100th birthday of Friedrich von Bodelschwingh - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1977 - 50 Pfennig

The 100th birthday of Pastor Fritz von Bodelschwingh on August 14, 1977 is the occasion to commemorate a man who throughout his life has understood himself as the friend and advocate of the sick and disabled. In addition to the Protestant Bishop Wurm, the Westphalian Old Presbyter Ernst Wilm, and the then Bishop of Munster, Count von Galen, Pastor Fritz, as he was called in Bethel, resolutely confronted his patients and prevented them Euthanasia program "of the Nazi regime have fallen victim. His unswerving commitment to those threatened by the action of "annihilating a life of no value to life" saved many lives not only in Bethel but in the whole empire of the time. Friedrich, the youngest of four children, had succeeded his father as head of Bethel at the age of 33 in 1910. Even then, the institute had more than 3,000 sick and disabled people. The outbreak of the First World War initially interrupted further expansion. Bethel became a military hospital, which has left around 30,000 wounded and sick soldiers. The daily worries about food, clothing and money for such a large community did not weaken Bodelschwingh's creative initiatives and his courage to undertake new tasks. With a keen sense of the essentials, he built schools in the 1920s, provided adult education with a home folk high school, looked after the homeless and the unemployed and offered retraining opportunities for unemployed young people. Pastor Fritz grew from year to year a measure of confidence, thanks to which he was appointed in 1933 in the office of a Reich Bishop. A little later, under the pressure of the National Socialists, he had to give way to the "German Christian," and he remained the "secret bishop." During the Second World War, Bethel's existence, with its approximately 6,000 sick and caregivers, was threatened not only by aerial bombardments, but, as already mentioned, by the "mercy killing" action ordered by Hitler through a secret order. However, Pastor Fritz and his associates had steadfastly refused to complete the questionnaires from the Euthanasia Commission. Although there was already an arrest warrant against him, Bodelschwingh uncompromisingly confronted his patients. War, hunger, church struggle and resistance to the inhumanity of the Nazi regime had severely damaged Bodelschwingh's health. Without any consideration for himself, he sat down after the collapse for the reconstruction of Bethel, founded a search service, which brought together hundreds of thousands of expulsion, captivity and evacuation in the following years and operated at the "church leaders conference" at Treysa in the summer of 1945 difficult unification of the Evangelical Church in Germany. On January 4, 1946 Friedrich von Bodelschwingh died at the age of 69 years. He, who originally wanted to devote himself entirely to scientific work as a theologian - appointed by three universities as an honorary doctorate - became an assistant to humanity through Bethel, as his father had taught him. (Text: Pressestelle der von Bodelschwinghschen Anstalten)