Bernhard Lichtenberg Catholic priest Date of Birth: 03.12.1875 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Bernhard Lichtenberg
2. Early Life and Education
3. Ministry in Berlin
4. Resistance against the Nazis
5. Arrest and Imprisonment
6. Legacy

Biography of Bernhard Lichtenberg

Bernhard Lichtenberg was a Catholic priest who openly opposed the Nazis during the National Socialist dictatorship in Germany. He was recognized as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem and was beatified in 1996.

Early Life and Education

Bernhard Lichtenberg was born on December 3, 1875, in the Silesian town of Olau (now Olawa, Poland). He was the fourth son of merchant August Lichtenberg. From 1895 to 1898, he studied Catholic theology in Innsbruck and then in Breslau, where he was ordained as a priest in 1899.

Ministry in Berlin

Starting in 1900, Lichtenberg served as a chaplain, vicar, and eventually a pastor in Berlin. From 1913 to 1930, he ministered to the Heart of Jesus community in the Charlottenburg district. During World War I, Lichtenberg served as a military chaplain in the Third Guards Grenadiers Regiment in Berlin-Charlottenburg and received the Red Cross Medal for his service. He also entered the Charlottenburg city parliament as a representative of the Centre Party during this time. In 1931, he became a member of the Berlin Cathedral Chapter.

Resistance against the Nazis

Lichtenberg quickly became a target of the Nazis. In 1931, Joseph Goebbels, who later became the Minister of Propaganda, launched a campaign against Lichtenberg after he called for people to watch the anti-war film "All Quiet on the Western Front," based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. Shortly after the Nazis seized power in 1933, Lichtenberg's apartment was searched by the Gestapo, marking the beginning of ongoing persecution.

In 1935, Lichtenberg learned about the conditions in the Esterwegen concentration camp, which he protested in a letter addressed to Hermann Göring. In 1938, he was appointed the senior pastor of the Berlin Cathedral of St. Hedwig. After the Kristallnacht, Lichtenberg publicly prayed for the persecuted Jews. In 1941, he wrote a letter to Reich Minister of Health Leonardo Conti, expressing his protest against the killing of mentally ill and disabled individuals as part of the euthanasia program.

Arrest and Imprisonment

On October 23, 1941, Lichtenberg was arrested by the SS. On May 22, 1942, he was sentenced to two years in prison for alleged abuses of his position and crimes against the state apparatus. He served his sentence first in the Tegel Prison and later in the transit camp Berlin-Wülheide. In 1943, Lichtenberg was deported to the Dachau concentration camp. On his way there, the priest, who suffered from severe heart and kidney diseases, died on November 5 under unclear circumstances. His funeral took place in the still-standing St. Sebastian Church in Berlin and was attended by a large number of people. In 1965, his remains were transferred to the crypt of the Berlin Cathedral of St. Hedwig.

Legacy

In 1990, the Diocese of Berlin established the Bernhard Lichtenberg Foundation, whose aim is to provide assistance to migrants in need. On June 23, 1996, during his visit to Germany, Pope John Paul II beatified Bernhard Lichtenberg. For his support of persecuted Jews, representatives of the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel honored Lichtenberg by posthumously awarding him the title of "Righteous Among the Nations." On May 18, 2005, the Israeli Ambassador to Germany, Shimon Stein, presented the corresponding certificate and medal to Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky in the Cathedral of St. Hedwig. In the Berlin district of Karlshorst, on Gundelfinger Strasse 36, there is a pastoral house that was built by Bernhard Lichtenberg.