Pulled Down from the Pedestal


  • 1st Picture for document
    Magnifier

The deconstruction of former Bavarian Regional Bishop Hans Meiser (1881–1956) in 2006 was unprecedented. Shortly afterward, his public honors were taken back.


Highly esteemed in the postwar era and long after for his contributions to the preservation of the Bavarian regional church’s autonomy under National Socialism, the creation of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany and the integration of refugees and expellees, he was accused of having made anti-Semitic statements, sympathizing with the Nazi regime and remaining silent about the killing of Jews. He was additionally accused of not having sufficiently distanced himself from his conduct after World War II, not having confessed his guilt sufficiently and having aided the Nazi perpetrators rather than their victims.


A journalistic storm broke in 2006, Meiser’s 125th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his death, which sensationally condemned Meiser as a “Nazi bishop” and an anti-Semite. A memorial service scheduled by the regional consistory for the double anniversary was the cause of the spectacular headlines. In the face of public outrage, the “memorial service” was initially renamed a “service of reflection” and eventually cancelled entirely. The church government’s efforts to pay tribute critically, including an academic collection of biographical essays (G. Herold/C. Nicolaisen, Meiser), a lecture and discussion series in Nuremberg and an exhibition by the regional church archives, nearly came to naught in the turmoil.


Calls demanding the renaming of the Meiser Streets quickly grew loud, especially in Nuremberg and Munich. His name was removed – from a building – for the first time at the church’s Augustana Theological Seminary in Neuendettelsau, thus reinforcing the accusations of anti-Semitism and arguments that Meiser had stabbed the Confessing Church in the back and also not admitted his mistakes after 1945.


In June of 2006, the political scientist Gotthard Jasper arrived at another conclusion in an expert opinion requested by the city of Nuremberg: He concluded that although Meiser was no longer one of the figures particularly worthy of recognition, street names ought to be retained as documents of the gratitude in the 1950s for the regional bishop’s character and accomplishments, especially since, otherwise, other street names would have to be scrutinized.


While the Bavarian church government endorsed this argumentation, Jasper reaped harsh criticism from Berndt Hamm, a church historian at the university in Erlangen: In an open letter of July 25, 2006, Hamm opined that Meiser had not been up to the crucial trials and had supported the most destructive and devastating forces of German history instead of opposing them. Above all, however, he propagated an anti-Semitism that the descendants of the victims can only feel is deeply hurtful and offensive today. Although Hamm conceded the option of retaining street and building names of controversial figures of the German past, he ruled this out in Meiser’s case out of consideration for the descendant of the Nazis’ victims (EvAG München, Registratur).


At the same time, opponents of the renaming of streets organized. They demanded an evenhanded assessment of Meiser and pointed out that one-sided condemnation ignored his positive accomplishments just as much as the historical circumstances and the motives underlying his decisions.


Altogether, the discussion inside and outside the church about the assessment of the former regional bishop and the renaming of streets named after him created an emotionally highly-charged, acrimonious climate that was highly polarizing. Objective and nuanced opinions, especially the findings of prior church history scholarship, were still hardly given any notice.


Ultimately, the Nuremberg city council resolved in January of 2007 to rename its Bischof-Meiser-Strasse Spitalgasse. Although a motion to rename it had been defeated in Munich at the end of the 1990s, the city council resolved, against the opposition of the church government as well as the CDU, FDP, ÖDP and Freien Wähler, to rename its street in July of 2007. After heated debates, Meiser-Strasse was finally renamed Katharina-von-Bora-Strasse. It was not renamed until 2010 because of a lawsuit pending before the Bavarian administrative court. The cities of Ansbach and Weiden, on the other hand, decided against renaming their streets in 2006 and 2009, respectively. Bayreuth also kept its “Hans-Meiser-Strasse”.


Source / title


  • © Photo: Nora Andrea Schulze, Munich

Related topics