Gerhard Moehring (28 March 1921 – 29 January 2023) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

director,

local historian Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural history, cultural and social history, social aspects of history. Local history is not mer ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Life

Moehring was born in

Lörrach Lörrach () is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the district seat of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, inclu ...

to Gustav Moehring, a high school

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of classical philosophy. He completed his schooling at the Hebel-Gymnasium Lörrach in 1939. Moehring had to break off his studies in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

because he was called up for

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. During th
war with the Soviet Union
Moehring served in the 14th anti-tank company of the 436th Infantry Regiment ( 132nd Infantry Division), where he was promoted to

company commander A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and struc ...

. He became a Soviet

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

on May 9, 1945, one of 10,00
prisoners
held by

Josef Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

as political leverage in the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. It was not until

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

's intervention in 1955 that the prisoners including Moehring
returned home
on October 18, 1955. Moehring's written

testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

and belongings from his time captive are exhibited in the House of History,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. In 1956, Moehring studied at th
University of Education in Freiburg
and began

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related ...

in 1957, in Steinen. Between 1959 and 1967, he taught at the Fridolin School in Lörrach-Stetten, during which time he trained

Ottmar Hitzfeld Ottmar Hitzfeld (; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player and a former manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. ...

as a sports teacher. In 1967, Moehring moved to OberTüllingen to work for the ''Tüllinger Höhe'' youth welfare facility, becoming

deputy headmaster A deputy head teacher, deputy headmaster, deputy headmistress, assistant head teacher, assistant headmaster or assistant headmistress is the second most senior teacher in a school in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Secondary schools usually al ...

in 1971. Alongside teaching, Moehring was director of the
Museum am Burghof
' for 30 years, as well as helping with the preservation of historical monuments in Lörrach. Moehring was also deputy director of th
Baden-Württemberg Museum Association
From 1961 onwards, he wrote articles on the history of Lörrach which featured in

Badische Zeitung The ''Badische Zeitung'' (''Baden Newspaper'') is a German newspaper based in Freiburg im Breisgau, covering the South Western part of Germany and the Black Forest region. It has a circulation of 145,825 and a readership of 409,000. The paper was ...

, the newspapers of the Jaumann publishing house, as well as the yearbook '' Unser Lörrach'', which he edited with Walter Young. The index of authors of the journal of the Markgräflerland Historical Society, ''Das Markgräflerland'', contains over 50 contributions by Moehring. In January 2020, Gerhard Moehring received the Lisa Rees Medal of the City of Lörrach in recognition of his life's work. In addition, he was given honorary membership of the Rotary Club of Lörrach, and the Paul Harris Medal from

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

. Moehring died on January 29, 2023, at the age of 101.

Selected publications

* 1991ː Lörrach in alten Ansichten * 2001ː Chronik Lörrach-Hauingen * 2001ː ''1250 Jahre Röttler Kirche'', Band 1/2001 der Zeitschrift ''Das Markgräflerland'' herausgegeben vom Geschichtsverein Markgräflerland, Schopfheim, ISBN 3-932738-17-
Digitalisat der UB Freiburg
* 2006ː Kleine Geschichte der Stadt Lörrach, G. Braun, Karlsruhe, ISBN 978-3-7650-8347-1 (2. Auflage: Der Kleine Buch Verlag, Karlsruhe, 2016, ISBN 978-3-7650-1422-2) * 2007ː Geschichte der Juden in Lörrach, G. Braun, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, ISBN 978-3-7650-8347-1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moehring, Gerhard 1921 births 2023 deaths German schoolteachers German historians German men centenarians People from Lörrach German writers German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union 20th-century German educators