August Froehlich
Encyclopedia
August 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.
) in Prussian Silesia. In 1912 young Froehlich started theological studies in Breslau to become a priest, but before completing it, at the break of the First World War
, he was mobilized. He served in the elite 1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers
. Soon, while on the Russian front, on 3rd of July, 1915 in one of the first battles he was seriously injured. Mistakenly taken for dead, he was left on the battlefield, found alive only the following day by German military medics
. After his recovery he resumed his military service, this time in France. Among other medals he received the Iron Cross
- first and second class. He was wounded again and became a POW. He returned home to Breslau from British imprisonment in the autumn 1920, two years after the end of the war. He continued his theological studies in the theology faculty at the Breslau University. On 19th of June, 1921 August Froehlich was ordained a priest by Cardinal Adolf Bertram in the cathedral of Breslau Diocese. After his first mass in his home parish Saint Barbara in Königshütte
, he was appointed by the Bishop of Breslau to the autonomous Berlin
ecclesiastic province. He worked in Berlin and Pomerania
.
He spent his first years in Berlin as an assistant priest. German economy was in post-war crisis, there was high inflation. For the young priest it was natural to use large part of his inheritance and his income to support impoverished families. He supported "press apostolate" by distributing Catholic daily press and a church bulletin. Thus Catholics had access to newspapers, which were an alternative to non-Christian and, indeed, anti-Christian militant Nazi party press. He showed passive opposition to the Nazi regime. e. g. he refused to join 1935 collection for the Nazi state, in order to be able to support his own charity works. This made local group leader of NSDAP to organise a public confrontation. He would also refuse to say the Nazi greeting Heil Hitler
and encouraged his parishioners to use traditional greeting Grüß Gott
- praised be God. In his letter to the Reichsarbeitsdienstgruppe
in Bad Polzin dated 23rd of September, 1935, Father Froehlich explained his reasons why he would end also his letters with the Praise God greeting:
From 1937 to 1942 he lived in Rathenow
as a parish priest in the church of Saint Georg. Numerous Polish forced labourers worked in the Rathenow area. Because Polish Catholics were not allowed to participate in German worship, August Froehlich and his assistant priest celebrated separate Sunday Masses for them. When he heard about maltreatment of Polish forced labourers (e.g. of a pregnant woman), he brought that courageously into public and spoke about it during church announcements. That caused reaction of Nazi authorities. He was arrested. On 28th of July, 1941 he was transferred from Potsdam prison to a concentration camp. In the period of eleven months he was in three concentration camps: Buchenwald
, Ravensbrück
and, finally, Dachau, where he died because of bad prison conditions on 22nd of June, 1942.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. He stood up for rights of German Catholics and of Polish forced labourers, martyred in Dachau concentration camp.
Biography
August Froehlich was born in 1891 in a well-to-do business family in Königshütte (now ChorzówChorzów
Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
) in Prussian Silesia. In 1912 young Froehlich started theological studies in Breslau to become a priest, but before completing it, at the break 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...
, he was mobilized. He served in the elite 1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers
1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers
The 1st Guards Grenadiers were an infantry regiment of the Royal Prussian Army. The regiment was formed in 1814 and was named after Czar Alexander I of Russia, who was also its first colonel-in-chief...
. Soon, while on the Russian front, on 3rd of July, 1915 in one of the first battles he was seriously injured. Mistakenly taken for dead, he was left on the battlefield, found alive only the following day by German military medics
Combat medic
Combat medics are trained military personnel who are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injury...
. After his recovery he resumed his military service, this time in France. Among other medals he received the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
- first and second class. He was wounded again and became a POW. He returned home to Breslau from British imprisonment in the autumn 1920, two years after the end of the war. He continued his theological studies in the theology faculty at the Breslau University. On 19th of June, 1921 August Froehlich was ordained a priest by Cardinal Adolf Bertram in the cathedral of Breslau Diocese. After his first mass in his home parish Saint Barbara in Königshütte
Chorzów
Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
, he was appointed by the Bishop of Breslau to the autonomous 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...
ecclesiastic province. He worked in Berlin and Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
.
He spent his first years in Berlin as an assistant priest. German economy was in post-war crisis, there was high inflation. For the young priest it was natural to use large part of his inheritance and his income to support impoverished families. He supported "press apostolate" by distributing Catholic daily press and a church bulletin. Thus Catholics had access to newspapers, which were an alternative to non-Christian and, indeed, anti-Christian militant Nazi party press. He showed passive opposition to the Nazi regime. e. g. he refused to join 1935 collection for the Nazi state, in order to be able to support his own charity works. This made local group leader of NSDAP to organise a public confrontation. He would also refuse to say the Nazi greeting Heil Hitler
Nazi salute
The Nazi salute, or Hitler salute , was a gesture of greeting in Nazi Germany usually accompanied by saying, Heil Hitler! ["Hail Hitler!"], Heil, mein Führer ["Hail, my leader!"], or Sieg Heil! ["Hail victory!"]...
and encouraged his parishioners to use traditional greeting Grüß Gott
Grüß Gott
Grüß Gott is a greeting, less often a farewell, in the Upper German Sprachraum especially in Switzerland, Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia and Austria. The greeting was publicized in the 19th century by the Catholic clergy and along with its variants has long been the most common greeting form in...
- praised be God. In his letter to the Reichsarbeitsdienstgruppe
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reichsarbeitsdienst was an institution established by Nazi Germany as an agency to reduce unemployment, similar to the relief programs in other countries. During the Second World War it was an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht.The RAD was formed during July 1934 as...
in Bad Polzin dated 23rd of September, 1935, Father Froehlich explained his reasons why he would end also his letters with the Praise God greeting:
From 1937 to 1942 he lived in Rathenow
Rathenow
Rathenow is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, Germany, with a population of 26,433 .-Overview:The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Gothic style in 1517-1589, and the Roman Catholic Church of St...
as a parish priest in the church of Saint Georg. Numerous Polish forced labourers worked in the Rathenow area. Because Polish Catholics were not allowed to participate in German worship, August Froehlich and his assistant priest celebrated separate Sunday Masses for them. When he heard about maltreatment of Polish forced labourers (e.g. of a pregnant woman), he brought that courageously into public and spoke about it during church announcements. That caused reaction of Nazi authorities. He was arrested. On 28th of July, 1941 he was transferred from Potsdam prison to a concentration camp. In the period of eleven months he was in three concentration camps: Buchenwald
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
, Ravensbrück
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
and, finally, Dachau, where he died because of bad prison conditions on 22nd of June, 1942.
Memory
- Commemorative plaque in a cript of St. Hedwig's CathedralSt. Hedwig's CathedralSt. 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, - Commemorative plaque in a church of St. Josef in Berlin-Alt Rudow,
- Commemorative plaque in a church of St. Paul in Drawsko PomorskieDrawsko PomorskieDrawsko Pomorskie is a town in Drawsko County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland, with 17,440 inhabitants. Originally inhabited by Slavs, the settlement was colonized by Germans during the Middle Ages...
, - Street named his name August-Froehlich-Straße in Berlin-Rudow,
- Street named his name Pfarrer-Froehlich-Straße in Rathenow.