founding of churches, monastic institutions, and schools, especially in the diaspora regions. The strife that arose between the Catholic Church and the Prussian State brought his labours in the Prussian part of his diocese to an end. He was deposed by the State and had to leave for the episcopal Austrian Silesia
n castle of Johannesberg
in Jauernig, where he died on 20 October 1881.
So Pope Leo XIII
appointed as his successor Robert Herzog (1882–86), till then Prince-Episcopal Delegate for Brandenburg and Pomerania and provost of St. Hedwig's Church
in Berlin. Prince-Bishop Herzog made every endeavour to bring order out of the confusion into which the quarrel with the State during the immediately preceding years had thrown the affairs of the diocese.
of 1929 Pope Pius XI elevated the Prince-Episcopal Delegation for Brandenburg and Pomerania to the Diocese of Berlin on 13 August 1930, becoming a suffragan of the Diocese of Breslau simultaneously elevated to archdiocese, whose Eastern German Ecclesiastical Province further comprised the prior exempt Diocese of Ermland
and the new Territorial Prelature of Schneidemühl .
In 1930 the Berlin diocese comprised an area of 60,258 km² with 531,744 Catholics, making up 7.3% of the total population. They were pastorally served by 262 diocesan priests within 149 parishes and chapels of ease
.
After World War II Berlin's diocesan territory east of the Oder-Neiße line (East Brandenburg and central and Farther Pomerania
) – with 33 parishes and chapels of ease – came under Polish control. Most of the parishioners and priests there had either fled the invading Soviet Red Army
or were subsequently expelled by Polish authorities.
Cardinal August Hlond demanded the diocesan territory east of the new border for the creation of new dioceses, he appointed a diocesan administrator for Berlin's eastern diocesan territory seated in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Landsberg an der Warthe)
. Pope Pius XII
refused to acknowledge these claims. In 1951, when the Holy See
– similar to West Germany
– still asserted that East Brandenburg and Farther Pomerania would be returned to Germany at a near date, the Pope appointed Teodor Bensch (1903–1958), titular bishop of Tabuda, as auxiliary bishop responsible for the Polish part of the diocese of Berlin. His office was titled Apostolic Administration of Cammin, Lebus and the Prelature of Schneidemühl .
On 27 June 1972, however, – in response to West Germany's change in Ostpolitik
and the Treaty of Warsaw
– Pope Paul VI
reversed the diocesan boundary along the post-war borders. The Apostolic constitution
Episcoporum Poloniae coetus disentangled the East Brandenburgian diocesan area (becoming thus the Diocese of Gorzów
) and the Farther Pomeranian diocesan area (becoming the new westerly Diocese of Szczecin-Kamień and the easterly Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg).
In 1972 also the German part of the Archdiocese of Breslau was reconstituted as the exempt Apostolic Administration of Görlitz. Thus Berlin also turned into exempt status
. On 27 June 1994 Pope John Paul II
elevated Berlin to the rank of an archdiocese, supervising since the simultaneously erected Diocese of Görlitz
(formerly Apostolic Administration) and the prior exempt Diocese of Dresden-Meißen
.
with the provostry of St. Hedwig's in Berlin.
As of 2004 the archdiocese has 386,279 Catholics out of the population of Berlin, most of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
(except of its southeastern corner, historical Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
) and Hither Pomerania
Hither Pomerania
Western Pomerania, Cispomerania or Hither Pomerania are terms used in English to translate the German Vorpommern the western extremity of the historic region of the duchy, later Province of Pomerania, nowadays divided between the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Poland.Forming part of...
, i. e. the German part of Pomerania. This means that a little over 6% of the population in this area is Roman Catholic. There are 122 parishes in the archdiocese.
History
The affairs of the Roman Catholic Church in the Kingdom of PrussiaKingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
had been reorganised by the Bull "De salute animarum", issued in 1821. Before the Prussian Provinces of Brandenburg
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...
and of Pomerania were part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany
Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany
The Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany was known for most of its existence as the Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern Missions , established on 28 April 1667. It was a Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction of a Vicar Apostolic in predominantly Protestant Northern Europe...
since the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in the Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
in 1534 and in Electorate of Brandenburg in 1539 and the conversion of the majority of the inhabitants made the area a Catholic diaspora. In the late 16th and the 17th c. the competent Bishoprics of Brandenburg, Cammin, Havelberg
Bishopric of Havelberg
The Bishopric of Havelberg was a Roman Catholic diocese founded by King Otto I, King of the Germans, in 946. The diocese was suffragan to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Its most famous bishop was Anselm of Havelberg. Its seat was in Havelberg in the Northern March and it roughly covered the...
, Lebus
Bishopric of Lebus
The Bishopric of Lebus was a Roman Catholic diocese and later an ecclesiastical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed from 1125 until 1598...
, and Roskilde
Diocese of Roskilde
The Diocese of Roskilde is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran National Church of Denmark. The seat of the Bishop is Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde.-History:...
had been secularised, the Holy See considered them as sedes impeditae. In memory of the former bishoprics Berlin's archdiocesan coat-of-arms combines the symbols of the dioceses of Brandenburg, Cammin, Havelberg and Lebus.
With the annexation of most of Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
until 1763 the bulk of the Diocese of Breslau had become a part of Prussia. Part of its diocesan territory happened to be within the new Province of Brandenburg, because this had been constituted in 1815 including formerly Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
.
Breslau's Prince-Episcopal Delegation for Brandenburg and Pomerania
By the Bull "De salute animarum" the other parts of Brandenburg and the Province of Pomerania, except of the districts of BütowBytów
Bytów is a town in the Middle Pomerania region of northern Poland in the Bytów Lakeland with 16,888 inhabitants . Previously in Słupsk Voivodeship , it is the capital of Bytów County in Pomeranian Voivodeship .-History:...
and Lauenburg (Pommern)
Lebork
Lębork is a town on the Łeba and Okalica rivers in Middle Pomerania region, north-western Poland with some 37,000 inhabitants.Lębork is also the capital of Lębork County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, formerly in Słupsk Voivodeship ....
(until 1922 both part of the Diocese of Culm), were subordinated to Breslau's jurisdiction as an episcopal delegation in 1821, ending the mandate of the Vicariate Apostolic there. The jurisdiction was titled the Prince-Episcopal Delegation for Brandenburg and Pomerania , since Emanuel von Schimonsky was invested to Breslau's see as prince-bishop in 1824.
In 1821 the Delegation district comprised altogether six established Catholic congregations: Berlin (St. Hedwig), Frankfurt upon Oder, Potsdam (Ss. Peter and Paul), Spandau (Ss. Peter and Paul on Gewehrplan, Haselhorst), Stettin, and Stralsund (Heilige Dreifaltigkeit, i.e. Holy Trinity).
Breslau's Prince-Bishop Heinrich Förster (1853–81) gave generous aid to the founding of churches, monastic institutions, and schools, especially in the diaspora regions. The strife that arose between the Catholic Church and the Prussian State brought his labours in the Prussian part of his diocese to an end. He was deposed by the State and had to leave for the episcopal Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia , officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Empire, from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
n castle of Johannesberg
Jánský vrch
Jánský vrch is a castle located in the Jeseník District, which lies in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. The castle Jánský Vrch stands on a hill above the town of Javorník in the north-western edge of Czech Silesia, a territory historically known as Sudetenland.-History:The castle is...
in Jauernig, where he died on 20 October 1881.
So Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
appointed as his successor Robert Herzog (1882–86), till then Prince-Episcopal Delegate for Brandenburg and Pomerania and provost of St. Hedwig's Church
St. Hedwig's Cathedral
St. Hedwig's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral on the Bebelplatz in Berlin, Germany. It is the seat of the archbishop of Berlin.It was built in the 18th century as the first Catholic church in Prussia after the Protestant Reformation by permission of King Frederick II...
in Berlin. Prince-Bishop Herzog made every endeavour to bring order out of the confusion into which the quarrel with the State during the immediately preceding years had thrown the affairs of the diocese.
Establishment of the Berlin Diocese
According to the Prussian ConcordatConcordat
A concordat is an agreement between the Holy See of the Catholic Church and a sovereign state on religious matters. Legally, they are international treaties. They often includes both recognition and privileges for the Catholic Church in a particular country...
of 1929 Pope Pius XI elevated the Prince-Episcopal Delegation for Brandenburg and Pomerania to the Diocese of Berlin on 13 August 1930, becoming a suffragan of the Diocese of Breslau simultaneously elevated to archdiocese, whose Eastern German Ecclesiastical Province further comprised the prior exempt Diocese of Ermland
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Warmia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Warmia is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in present Poland.The Archdiocese contains a population of around 700,000...
and the new Territorial Prelature of Schneidemühl .
In 1930 the Berlin diocese comprised an area of 60,258 km² with 531,744 Catholics, making up 7.3% of the total population. They were pastorally served by 262 diocesan priests within 149 parishes and chapels of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
.
After World War II Berlin's diocesan territory east of the Oder-Neiße line (East Brandenburg and central and Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
) – with 33 parishes and chapels of ease – came under Polish control. Most of the parishioners and priests there had either fled the invading Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
or were subsequently expelled by Polish authorities.
Cardinal August Hlond demanded the diocesan territory east of the new border for the creation of new dioceses, he appointed a diocesan administrator for Berlin's eastern diocesan territory seated in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Landsberg an der Warthe)
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the biggest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 125,149 inhabitants...
. Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
refused to acknowledge these claims. In 1951, when the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
– similar to 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....
– still asserted that East Brandenburg and Farther Pomerania would be returned to Germany at a near date, the Pope appointed Teodor Bensch (1903–1958), titular bishop of Tabuda, as auxiliary bishop responsible for the Polish part of the diocese of Berlin. His office was titled Apostolic Administration of Cammin, Lebus and the Prelature of Schneidemühl .
On 27 June 1972, however, – in response to West Germany's change in Ostpolitik
Ostpolitik
Neue Ostpolitik , or Ostpolitik for short, refers to the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic beginning in 1969...
and the Treaty of Warsaw
Treaty of Warsaw (1970)
The Treaty of Warsaw was a treaty between West Germany and the People's Republic of Poland. It was signed by Chancellor Willy Brandt and Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz at the Presidential Palace on 7 December 1970, and it was ratified by the German Bundestag on 17 May 1972.In the treaty, both...
– Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
reversed the diocesan boundary along the post-war borders. The Apostolic constitution
Apostolic constitution
An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...
Episcoporum Poloniae coetus disentangled the East Brandenburgian diocesan area (becoming thus the Diocese of Gorzów
Roman Catholic Diocese of Zielona Góra-Gorzów
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zielona Góra-Gorzów is an diocese located in the cities of Zielona Góra and Gorzów Wielkopolski in the Ecclesiastical province of Szczecin-Kamień in Poland.-History:...
) and the Farther Pomeranian diocesan area (becoming the new westerly Diocese of Szczecin-Kamień and the easterly Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg).
In 1972 also the German part of the Archdiocese of Breslau was reconstituted as the exempt Apostolic Administration of Görlitz. Thus Berlin also turned into exempt status
Exemption (church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, exemption is the whole or partial release of an ecclesiastical person, corporation, or institution from the authority of the ecclesiastical superior next higher in rank....
. On 27 June 1994 Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
elevated Berlin to the rank of an archdiocese, supervising since the simultaneously erected Diocese of Görlitz
Roman Catholic Diocese of Görlitz
The Diocese of Görlitz is a diocese of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. The current ordinary is Wolfgang Ipolt-History:For the history until 1972 see the History of the See of Breslau....
(formerly Apostolic Administration) and the prior exempt Diocese of Dresden-Meißen
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen
The Diocese of Dresden-Meissen is a Diocese of Catholic Church in Germany. Founded as the Bishopric of Meissen in 968, it was dissolved in 1539 during the Protestant Reformation. The diocese was reestablished in 1921 and renamed Dresden-Meissen in 1980. The seat of the diocese is in Dresden and...
.
Ordinaries
- Christian Schreiber (13 August 1930 Appointed – 1 September 1933 Died)
- Nikolaus Bares (27 October 1933 Appointed – 1 March 1935 Died)
- Konrad von Preysing Lichtenegg-MoosKonrad von PreysingJohann Konrad Maria Augustin Felix Graf von Preysing Lichtenegg-Moos was a German prelate of the Roman Catholic Church...
(5 July 1935 Appointed – 21 December 1950 Died) - Wilhelm Weskamm (4 June 1951 Appointed – 21 Aug 1956 Died)
- Julius August Cardinal DöpfnerJulius DöpfnerJulius August Döpfner was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1961 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.-Early life and ordination:...
(15 Jan 1957 Appointed – 3 Jul 1961 Appointed, Archbishop of München und Freising {Munich}Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and FreisingThe Archdiocese of Munich and Freising is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Bavaria, Germany. It is led by the prelature of the Archbishop of Munich, who administers the see from the mother church in Munich, the Frauenkirche, also known as Munich Cathedral...
) - Alfred Cardinal Bengsch (16 Aug 1961 Appointed – 13 Dec 1979 Died)
- Joachim Cardinal MeisnerJoachim Cardinal MeisnerJoachim Meisner is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the current Archbishop of Cologne, serving since 1989. He previously served as Bishop of Berlin from 1980 to 1989, and was created a cardinal in 1983...
(22 Apr 1980 Appointed – 20 Dec 1988 Appointed, Archbishop of Köln {Cologne}Roman Catholic Archdiocese of CologneThe Archdiocese of Cologne is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.-History:...
) - Georg Cardinal SterzinskyGeorg Cardinal SterzinskyGeorg Maximilian Sterzinsky was a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the Cardinal Archbishop of Berlin.-Early life:...
(28 May 1989 Appointed – 24 Feb 2011 Retired) - Rainer Maria Woelki (2 July 2011 Appointed – )
Prince-Episcopal Delegates for Brandenburg and Pomerania
The delegature was combined in personal unionPersonal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
with the provostry of St. Hedwig's in Berlin.
- 1821–1823 – Johann Ambros(ius) Taube (Silesia, *1778 – 22 April 1823*, Berlin), provost of St. Hedwig since 1810
- 1824–1826 – Hubert Auer (Bingen, *1 May 1780 – 17 February 1838*, Trier)
- 1827–1829 – Nikolaus Fischer as administrator per pro
- 1829–1836 – Nikolaus Fischer (*1791– 18 April 1858*, Frankenstein in SchlesienZabkowice SlaskieZąbkowice Śląskie is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Ząbkowice Śląskie County, and of the smaller administrative district called Gmina Ząbkowice Śląskie....
) - 1836–1849 – Georg Anton Brinkmann (Billerbeck, *15 October 1796 – 7 May 1856*, Münster in Westphalia)
- 1849–1850 – Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherr von Ketteler
- 1850–1859 – Leopold Pelldram (Schweidnitz, *3 May 1811 – 3 May 1867*, Trier)
- 1860–1870 – Franz Xaver Karker
- 1870–1882 – Robert Herzog (Schönwalde bei Frankenstein, * 17 February 1823 – 26 December 1886*, Breslau)
- 1882–1888 – Johannes Baptist Maria Assmann (Branitz, *26 August 1833 – 27 May 1903*, Ahrweiler)
- 1889–1897 – Joseph Jahnel (*1834–1897*, Berlin)
- 1887–1905 – Karl Neuber (*1841–1905*)
- 1905–1920 – Carl Kleineidam (HohengiersdorfModliszówModliszów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Świdnica, within Świdnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany....
, *1848–1924*, Giersdorf) - 1920–1929 – Josef Deitmer (Münster in Westphalia, *12 August 1865 – 16 January 1929*, Berlin)
- 1929–1930 – Christian Schreiber, Bishop of Meissen, as administrator of the future diocese of Berlin
Famous people of the Berlin Archdiocese
- Joseph AhrensJoseph AhrensJoseph Ahrens was a German composer and organist.Ahrens received early training in organ and choral music, and studied at the Berlin Staatlich Akademie für Kirchen- und Schulmusik from 1925 to 1928 under Alfred Sittard, Max Seiffert, and Wilhelm Middelschulte. In 1928 he became a docent at the...
- Eva-Maria BuchEva-Maria BuchEva-Maria Buch was a resistance fighter against the Nazi régime in Germany associated with the Red Orchestra resistance group.- Life :...
- Alfred DelpAlfred DelpAlfred Delp was a German Jesuit priest who was executed for his resistance to the Nazi régime in Germany.- Early life and education :...
- August FroehlichAugust FroehlichAugust Froehlich was a German Roman Catholic priest. In his pastoral activity he opposed National Socialism. He stood up for rights of German Catholics and of Polish forced labourers, martyred in Dachau concentration camp....
, priest active in resistance movement against the National SocialismNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, protector of the maltreatment of Polish forced laborers, martyred in the Dachau concentration camp - Romano GuardiniRomano GuardiniRomano Guardini was a Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in 20th-century.- Life and work:...
- Paul Lejeune-JungPaul Lejeune-JungPaul Adolf Franz Lejeune-Jung, was a German economist, politician, syndic in the pulp industry, and resistance fighter against Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.-Early life:Lejeune-Jung's roots were in an old Huguenot family in Berlin...
- Bernhard LichtenbergBernhard LichtenbergBlessed Bernhard Lichtenberg was a German Roman Catholic priest and theologian, awarded the title righteous among the Nations....
, blessed priest and theologian, active in resistance movement against the National Socialism, awarded the title righteous among the Nations - Josef LenzelJosef LenzelJosef Lenzel was a German Roman Catholic priest active in resistance movement against the National Socialism, who died in the Dachau concentration camp where he had been sent as a result of his work with Polish forced labourers....
, priest active in resistance movement against the National Socialism, helped the Polish forced laborers, martyred in the Dachau concentration camp - Michael Graf von MatuschkaMichael Graf von MatuschkaMichael Graf von Matuschka was a German politician who took part in the July 20 plot.- Biography :...
- Max Josef MetzgerMax Josef MetzgerMax Josef Metzger was born in Schopfheim in Baden, Germany.Metzger became a Roman Catholic priest and worked as a military chaplain for the forces of Imperial Germany during World War I. During that war he began to see peace work as an urgent task...
- Herbert Simoleit
- Margarete SommerMargarete SommerMargarete Sommer was a Catholic social worker. During the Holocaust, she helped persecuted Jewish citizens, keeping many of them from deportation to death camps. She was the assistant of Bishop Konrad von Preysing...
, awarded the title righteous among the Nations - Carl SonnenscheinCarl SonnenscheinCarl Sonnenschein was a German writer, the founder of the Catholic student movement in Germany.He was born in Düsseldorf and died in Berlin....
- Maria TerwielMaria TerwielMaria Terwiel was a German resistance fighter in the Third Reich. She belonged to the Red Orchestra resistance group.- Life :...
- Albert WillimskyAlbert WillimskyAlbert Willimsky was a German Roman Catholic priest active in resistance movement against the National Socialism, martyred in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.- Biography :...
, priest active in resistance movement against the National Socialism, protector of the maltreatment of Polish forced laborers, martyred in the Sachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD... - Josef WirmerJosef WirmerJosef Wirmer was a German jurist and resistance fighter against the Nazi régime.- Life :Born in Paderborn, Josef Wirmer was from a Catholic family of teachers. His father was a Gymnasium headmaster. After his Abitur in Warburg he studied law in Freiburg and Berlin...