Oskar Brüsewitz (May 30, 1929 – 22 August 1976) was an East GermanLutheran pastor who committed public self-immolation on August 18, 1976,[1] to protest the repression of religion in the Communist state of East Germany.[2] He died four days later.
With the Second World War nearing its end, Brüsewitz joined the Wehrmacht in 1944 as a fifteen-year-old, was captured by the Red Army and became a prisoner of war. He worked as a shoemaker after the war and converted to Christianity in 1954, then attended a Lutheran seminary from 1964 until 1969 in Erfurt. In 1970 he was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Rippicha, near the town of Zeitz. He was critical of the East German Communist regime imposed by the Soviet Union after the war and symbolic acts of protest, including the installation of a cross of neon lamps at his church, brought him to the attention of the authorities. The leadership of his church sided with the state, rather than its priest, and asked, in 1976, for Brüsewitz to be moved to another rectorate. This was the immediate trigger for his suicidal protest in a crowded public square in front of the Michaelis church in Zeitz. In front of hundreds of persons, Reverend Brüsewitz "poured gasoline over himself and lighted up in flames".[3]Neues Deutschland, the daily newspaper of the Communist SED party, reported the event afterward and described Brüsewitz as "an abnormal and sick man who suffered from delusions."[3] The fire was quickly doused by officials from the Ministry for State security, but Brüsewitz died four days later from his burns.
On the day of his protest he carried pamphlets accusing the communists of repression which read; "Funkspruch an alle: Die Kirche in der DDR klagt den Kommunismus an! Wegen Unterdrückung in Schulen an Kindern und Jugendlichen" ("A radio transmission for all: The church in the GDR denounces Communism! Because of the oppression of children and youth in school"). In his suicide note he wrote of a "feigned deep peace, which had also intruded Christianity" in East Germany while in truth there was "a mighty war between light and darkness" ("zwischen Licht und Finsternis ein mächtiger Krieg").
Brüsewitz died of his severe burns on August 22, 1976, in a hospital in Halle Dölau. His self-sacrifice brought support from both his parishioners and figures in the church and led to a reappraisal within the church hierarchy of its relationship with the Communist dictatorship. The Protestant Church now sees Brüsewitz's protest as an early step towards the mass popular protests which led to the collapse of East Germany in 1989.
The Communist authorities initially attempted to suppress news of the event then, when news leaked and public support for his action grew, they branded him a psychopath. On August 31 Neues Deutschland, the official newspaper of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED), printed an article entitled "Du sollst nicht falsch Zeugnis reden" "You shall not bear false witness" which asserted that self-immolation was the action of a sick, crazy man. A similar article appeared in Neue Zeit, the newspaper of the East German Christian Democratic Union.[4]
The Protestant church of the ecclesiastical province of Saxony commemorated his sacrifice twenty years later in 1996, six years after the reunification of Germany. Bishop Dehmke called his death an "act of desperation" in protest against the repressive nature of the Communist regime and the collaboration of church members who had grown too close to the state.[5]
To mark the 30th anniversary of his death, Neues Deutschland wrote an apology for the article they had carried at the time, admitting that the piece had been "slanderous" and not written by their journalists, but by an office of the Central Committee of the SED.[6] In addition they published some of the thousands of critical letters to the editor they had received but not printed in 1976.[7] In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Paneuropa-Union established a Brüsewitz-Center to document the repression of opposition within the former East Germany.
Brüsewitz's death is known in Germany as the Fanal von Zeitz or "Fire Signal of Zeitz".
Referencesedit
^"East German Pastor, a Foe Of Reds, Sets Himself Afire". The New York Times. August 21, 1976.
^Helmut Müller-Enbergs; Ehrhart Neubert [in German]. "Brüsewitz, Oskar * 30.5.1929, † 22.8.1976 Evangelischer Pfarrer". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
^ ab"East German Suicide Attempt Reflects Church Issue". The New York Times. August 22, 1976.
H. Müller-Embergs, H. Schmoll, W. Stock: Das Fanal. Das Opfer des Pfarrers Brüsewitz aus Rippicha und die evangelische Kirche, Berlin 1993.
Harald Schultze (Hrsg.): Das Signal von Zeitz. Reaktionen auf die Selbstverbrennung von Oskar Brüsewitz, Leipzig 1993, ISBN3-374-01427-5
H. Müller-Embergs, W. Stock, M. Wiesner: Das Fanal. Das Opfer des Pfarrers Brüsewitz aus Rippicha und die evangelische Kirche, Münster 1999 (erweiterte 2. Auflage), ISBN3-402-05263-6
Aug. 18, 2006 article in Die Welt: Der Fall Oskar Brüsewitz
January 01, 1970
oskar, brüsewitz, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Oskar Brusewitz news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message Oskar Brusewitz May 30 1929 22 August 1976 was an East German Lutheran pastor who committed public self immolation on August 18 1976 1 to protest the repression of religion in the Communist state of East Germany 2 He died four days later Oskar BrusewitzBornMay 30 1929Vilkyskiai LithuaniaDiedAugust 22 1976 age 47 Halle East GermanyOccupationLutheran pastor Michaelis church in Zeitz with a memorial to Brusewitz in front Contents 1 Biography 2 References 2 1 Literature 2 2 Film 3 External linksBiography editWith the Second World War nearing its end Brusewitz joined the Wehrmacht in 1944 as a fifteen year old was captured by the Red Army and became a prisoner of war He worked as a shoemaker after the war and converted to Christianity in 1954 then attended a Lutheran seminary from 1964 until 1969 in Erfurt In 1970 he was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Rippicha near the town of Zeitz He was critical of the East German Communist regime imposed by the Soviet Union after the war and symbolic acts of protest including the installation of a cross of neon lamps at his church brought him to the attention of the authorities The leadership of his church sided with the state rather than its priest and asked in 1976 for Brusewitz to be moved to another rectorate This was the immediate trigger for his suicidal protest in a crowded public square in front of the Michaelis church in Zeitz In front of hundreds of persons Reverend Brusewitz poured gasoline over himself and lighted up in flames 3 Neues Deutschland the daily newspaper of the Communist SED party reported the event afterward and described Brusewitz as an abnormal and sick man who suffered from delusions 3 The fire was quickly doused by officials from the Ministry for State security but Brusewitz died four days later from his burns On the day of his protest he carried pamphlets accusing the communists of repression which read Funkspruch an alle Die Kirche in der DDR klagt den Kommunismus an Wegen Unterdruckung in Schulen an Kindern und Jugendlichen A radio transmission for all The church in the GDR denounces Communism Because of the oppression of children and youth in school In his suicide note he wrote of a feigned deep peace which had also intruded Christianity in East Germany while in truth there was a mighty war between light and darkness zwischen Licht und Finsternis ein machtiger Krieg Brusewitz died of his severe burns on August 22 1976 in a hospital in Halle Dolau His self sacrifice brought support from both his parishioners and figures in the church and led to a reappraisal within the church hierarchy of its relationship with the Communist dictatorship The Protestant Church now sees Brusewitz s protest as an early step towards the mass popular protests which led to the collapse of East Germany in 1989 The Communist authorities initially attempted to suppress news of the event then when news leaked and public support for his action grew they branded him a psychopath On August 31 Neues Deutschland the official newspaper of the ruling Socialist Unity Party SED printed an article entitled Du sollst nicht falsch Zeugnis reden You shall not bear false witness which asserted that self immolation was the action of a sick crazy man A similar article appeared in Neue Zeit the newspaper of the East German Christian Democratic Union 4 The Protestant church of the ecclesiastical province of Saxony commemorated his sacrifice twenty years later in 1996 six years after the reunification of Germany Bishop Dehmke called his death an act of desperation in protest against the repressive nature of the Communist regime and the collaboration of church members who had grown too close to the state 5 To mark the 30th anniversary of his death Neues Deutschland wrote an apology for the article they had carried at the time admitting that the piece had been slanderous and not written by their journalists but by an office of the Central Committee of the SED 6 In addition they published some of the thousands of critical letters to the editor they had received but not printed in 1976 7 In the Federal Republic of Germany the Paneuropa Union established a Brusewitz Center to document the repression of opposition within the former East Germany Brusewitz s death is known in Germany as the Fanal von Zeitz or Fire Signal of Zeitz References edit East German Pastor a Foe Of Reds Sets Himself Afire The New York Times August 21 1976 Helmut Muller Enbergs Ehrhart Neubert in German Brusewitz Oskar 30 5 1929 22 8 1976 Evangelischer Pfarrer Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED Diktatur Biographische Datenbanken Retrieved 19 January 2015 a b East German Suicide Attempt Reflects Church Issue The New York Times August 22 1976 Deutschlandfunk Dradio de 2006 08 18 Retrieved 2012 02 23 1 Archived May 18 2005 at the Wayback Machine Er hat uns alle uberrascht 12 August 2006 Warum dieser Hass Reaktionen auf einen Artikel im ND Neues Deutschland vom 12 August 2006 S 24 Literature edit K Motschmann Oskar Brusewitz Wurzburg 1978 ISBN 3 921155 37 1 H Muller Embergs H Schmoll W Stock Das Fanal Das Opfer des Pfarrers Brusewitz aus Rippicha und die evangelische Kirche Berlin 1993 Harald Schultze Hrsg Das Signal von Zeitz Reaktionen auf die Selbstverbrennung von Oskar Brusewitz Leipzig 1993 ISBN 3 374 01427 5 H Muller Embergs W Stock M Wiesner Das Fanal Das Opfer des Pfarrers Brusewitz aus Rippicha und die evangelische Kirche Munster 1999 erweiterte 2 Auflage ISBN 3 402 05263 6 Freya Klier Oskar Brusewitz Leben und Tod eines mutigen DDR Pfarrers Berlin 2004 ISBN 3 00 013746 7 Krampitz Karsten Tautz Lothar Ziebath Dieter Ich werde dann gehen Erinnerungen an Oskar Brusewitz Leipzig 2006 ISBN 3 374 02398 3 Film edit Der Storenfried Ermittlungen zu Oskar Brusewitz Dokumentarfilm von Thomas Frickel 1992 External links editOskar Brusewitz in the German National Library catalogue Biography on the MDR website Leben und Wirken von Oskar BrusewitzBiographie by Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED Diktatur PDF Der Protestant Article in Berliner Tagesspiegel of 6 August 2006 Du sollst nicht falsch Zeugnis reden Article in Berliner Zeitung of 19 20 August 2006 UOKG conference on 30th anniversary of Oskar Brusewitz s death Bundesregierung Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED Diktatur Das Fanal Aug 18 2006 article in Die Welt Der Fall Oskar Brusewitz Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oskar Brusewitz amp oldid 1222802205, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
