Theophil Wurm
Encyclopedia
Theophil Wurm was the son of a pastor and was a leader in the German Protestant Church in the early twentieth century.
Wurm was active in politics. He was a member of the Christian Social Party
before World War I, and thereafter of the Citizens’ Party. He held a seat in the Württemberg State Parliament until 1920.
As a young man Wurm was a prison chaplain, and became a parish pastor when he was 45. He progressed in the hierarchy of the Lutheran Evangelical State Church in Württemberg
and became church president in 1929, with this office being retitled into Landesbischof
(bishop of the regional Protestant church
) in 1933. Like many churchmen, he initially favored the Nazi regime, but its church policy soon moved him into opposition.
In September 1934 Wurm was deposed from his bishopric by Reich's bishop Ludwig Müller because of his views on church policy (including) the Barmen Declaration
, and was placed under house arrest twice. These extreme measures were eventually rescinded by Hitler in the wake of protests and the stripping of power from Müller. Wurm then held the office of bishop until 1948.
Wurm withdrew from the German Christians
and aligned himself with the schismatic Confessing Church
and attended its synods, but he did not advocate the more extreme policies of the church's more militant wing. Nevertheless, he was not politically apathetic and made numerous complaints to the Nazi party and the Nazi state. After the start of the war, he protested the murders of psychiatric patients under the Nazi euthanasia program
. This earned him a 1944 ban against public speaking and writing.
He associated with the resistance movements that centered around Carl Goerdeler and Ludwig Beck
.
He was admired by his fellow churchmen and in 1945 (in connection with the Allies' de-nazification efforts) he was elected chairman of the Council of the newly created Protestant umbrella Evangelical Church in Germany
.
He was a signatory of the October 1945 Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt
.
Wurm was active in politics. He was a member of the Christian Social Party
Christian Social Party
For other parties of the same name, see Christian Social PartyThe Christian Social Party was an Austrian conservative political party from 1893 to 1933 and is a predecessor of the contemporary Austrian People's Party.- Foundation :...
before World War I, and thereafter of the Citizens’ Party. He held a seat in the Württemberg State Parliament until 1920.
As a young man Wurm was a prison chaplain, and became a parish pastor when he was 45. He progressed in the hierarchy of the Lutheran Evangelical State Church in Württemberg
Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg is a Protestant church in the German former state of Württemberg, now the part of the state Baden-Württemberg. The seat of the church is in Stuttgart.It is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany , and is a Lutheran Church...
and became church president in 1929, with this office being retitled into Landesbischof
Landesbischof
A Landesbischof is the head of some Protestant Landeskirche in Germany. Based on the principle of the summepiscopat, the Lutheran princes assumed the position of Head of Church in their territory after the Reformation...
(bishop of the regional Protestant church
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland , that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland , respectively.-Origins in the Holy Roman...
) in 1933. Like many churchmen, he initially favored the Nazi regime, but its church policy soon moved him into opposition.
In September 1934 Wurm was deposed from his bishopric by Reich's bishop Ludwig Müller because of his views on church policy (including) the Barmen Declaration
Barmen Declaration
The Barmen Declaration or The Theological Declaration of Barmen 1934 is a statement of the Confessing Church opposing the Nazi-supported "German Christians" movement known for its anti-Semitism and extreme nationalism...
, and was placed under house arrest twice. These extreme measures were eventually rescinded by Hitler in the wake of protests and the stripping of power from Müller. Wurm then held the office of bishop until 1948.
Wurm withdrew from the German Christians
German Christians
The Deutsche Christen were a pressure group and movement within German Protestantism aligned towards the antisemitic and Führerprinzip ideological principles of Nazism with the goal to align German Protestantism as a whole towards those principles...
and aligned himself with the schismatic Confessing Church
Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
and attended its synods, but he did not advocate the more extreme policies of the church's more militant wing. Nevertheless, he was not politically apathetic and made numerous complaints to the Nazi party and the Nazi state. After the start of the war, he protested the murders of psychiatric patients under the Nazi euthanasia program
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
. This earned him a 1944 ban against public speaking and writing.
He associated with the resistance movements that centered around Carl Goerdeler and Ludwig Beck
Ludwig Beck
Generaloberst Ludwig August Theodor Beck was a German general and Chief of the German General Staff during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II....
.
He was admired by his fellow churchmen and in 1945 (in connection with the Allies' de-nazification efforts) he was elected chairman of the Council of the newly created Protestant umbrella Evangelical Church in Germany
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
.
He was a signatory of the October 1945 Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt
Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt
The Stuttgarter Schuldbekenntnis, known in English as the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt, was a declaration issued on October 19, 1945 by the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany , in which it confessed guilt for its inadequacies in opposition to the Nazis and the Third Reich.-Text:The...
.
External links
- Online Biography of Wurm at German Resistance Memorial Center