Lothar Kreyssig (; 30 October 1898 – 6 July 1986) was a German

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

during the

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

and

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

era. He was the only German judge who attempted to stop the

Action T4 (German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address of ...

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

program, an intervention that cost him his job. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was again offered a judgeship but declined. Later, he became an advocate of German reconciliation and founded the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace and the German

development aid Development aid is a type of aid, foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political International development, development of developing countries. Closely-rel ...

non-government organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

, Action for World Solidarity.

Biography

Early years

Lothar Ernst Paul Kreyssig was born in Flöha,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, the son of a businessman and

grain merchant The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

. After elementary school, he attended a gymnasium in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

. He set aside his education and enlisted in the army in 1916 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Two years of service in the war took him to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

Baltics The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. After the war, between 1919 and 1922, he studied law in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1923. In 1926, he went to work at the district court in Chemnitz and two years later became a judge there. In 1933, Kreyssig was pressured to join the

party, but refused, citing his need for judicial independence. However, in 1934, he joined the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...

and in 1935, was elected

Praeses ''Praeses'' (Latin ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions. ...

at the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the Confessing Church in Saxony. He was still able to work in his profession and in 1937, he was transferred to

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the H ...

to the lower district court.Anton Legerer
"Preparing the Ground for Constitutionalization through Reconciliation Work"
''German Law Journal'' excerpt. (PDF) Retrieved March 15, 2010 His work as a

mental health court Mental health courts link offenders who would ordinarily be prison-bound to long-term community-based treatment. They rely on mental health assessments, individualized treatment plans, and ongoing judicial monitoring to address both the mental hea ...

guardianship judge made him responsible for several hundred mentally challenged children and adults.English summary of ''Prophet der Versöhnung''
(''Prophet of Reconciliation'') In German, by Konrad Weiß. He bought an estate in nearby

Havelsee Havelsee () is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Havel, 12 km northwest of Brandenburg. The Pritzerbe Ferry, a vehicular cable ferry, crosses the Havel between Havelsee and Kütz ...

, where he practiced biodynamic farming. A preliminary investigation prompted by Kreyssig's church activities was made against him, but no action was taken. After the number of death certificates of his wards began to accumulate on his desk, he began to suspect the deaths were connected to the "mercy killing" that had begun. He reported his suspicions in a letter to Minister of Justice

Franz Gürtner Franz Gürtner (26 August 1881 – 29 January 1941) was a German Minister of Justice in the governments of Franz von Papen, Kurt von Schleicher and Adolf Hitler. Gürtner was responsible for coordinating jurisprudence in Nazi Germany and provided ...

, dated July 8, 1940. He pilloried the Nazis'

euthanasia program. He also addressed the

disenfranchisement Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...

of prisoners in

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

, making all his arguments on firm legal grounds.Ernst Klee. ''The Encyclopedia of the Third Persons Reich.'' Fischer Taschenbuch (2005) p. 340 Kreyssig then filed a charge against Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler for murder. He filed an injunction against the institutions in which he had housed his wards, prohibiting them from transferring the wards without his consent.''Law's Heroes''
University of Missouri at Kansas City, Law Department, faculty projects. Retrieved March 15, 2010 On 13 November 1940 Kreyssig was summoned by Gürtner, who laid before Kreyssig Hitler's personal letter that had started the euthanasia program and which constituted the sole legal basis for it. Kreyssig replied, "The Führer's word does not create a right," clearly signifying that he did not recognize this as a legal right. Gürtner then told Kreyssig, "If you cannot recognise the will of the Führer as a source of law, then you cannot remain a judge." In December 1940, Kreyssig was suspended. Efforts by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

to send him to a concentration camp failed. Two years later, in March 1942, Hitler forced Kreyssig to retire. Kreyssig then devoted himself to organic farming and church work. He also hid two Jewish women on his property until the end of the war.

After 1945

After the end of National Socialism, Kreyssig came to be appreciated as a '' Widerstandskämpfer''. However, in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...

after the war, as an alleged

Prussian Junker The Junkers ( ; ) were members of the landed nobility in Prussia. They owned great estates that were maintained and worked by peasants with few rights. These estates often lay in the countryside outside of major cities or towns. They were an impo ...

he lost part of his estate. Feeling that the rule of law in the Soviet occupation zone was insufficient, Kreyssig decided against resuming his career as a judge. Instead, he accepted an offer from Bishop

Otto Dibelius Friedrich Karl Otto Dibelius (15 May 1880 – 31 January 1967) was a German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, a self-described anti-Semite who up to 1934 a conservative who became a staunch opponent of Nazism and commu ...

and in 1945, became the consistorial president of the

Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony The Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony (''Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen''; KPS) was the most important Protestant denomination in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. As a united Protestant church, it combined both ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

. In 1947, he became

of the Synod of the church province, an office he held until 1964. In December 1950 the general synod of the

Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) was a major Protestant church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Pr ...

elected him its praeses, an office he held until 1970. In 1952, he briefly headed the church chancellery of that Church. Between 1949 and 1961, he was a council member of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...

, the Protestant umbrella in Germany, and from 1949 to 1958, he was also eastern vice president of the Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag. Spiritually, he was at home in the

Evangelische Michaelsbruderschaft The Evangelische Michaelsbruderschaft (EMB) (''Evangelical Brotherhood of St. Michael'') is a German religious Brotherhood belonging to Berneuchen Movement as a part of Lutheran Liturgical Movement. Founded in Michaelmas 1931 in the Upper Chapel ( ...

. Kreyssig's views were controversial. He espoused an

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

of Christians, but one that would also include

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. Kreyssig turned against the ''

Wiederbewaffnung West German rearmament (german: Wiederbewaffnung) began in the decades after the World War II. Fears of another rise of German militarism caused the new military to operate within an alliance framework, under NATO command. The events led to the e ...

'' and rejected the division of Germany into two countries. Kreyssig established church institutions and programs, such as the Protestant Academy of the Church Province of Saxony, and a hotline. He founded the ''Aktionsgemeinschaft für die Hungernden'', a communal action to combat hunger, which was a precursor of the

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Action for World Solidarity. His most significant work, however, was the founding of the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace. Kreyssig called for the founding of this action in 1958, saying that young Germans should go to former enemy countries and to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

to ask for forgiveness and show, by volunteering to do good deeds to atone for the bombing and crimes of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the Nazi regime (especially

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

), to show signs of atonement, to work toward reconciliation, and for peace. Today, thousands of Germans have volunteered in numerous countries through this organization. The first projects were in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. With the construction of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, Kreyssig was cut off from the international activities of his organization. As a result, he gave up running the organization and devoted himself to building a version of the organization in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. One of the first projects of this initiative was to rebuild two destroyed churches in Magdeburg. In 1971, Kreyssig and his wife moved to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. He lived in a nursing home from 1977 in

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx. 10 kilometers east of ...

until his death in 1986.

Legacy and memorials

To this day, Kreyssig is known as the only judge who tried to stop the systematic murders conducted under the Nazis' T4 program. The cities of

Flöha Flöha () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Flöha is situated on the confluence of the rivers Zschopau and Flöha, east of Chemnitz. Flöha station connects the town to Dresden, Chemnitz, Freiberg, Annaberg-Buc ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and

each have a street named after him. In Flöha, there is a ''Förderschule'' and in Lehnin, a senior care center that bear his name. The Lothar Kreyssig Peace Prize has been awarded every two years since 1999 by the Lothar Kreyssig Foundation in Magdeburg. On the anniversary of his 100th birthday, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the ''Oberlandesgericht'' (Superior Regional Court) in

. The former lower district court site, now the location of the Brandenburg ''Generalstaatsanwaltschaft'' (Attorney General), outside, has two memorial

stelae A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

and inside, a plaque with an inscription by Kreyssig's biographer, Konrad Weiß. The Brandenburg Association of Jurists donated the plaque on 5 May 2008 to commemorate Kreyssig's Appeal to found the Action for Reconciliation on the 50th anniversary of its introduction. On 22 October 2006 the Federal Ministry of Justice held a memorial, sponsored by Minister of Justice

Brigitte Zypries Brigitte Zypries (born 16 November 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Between 2017 and 2018, she served as Minister for Economics and Energy in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel; she was the f ...

, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Kreyssig's death. On 5 July 2008 a memorial was unveiled at Hohenferchesar, his residence from 1937 to 1972. Lothar and Johanna Kreyssig were recognised as

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

in 2016.

Publications

*''Gerechtigkeit für David. Gottes Gericht und Gnade über dem Ahnen Jesu Christi. Nach dem 2. Buch Samuelis'', 1949
Appeal to found the Action for Reconciliation
Action for Reconciliation Service for Peace, official website. Berlin 1958. Retrieved March 13, 2010

Sources

* Konrad Weiß
Lothar Kreyssig. ''Prophet der Versöhnung''
Bleicher Verlag, Gerlingen (1998) * Susanne Willems, ''Lothar Kreyssig - Vom eigenen verantwortlichen Handeln'', Aktion Sühnezeichen/Friedensdienste, Berlin, (1995) * Susanne Willems, in: ''Verfolgung, Alltag, Widerstand - Brandenburg in der NS-Zeit'', Verlag Volk & Welt Berlin (1993) pp. 383–410, * "Unrecht beim Namen genannt." Memorial for Lothar Kreyssig on 30 October 1998, published by the Brandenburg Oberlandesgericht, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden, (1998) * Martin Kramer, '' Magdeburger Biographisches Lexikon'', Scriptum Verlag Magdeburg (2002) * Karl-Klaus Rabe, ''Umkehr in die Zukunft - Die Arbeit der Aktion Sühnezeichen/Friedensdienste'', Lamuv Verlag, Göttingen (1983) * Helmut Kramer, ''Lothar Kreyssig (1898 bis 1986), Richter und Christ im Widerstand in: Redaktion Kritische Justiz'' (Hg.): Streitbare Juristen. Nomos, Baden-Baden (1989) pp. 342–354, * Wolf Kahl, Lothar Kreyssig - Amtsrichter im Widerstand und Prophet der Versöhnung, Deutsche Richterzeitung 2008, pp. 299–302 * Anke Silomon, ''Widerstand von Protestanten im NS und in der DDR, Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte'', 14/2009 (30 March 2009) pp. 33 – 38

References

External links

Biography of Lothar Kreyssig
at the University of Magdeburg, ''Magdeburger Biographisches Lexikon''. Retrieved February 3, 2013
Action for World Solidarity
Official website. Retrieved March 11, 2010 * Lothar Kreyssig in th
German National Library
catalogue Retrieved March 11, 2010 *

Biography of Lothar Kreyssig. Retrieved February 3, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreyssig, Lothar 1898 births 1986 deaths People from Flöha People from the Kingdom of Saxony German Lutherans Lutheran pacifists Protestants in the German Resistance Jurists from Saxony 20th-century German judges German anti-war activists Aktion T4 German Army personnel of World War I German Righteous Among the Nations Protestant Righteous Among the Nations