Laurentius Siemer (; born Josef Siemer; 8 March 1888 – 21 October 1956) was a Dominican priest, and Provincial of the Dominican Province of Teutonia, Germany during the Nazi period. A significant figure in

Catholic resistance to Nazism Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany was a component of German resistance to Nazism and of Resistance during World War II. The role of the Catholic Church during the Nazi years remains a matter of much contention. From the outset of Nazi rule i ...

, he became a spiritual leader of the German Resistance movement and was imprisoned by the Nazis. Implicated in the

July Plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...

, he survived the war in hiding and assisted in drafting Germany's post war constitution. In later life he became a TV celebrity.

Life

Born to a large family in northern Germany, Siemer was ordained as a priest of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

in 1914 and studied philosophy, theology, philology and history. He was appointed rector of the Order's high school in Vechta in 1921, and became

Provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Canad ...

of the Dominican Province of Teutonia (roughly, the whole of Germany north of Mainz) in 1932.Laurentius Siemer
German Resistance Memorial Centre, Index of Persons; retrieved at 4 September 2013Memory of Spiritual Leader in German Resistance Lives On

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

online; 21 October 2006 After initially being disengaged, Siemer came to oppose the Nazi regime. According to

, Siemer called on German Catholics not to follow the cultural currents of the time, but rather, to live by the principles of the Catholic religion. The Gestapo arrested Siemer in Cologne in 1935, as part of the "Currency Fraud Cases" targeting Catholic clergy and held him in custody for several months. The fraud trials were attempt to undermine the influence of Dominicans on German Catholics. From 1940, the Gestapo launched an intense persecution of the monasteries - invading, searching and appropriating them. Siemer was influential in the Committee for Matters Relating to the Orders, which formed in response to Nazi attacks against Catholic monasteries and aimed to encourage the bishops to intercede on behalf of the Orders and more strongly oppose the Nazi state. Increasingly, Laurentius became involved in the resistance movement. He spoke to resistance circles on Catholic social teaching as a starting point for Germany's reconstruction, and worked with

Carl Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a German conservative politician, monarchist, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was opp ...

and others in planning for a post-coup Germany. Following the failure of the 1944

to assassinate Hitler, Siemer evaded capture by the Gestapo at his Schwichteler monastery, and hid out until the end of the war, thus remaining one of the few conspirators to survive the purge. After the war, Siemer assisted in the drafting of the German constitution. He established the Walberberg Institute as an educational institute for young people near Bonn. According to

, Siemer was a strong advocate of

Christian socialism Christian socialism is a Religious philosophy, religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

, and became a popular TV talk show guest in Germany, known as the "TV Father".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siemer, Laurentius 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholics in the German Resistance German Christian socialists Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church Catholic socialists 1888 births 1956 deaths

Life

See also

References