BiographyGeorg Eichholz was born on April 6, 1909 in Essen-Kupferdreh. His father Hermann Georg Eichholz was pastor in Essen-Kupferdreh from 1891 until his retirement in 1933 and from 1921 to 1933 Superintendent in the church district An der Ruhr, his mother Klara, née Schulze, pharmacist's daughter. In 1928 Eichholz graduated from the State Grammar School in Essen and, following the example of his father and older brother, began studying theology in Tübingen and Bonn, where Karl Barth was one of his most important teachers and motivated him to further theological studies.At the beginning of 1934 he began his vicariate in Honnef, continued it from 1935 in Barmen-Gemarke with Karl Immer, after he had joined the Confessing Church, and finished his education with the second examination before the examination board of the Confessing Church on 21.9.1935 in Koblenz. He was ordained by Johannes Schlingensiepen in Unterbarmen on 8.12.1935. Already during the time of the vicariate Eichholz fell ill with diabetes, with which he had to arrange himself throughout his life. Already before the ordination, more precisely: from 1.11.1935, Eichholz had been called as a teacher to the seminar of the Rhenish Mission Society in Barmen, where he taught not only theological subjects during the war but also subjects of general education. During the war years he continued teaching with a few remaining students. His health was so bad at times that he reckoned with his untimely death. In addition to his teaching activities, he published interpretations of texts with a New Testament orientation in the journals Evangelical Theology and Theological Existence Today published by Karl Barth, which are attributed to the Confessing Church. Between 1939 and 1964, Eichholz was commissioned by the Brother Council of the Confessing Church to organize the publication of a series of sermon aids, which appeared in five volumes entitled Herr, tue meine Lippen. The staff of this series also included pastors who taught at the ecclesiastical university in Wuppertal (hereinafter KiHo) banned by the Gestapo, e.g. Peter Brunner (Harmannus Obendieck and Heinrich Schlier) When the KiHo resumed its official teaching activities on October 31, 1945, Eichholz received teaching assignments for systematic theology and the New Testament. In 1946 he was appointed mission inspector and took over the management of the mission seminar, but he also continued his part-time teaching activities at the KiHo, marrying Ehrentraut Berner, whose father was also a mission inspector in Wuppertal. Shortly thereafter he additionally took over the editorship of the New Set of Theological Existence Today alongside his former fellow student Karl Gerhard Steck and also the continuation of the reading sermon series Predige das Wort. In addition, he was a member of the Committee for the Development of an Evangelical Catechism established in 1955 and participated in a three-month study tour of the Palestine Institute through the Middle East in 1955. 1951 Eichholz became a professor on the occasion of a restructuring of the KiHo, but it was not until 1961 that he transferred the title to the KiHo on a full-time basis and handed over the management of the mission seminar to Arnold Falkenroth. His state of health no longer allowed for the permanent double burden. The concentration on the scientific work made several New Testament publications possible, especially in the field of Gospel and Paulus research. But he also continued his work on sermon aids: together with Arnold Falkenroth he founded the new meditation series Listening and Questions, which he continued together with his wife even after Eichholz's death. Eichholz did not follow a call to the University of Bern in 1965, but was also interested in art in private. As early as the 1940s he had published two small works with theological reviews of Rembrandt's works. One of his particular passions was photography. In 1963 he published an illustrated book with photos from his study trip under the title Landscapes of the Bible. On May 1, 1970 Eichholz retired prematurely due to the consequences of his many years of diabetes. Eichholz died in Wuppertal on December 22, 1973.1978 His wife Ehrentraut marries former colleague Prof. Dr. Rudolf Bohren.1984 another illustrated book was published in memory of Georg Eichholz with the title Das Gesicht des Theologen mit den von Eichholz fotografierten Portraits. On the occasion of the 50th birthday of Eichholz, two of his lectures from 1945 and 1968 entitled Das Rätsel des historischen Jesus und die Gegenwart Jesu Christi, edited by Gerhard Sauter.Ehrentraut Bohr died in Interlaken on June 21, 1997.It contained 2.5 running metres of material, partly in standing files, tied bundles, staplers, cartons or also as loose collections of sheets, and was arranged and recorded in autumn 2011. In contrast to pastor's estates, there are only a relatively small number of sermons in the collection, mainly from the time of the Vicariate, with a focus on the scientific and teaching activities of Eichholz, which are reflected in lecture, essay and book manuscripts, reviews, reports on research trips and collected writings, etc. There was great disorder in this area. In addition, Eichholz held lectures and events several times or on similar topics, so that it was not possible to assign individual manuscript parts to a special event and thus a year on the basis of the topic. Only very occasionally do the manuscripts contain a note on the date. Where it was possible, however, attempts were made to combine individual parts of the manuscript into a coherent whole, primarily with the help of paginations, and to assign this to an approximate period of time, above all with the help of the university course catalogues (2LR 045, 4447). Since the dating was rather difficult overall, however, the manuscripts were arranged along the corresponding passages from the Bible. They were sorted alphabetically. A significant part of the collection also consists of correspondence, and through his editorship and collaboration in theological publication series, as well as in scientific discourse and collaborations, Eichholz came into contact with numerous important personalities of recent church history and theological research. This is reflected in the correspondence series. A large number of great names can be found here, including Karl Barth, Joachim Beckmann, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Helmut Gollwitzer, Hans Joachim Iwand and Alfred de Quervain. In addition, Eichholz was in contact with numerous high-ranking colleagues at home and abroad Furthermore, there are numerous interesting correspondences with missionaries all over the world, some of them with quite detailed descriptions of everyday missionary life.after the death of Georg Eichholz, his wife continued some of the correspondences, especially with regard to the sermon series Listening and Questions. A special attraction of the collection is probably also the extensive material on Karl Barth, with whom Eichholz obviously had a long-standing friendship and who appreciated his scientific abilities. In addition to the correspondence, there are photos, sermons, interviews and newspaper articles.additional holdingsThe personnel file of the candidate of the Protestant Church in Rhineland Georg Eichholz is available under the signature 1OB 016, E 84.2LR 045, 318 is the signature of the personnel file which was kept at the KiHo about Eichholz. Further correspondence between Georg Eichholz and Hermann Schlingensiepen can be found in 7NL 016, 25. various publications by and about Eichholz are available in the library of the archive LiteratureLiterature by Georg Eichholz (in selection)Drilling, Rudolf/ Eichholz, Ehrentraut (Hrsg.), Das Gesicht des Theologen. In portraits photographed by Georg Eichholz, Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1984Georg Eichholz, Das Rätsel des historischen Jesus und die Gegenwart Jesu Christi. Published on his 75th birthday on 6 April 1984 by Gerhard Sauter, Munich, 1984ders. Biblical Reflections, Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1973ders., Tradition and Interpretation. Studies on the New Testament and Hermeneutics, Munich, 1965 ders., Landscapes of the Bible, Leinen, 1963ders. Introduction to the Parables, Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1963ders. (Ed.), Preach the Word, interpretation of the Holy Scriptures in Sermons: 5th volume, 2nd volume) Lucas Gospel, Siegen, 1954ders., Georg (ed.), Predige das Wort, interpretation of the Holy Scriptures in Sermons: 4th volume, 1st volume: Lucas Gospel, Siegen, 1947ders. An introduction to Rembrandt's etching of 1642 for the resurrection of Lazarus, Siegen, 1942ders. An introduction to Rembrandt's etching of 1636 to the parable of the prodigal son, Siegen, 1940ders, Die Geschichte als theologisches Problem bei Lessing, in: Theologische Studien und Kritiken, vol. 1936, 107 Neue Folge II, 6th issue, pp. 377-421Literatur zu Georg EichholzKlappert, Berthold, Hören und Fragen. Georg Eichholz as theological teacher, in: Evangelical Theology, vol. 36 (1976), p.101-121Evangelical Catechism. New edition, edited by the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, 1962 Seim, Jürgen, Georg Eichholz. Teachers of the Protestant Rhineland, in: Monatshefte für Evangelische Kirchengeschichte des Rheinlandes, vol. 59 (2010), p.179-194Seim, Jürgen, Iwand-Studien. Essays and correspondence by Hans Joachim Iwand with Georg Eichholz and Heinrich Held, Cologne, 1999
D. Walther (Friedrich Walther Paul) Wolff (1) (2), was born on 9 December 1870 in Neuwerk, later a district of Mönchengladbach, as the son of Friedrich Wolff, a teacher at the orphanage, and his wife Bertha. After attending Mönchengladbach grammar school, Wolff studied theology at the universities of Greifswald, Marburg and Halle from 1889 to 1893. He passed his theological examinations in Koblenz in April 1893 and October 1894. Wolff was vicar in Lobberich and did his auxiliary service in Mönchengladbach. In May 1895, he was ordained in Otzenrath and took up the pastorate in one of the oldest Reformed parishes on the Lower Rhine. In 1901, Wolff was elected to the 2nd pastorate of the Protestant parish of Aachen. This position, which he held until his death, gave him the opportunity to develop his theological and organisational skills and his literary ambitions. In 1901, Wolff founded the 'Evangelische Gemeindeblatt für Aachen und Burtscheid' (since 1916: 'Evangelisches Gemeindeblatt für Aachen und Umgebung') (3). Through his regular contributions, he provided his congregation with a wealth of spiritual inspiration and sharpened the Protestant conscience of the diaspora community through his many essays on the history and culture of Protestantism. On Wolff's initiative, a branch of the Evangelical Federation was founded in Aachen in 1904, which around 7% of the parishioners joined in 1906. From 1905 onwards, he endeavoured to found a Rhenish-Westphalian group of the Volkskirchliche Evangelische Vereinigung - the middle party - of which he became deputy chairman in 1906. He published the organ 'Die Evangelische Gemeinde' (4) from 1909 and edited it himself until issue 5 of vol. 11.1919/20. In each issue, he wrote the 'Chronicle' as a review of church life, and almost every issue contained a major article on a key issue of church work. At the 34th Rhenish Provincial Synod in Barmen, Wolff was elected President on 6 March 1919. Wolff initiated the election of a committee tasked with revising the Rhenish-Westphalian church constitution. In 1920, he was elected a member of the General Synodal Board at an extraordinary meeting of the Prussian General Synod. Wolff was particularly active in working on the draft constitution. He endeavoured to secure the presbyterial-synodal element the place and influence it deserved in the life of the constituted church. In 1921, the University of Bonn awarded him a doctorate (D. h.c.) on the occasion of the Worms anniversary celebrations. In 1922, Wolff was elected superintendent of the Aachen church district and inaugurated in 1923. Wolff had been a member of the Protestant Church Committee since 1922, and in 1925 the 1st Prussian General Synod of the new style elected him as its vice-president; as such he became deputy chairman of the Senate of the Protestant Church of the Old Prussian Union. In 1929, the General Synod confirmed Wolff in both offices. He had already been re-elected as President by the Rhenish Provincial Synod in 1925. Wolff was involved in all church congresses since 1919, most recently as Vice President. He had a particularly strong influence on the social message of the Bethel Church Congress of 1924. In 1924, he was the initiator of the first Rhenish Church Congress in Cologne, which was followed by others in Essen in 1926 and Saarbrücken in 1930. Shortly before his death, the Faculty of Law at the University of Berlin awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1931 for his services in bringing about the church treaty between the Protestant regional churches of Prussia and the Prussian state government, and President Wolff died in Aachen on 26 August 1931. His death also caused great consternation outside the Protestant Rhineland, which was reflected in obituaries in numerous newspapers (5). The estate was purchased in 1980 by Wolff's grandson, the pastor Paul-Gerhard van Spankeren, who worked in Westphalia. The documents were roughly pre-organised and placed in archive folders. The collection mainly contains an extensive collection of sermons, beginning during his studies in 1892 and ending in 1927. From Wolff's last years in office, only the sermons, devotions and sermons for special occasions have survived. The chronology of the sermons first had to be established. In the first few years, the sermons are written out in full, but from around 1900 onwards they are mostly written down as theses. Speeches on various occasions are documented; the imperial speeches and sermons show the national character of Wolff and his time. The second focus is on the lectures and manuscripts, which have been organised according to subject. Reference has already been made above to the collection of obituaries. The leather volume with Wolff's calligraphic sayings was given to the archive by Mr van Spankeren in 1994 (No. 49). Only fragments of Wolff's correspondence have survived (No. 46) The collection was catalogued in October 2006 and comprises 50 archive units. It covers the period from 1892 to 1931 as well as memorial contributions in 1941, 1956 and 1961. Only a few duplicates were collected. Some printed publications by and about Wolff are included in the holdings of the archive library, and reference should be made to fonds 8 SL 010 (Wolff Collection), which contains the collection of material relating to Hans Helmich's essay in the 'Monatsheften' 1987 (see References). Copies of Wolff's articles in the two church newspapers are also available here.Ulrich Dühr, 07.11.2006(1) The biographical outline in this introduction is a revised version of the text that Edgar Reitenbach prefixed to the Findbuch of fonds 8 SL 010 (Walther Wolff Collection) in 1987.(2) Walther Wolff's personal file is located in fonds 1 OB 009 (Personalakten der Pfarrer) W 062, 1892-1931(3) Vols. 1917 and 1919-1922 in the archive library under ZK 003(4) In the archive library under ZK 010(5) See nos. 47 and 48 of this fonds
D. Walther (Friedrich Walther Paul) Wolff (1) (2), was born on 09 December 1870 in Neuwerk, a later district of Mönchengladbach, as the son of the teacher at the orphanage, Friedrich Wolff, and his wife Bertha. After attending the Gymnasium Mönchengladbach, Wolff studied theology at the universities of Greifswald, Marburg and Halle from 1889 to 1893. In April 1893 and October 1894 he passed his theological examinations in Koblenz. Wolff was vicar in Lobberich and performed his relief service in Mönchengladbach. In May 1895 he was ordained in Otzenrath and took over the rectorate in one of the oldest Reformed parishes on the Lower Rhine. In 1901 Wolff was elected 2nd pastor of the Evangelical Church of Aachen. This office, which he held until his death, gave him the opportunity to develop his theological and organisational strength and literary ambitions. In 1901 Wolff founded the "Evangelische Gemeindeblatt für Aachen und Burtscheid" (since 1916: "Evangelisches Gemeindeblatt für Aachen und Umgebung") (3). Through his regular contributions, he gave his congregation a wealth of spiritual inspiration and sharpened the Protestant conscience of the diaspora community through numerous essays on the history and culture of Protestantism. On Wolff's initiative a branch association of the Protestant Federation was founded in Aachen in 1904, to which about 7 members of the congregation joined as early as 1906. Since 1905 he tried to found a Rhine-Westphalian group of the Volkskirchliche Evangelische Vereinigung - the Mittelpartei - which he took over as deputy chairman in 1906. He published the organ "Die Evangelische Gemeinde" (4) from 1909 onwards and headed it himself until issue 5 of vol. 11.1919/20. In each issue he wrote the "Chronicle" as a review of the life of the church, almost each issue contained a larger contribution on a major question of church work. At the 34th Rheinische Provinzialsynode in Barmen, Wolff was elected president on 6 March 1919. Wolff arranged for the election of a committee which was entrusted with the revision of the Rhenish-Westphalian Church Constitution. In 1920, at an extraordinary meeting of the Prussian General Synod, he was elected a member of the General Synod Executive Committee. Wolff was particularly actively involved in the drafting of the constitution. His endeavour was to ensure that the presbyterial-synodal element would have the place and influence it deserved in the life of the church. In 1921 he received his doctorate from Bonn University on the occasion of the Worms anniversary celebration. In 1922 Wolff was elected Superintendent of the Aachen church district and in 1923 he was appointed to his office. Since 1922 Wolff belonged to the Protestant Church Committee, in 1925 the 1st Prussian General Synod of New Style elected him vice-president; as such he became vice-chairman of the Senate of the Protestant Church of the Old Prussian Union. In 1929, the General Synod confirmed Wolff in both offices. Already in 1925 he had been re-elected as President by the Rhenish Provincial Synod. Wolff participated in all Church Days since 1919, most recently as Vice President. Especially the social message of the Betheler Kirchentag of 1924 is strongly influenced by him. In 1924 he was the initiator of the first Rheinischer Kirchentag in Cologne, followed by others in Essen in 1926 and in Saarbrücken in 1930. Shortly before his death in 1931, the Faculty of Law of the University of Berlin awarded him an honorary doctorate for his services to the conclusion of the Church Treaty between the Protestant State Churches of Prussia and the Prussian State Government. President Wolff died on 26 August 1931 in Aachen. His death also caused great consternation outside the Protestant Rhineland, which was reflected in the obituaries of numerous newspapers (5). The estate was purchased in 1980 by Wolff's grandson, the Westphalian pastor Paul-Gerhard van Spankeren. The written material had been roughly pre-arranged and placed in archive folders. The collection contains above all an extensive collection of sermons, beginning during his studies in 1892 to 1927. From Wolff's last years in office, only casualties, devotions and sermons on special occasions have survived. The chronology of the sermons had to be established first. The sermons are formulated in the first years, since about 1900 mostly written down as theses. Speeches are documented on various occasions; the imperial speeches and sermons show the national character of Wolff and his time. The second focus is on lectures and manuscripts, which are arranged according to subject matter. The collection of obituaries has already been referred to above. The leather volume with Wolff's calligraphic pronouncements was handed over to the archive by Mr van Spankeren in 1994 (No. 49). Wolff's correspondence is only preserved in fragments (No. 46). the collection was recorded in October 2006 and comprises 50 archive units. The duration covers 1892 to 1931 as well as memorial contributions 1941, 1956 and 1961. Only a few double copies were collected. Some publications by and about Wolff are included in the holdings of the archive library, e.g. the holdings 8 SL 010 (Wolff Collection), which contains the collection of materials for Hans Helmich's essay in the "Monatshefte" 1987 (see literature references). Ulrich Dühr, 07.11.2006(1) The biographical outline of this introduction is the revised version of the text which Edgar Reitenbach prefixed to the finding aid book of the holdings 8 SL 010 (Collection Walther Wolff) 1987(2) The personal file Walther Wolff is located in the holdings 1 OB 009 (Personalakte der Pfarrer) W 062, 1892-1931(3) Jg. 1917 and 1919-1922 in the archive library under ZK 003(4) In the archive library under ZK 010(5) See no. 47 and 48 of this collection