Bernhard Lichtenberg
Roman Catholic Church (Germany) | |
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Beatified | 23 June 1996, Germany, by Pope John Paul II |
Major shrine | St. Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin, Germany |
Feast | 5 November |
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Bernhard Lichtenberg (German:
He was
Early life and education
Lichtenberg was born in
Ministry
Appointments
Lichtenberg began his ministry in
Activism
Lichtenberg's encouragement of Catholics to view a screening of the film version of Erich Maria Remarques' anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front prompted a vicious attack by Joseph Goebbels' paper Der Angriff.[7] In 1933 the Secret State Police of Germany (Gestapo) had searched his house for the first time.[5]
Active in the Centre Party, in 1935 he went to Hermann Göring to protest against the cruelties of the Esterwegen concentration camp.[5]
Named
He protested in person to Nazi officials against the arrest and killing of the sick and mentally ill, as well as the persecution of the Jews. At first, the Nazis dismissed the priest as a nuisance. Father Lichtenberg was warned that he was in danger of being arrested for his activities, but he continued nonetheless.[6]
In 1941, Lichtenberg protested against the involuntary euthanasia programme by way of a letter to the chief physician of the Reich, Minister of Public Health Leonardo Conti (1900-1945):
I, as a human being, a Christian, a priest, and a German, demand of you, Chief Physician of the Reich, that you answer for the crimes that have been perpetrated at your bidding, and with your consent, and which will call forth the vengeance of the Lord on the heads of the German people.[9]
The euthanasia in the health institutions of Nazi Germany was purportedly stopped soon after the church protests against euthanasia headed by the bishops Clemens August Graf von Galen and Theophil Wurm. "Nazi leaders faced the prospect of either having to imprison prominent, highly admired clergymen and other protesters – a course with consequences in terms of adverse public reaction they greatly feared – or else end the programme".[10]
Arrest and imprisonment
Righteous Among the Nations |
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By country |
Lichtenberg was arrested on 23 October 1941 and sentenced to two years in prison for violation of the Pulpit Law and the Treachery Act of 1934. He asked to accompany Jews to the East in order to provide comfort there.[9][11] Because he was considered incorrigible, he was picked up in 1943 by the Gestapo to be taken to the Dachau concentration camp. He fell ill and died of pneumonia in hospital in Hof, Bavaria.[12][9][5][1]
Veneration
On 23 June 1996,
Lichtenberg's tomb is situated in the crypt of St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin. After the war, the building with the office of the archbishop of Berlin was named Bernhard Lichtenberg house.[15] In the memorial area of the former Esterwegen Concentration Camp, a memorial plaque was installed to honor Lichtenberg for his activities for the prisoners of the camp.
In the historic center of the town of Hof, the area in front of St. Mary's church has been named Bernhard-Lichtenberg-Platz since 2013 and on the initiative of pastor Hans-Jürgen Wiedow, a new parish center named after Bernhard Lichtenberg was constructed in 2016/17 under the St. Konrad's church in the town.[16]
On 7 July 2004, Yad Vashem recognized Bernhard Lichtenberg as a Righteous Among the Nations.[4]
Compositions
- Motet: Psalm 59. Mit zwei Meditationen von Bernhard Lichtenberg. For soprano solo, choir, organ and instruments, from Helge Jung, Berlin 1988. (Prolog: Die grüne Saat, Psalm: Errette mich, mein Gott, beschütze mich, Epilog I: Gott ist die Liebe, Epilog II: Wer mich vor den Menschen bekennt). First performance: Choir of the St. Hedwig's Cathedral Berlin, direktor: Michael Witt.
- Song: Dein Volk die dunklen Zeiten. Text and music: Florian Wilkes, Berlin 1995.
- Song: Lasst uns den sel'gen Bernhard loben. Words: Josef Steiner, Berlin 1996. Melody: Gotteslob, no. 262, tune according to Loys Bourgeois 1551. In: Diözesananhang zum Gotteslob des Erzbistums Berlin.
- Cantata: Wer glaubt kann widerstehn. For Spiker, vocal-solo, choir (SATB) and instruments from Ludger Stühlmeyer, Hof 1999. First performance: 31. Oktober 1999, ZDF, conzertchoir of the Hofer Symphoniker, director: Gottfried Hoffmann.
- Song: Gepriesen bist du, herrlicher Gott, für Bernhard, den seligen Priester. Word: Alois Albrecht, Bamberg 2012, melody: Ludger Stühlmeyer, Hof 2012.
- ISBN 978-3-943135-90-9.[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b Gaydosh, Brenda (2010). Seliger Bernhard Lichtenberg: Steadfast in spirit, he directed his own course. PhD thesis, American University Washington. pp. 333–336.
- ISBN 0-300-09587-2.
- ^ Gaydosh, Brenda (2017). Bernhard Lichtenberg. Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr of the Nazi Regime, Lanham. p. 175.
- ^ a b "Bernhard Lichtenberg". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-428-00195-8.
- ^ a b "Bl. Bernhard Lichtenberg", Heroes of the Holocaust, Catholic Heritage Curricula
- ^ a b c "Bernard Lichtenberg", The Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem
- ^ German: „Draußen brennt der Tempel - das ist auch ein Gotteshaus."
- ^ a b c Gilbert, Sir Martin, The Second World War: A Complete History, p. 228, MacMillan 2004
- ISBN 978-0-465-04904-2, p. 95
- S2CID 162985922.
- ^ Hilberg 2003, p. 489.
- ^ Die Welt, 24.06.1996, "Kultur des Hasses widerstehen" Retrieved on 28 February 2020
- ^ Bernhard Lichtenberg, Blessed Priest and Martyr Retrieved on 17 Jan 2018
- ^ ""BB. Karl Leisner and Bernhard Lichtenberg", St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Irondequoit, New York". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
- ^ "Pfarrzentrum Bernhard Lichtenberg (Hof)". Archived from the original on 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ "Lichtenberg-Vesper". Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
Further reading
- Brenda Gaydosh, Bernhard Lichtenberg. Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr of the Nazi Regime, Lanham 2017.
- ISBN 978-3-836708-35-7.
- Kevin P. Spicer, Resisting the Third Reich: The Catholic Clergy in Hitler's Berlin, (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2004). See chapter 7, "The Unique Path of Bernhard Lichtenberg."
- Gotthard Klein, Seliger Bernhard Lichtenberg, Regensburg 1997.
- Erich Kock, Er widerstand. Bernhard Lichtenberg. Dompropst bei St. Hedwig, Berlin, Berlin 1996.
- Martin Persch, "Lichtenberg, Bernhard". In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3, Sp. 20–23.
- H. G. Mann, Prozess Bernhard Lichtenberg. Ein Leben in Dokumenten, Berlin 1977.
- Otto Ogiermann, Bis zum letzten Atemzug ― Der Prozess gegen Bernhard Lichtenberg, Dompropst an St. Hedwig in Berlin, Leipzig 1968, 4. ed. 1983.
- Alfons Erb, Bernhard Lichtenberg. Dompropst von St. Hedwig zu Berlin, Berlin 1946, 5. ed. 1968.
External links
- Bernhard Lichtenberg – A Biographical Outline by Gotthard Klein – Berlin Diocesan Archives, at Archdiocese of Berlinwebsite
- Bernhard Lichtenberg – description of his activity at the Holocaust, at Yad Vashemwebsite
- Online Chapel Bernhard Lichtenberg