Friedrich Siegmund-Schultze
Encyclopedia
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
- 11 July 1969, Soest
Soest, Germany
Soest is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Soest district. After Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district.-Geography:...
) was a German academic working in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, social pedagogy
Social learning (social pedagogy)
Social learning is learning that takes place at a wider scale than individual or group learning, up to a societal scale, through social interaction between peers. It may or may not lead to a change in attitudes and behaviour...
and social ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, as well as a pioneer of peace movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
s.
Life
After studying at several gymnasia, Siegmund-Schultze studied philosophy and theology in Breslau and MagdeburgMagdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
. In 1908 he became the secretary of the Church Committee for friendly relations between Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Germany (Kirchlichen Komitees zur Pflege freundschaftlicher Beziehungen zwischen Großbritannien und Deutschland) and later secretary to the World Christian Student League for social work and foreign mission (Christlichen Studentenweltbundes für Sozialarbeit und Ausländermission).
In 1911 he and his wife founded the "Soziale Arbeitergemeinschaft Berlin-Ost" (SAG) - its offices were shut down after the Nazi seizure of power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
. At the World Churches Conference in Konstanz
Konstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
from 1 to 3 August 1914, just before the outbreak of war, he was secretary and co-founder of the "Weltbundes für Freundschaftsarbeit der Kirchen" and formed a pact with his fellow-delegate English Quaker Henry Hodgkin (meeting on the platform of the railway station at Cologne, they pledged to each other that, "We are one in Christ and can never be at war") that led to the formation of the Fellowship of Reconciliation
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries...
and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
International Fellowship of Reconciliation
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation is an international faith-based nonviolent movement created shortly after the First World War, in 1919, to draw together national Fellowships of Reconciliation that had been founded during the war....
.
During the First World War he organised Gefangenenseelsorge for British and German prisoners of war. Through his contacts with the Quakers and with the "Versöhnungsbund" (reconciliation alliance), he and Elisabeth Rotten
Elisabeth Rotten
Elisabeth Friederike Rotten was a Quaker, peace activist and educational progressive.- Life :...
organised Quaker meals for schoolchildren in 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...
. In 1915 he met the Dutch pacifist Kees Boeke
Kees Boeke
Cornelis Boeke was a Dutch reformist educator, Quaker missionary and pacifist. He is best known for his popular essay/book Cosmic View which presents a seminal view of the universe, from the galactic to the microscopic scale, and inspired several films.Boeke tried to renovate education by letting...
in Berlin. October 1918 the founder of ecumenism
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
, archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Nathan Söderblom
Nathan Söderblom
Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom was a Swedish clergyman, Archbishop of Uppsala in the Church of Sweden, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize...
, invited him to give a guest lecture on "The social renewal of Christianity and the unity of the Church"at Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
.
In 1925 Siegmund-Schultze received the professorship in "Jugendkunde und Jugendwohlfahrt" (and later in "Sozialpädagogik und Sozialethik")at the University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
. In spring 1933 he joined the foundation of an international aid-committee for German-Jewish refugees. The Nazis arrested him (on 93 charges of "racial help") and expelled from Germany under Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
begleitung 1933 with his wife and four children. They went to live in Switzerland and he was active there in student chaplaincy and as a guest lecturer until 1946.
In 1947 he was made professor of "Sozialpädagogik und Sozialethik" at the Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universitat at Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
. In 1948 he founded the "Jugend-Wohlfahrtsschule Dortmund", and was its head until 1954. In 1959 he founded the Ecumenical Archive (Ökumenische Archiv) in Soest, which later received the central archive of the EKD in Berlin. Siegmund-Schultze was friends with Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
and published the Ökumenischen Jahrbuchs.
The Friedrich Siegmund-Schultze Förderpreis
- 1994 das Antikriegszentrum Belgrad,
- 1995 German section of Peace Brigades InternationalPeace Brigades InternationalPeace Brigades International is an NGO, founded in 1981, which "protects human rights and promotes nonviolent transformation of conflicts". It primarily does this by sending volunteers to accompany human rights defenders whose lives are at risk in areas of conflict and to provide training in...
- 1998 Yesh GvulYesh GvulYesh Gvul is a movement founded in 1982, by combat veterans, at the outbreak of the Lebanon War, who refused to serve in Lebanon and has expanded its opposition to the war in Lebanon to the negation of service in the occupied territories, reflected in the current Yesh Gvul...
- 2001 Connection e.V.
- 2004 War Resisters' InternationalWar Resisters' InternationalWar Resisters' International is an international anti-war organization with members and affiliates in over thirty countries. Its headquarters are in London, UK.-History:...
- 2008 Military Counseling Network sowie Dorf der Freundschaft
Works
- Ökumenisches Jahrbuch 1934-1935, Zürich/Leipzig 1936; Ökumenisches Jahrbuch 1936-1937, Zürich und Leipzig 1939;
- Ekklesia 1934-1935, Leipold Klotz Verlag, Gotha
External links
- http://forge.fh-potsdam.de/~BiB/gruender/siegmund_schultze.pdf
- http://www.friedenskooperative.de/themen/fssprs98.htm
- http://www.connection-ev.de/Presse/eak_germer.html
- http://www.wri-irg.org/news/2004/speyer-de.htm