Paul Oestreicher (born 29 September 1931) is an Anglican priest, Quaker, peace and human rights activist.

Life and work

In 1938, shortly after he began school, his family had to leave their home in Germany due to the Jewish ancestry of his father, the

paediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their yout ...

Paul Oestreicher (1896–1981). They found asylum in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1939, where he grew up. He studied Political Science and German Literature at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and the

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

in New Zealand from 1949–1955, completing an MA with a thesis on the history of conscientious objection to WWII in New Zealand (1955). Whilst he was at the

he was editor of its student newspaper, Critic. He then moved to the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

for a two-year Alexander von Humboldt research fellowship to study Christianity and Marxism under professor

Helmut Gollwitzer Helmut Gollwitzer (29 December 1908 – 17 October 1993) was a German Protestant (Lutheran) theologian and author. Born in Pappenheim, Bavaria, Gollwitzer studied Protestant theology in Munich, Erlangen, Jena, and Bonn (1928–1932); he la ...

. Between 1956 and 1958 he trained as an Anglican Priest at

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a Church of England theological college in Lincoln. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cance ...

. There, he married the Berlin physiotherapist Lore, née Feind. There followed four children Barbara, Martin, Nicola and Daniel (dec.). He spent from 1958 to 1959 as assistant guest pastor to the German Protestant Church in Rüsselsheim in the church province of

Hessen-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the ...

, at the invitation of Church President

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 1892 – 6 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He opposed the Nazi regime during the late 1930s, and was sent to a concentration camp for his affiliation with the Confes ...

. In 1959 he was ordained deacon in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

London and priest a year later. He served as curate in the parish of Holy Trinity Church, Dalston in east London, where he was trained by vicar Stanley Evans, a founding member of the Christian Socialist Movement, now

Christians on the Left Christians on the Left, formerly known as the Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), is a socialist society in the UK. The movement fulfils a need among Christian socialists for an organisation that would be both politically engaged and theologi ...

. From 1961 to 1964 he was a Features Producer in the BBC religious broadcasting department, winning an American Radio Award for a programme on abortion. Oestreicher_by_Marx_and_Engels_statue_Berlin

Oestreicher_by_Marx_and_Engels_statue_Berlin

From 1964 to 1969 he was the Secretary of the East-West Relations Advisory Committee of the

British Council of Churches Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Ce ...

, continuing this role in an honorary capacity until 1985. He took an active part early on in the

Christian Peace Conference The Christian Peace Conference () was an international organization based in Prague and founded in 1958 by Josef Hromádka, a pastor who had spent the war years in the United States, moving back to Czechoslovakia when the war ended and Heinrich V ...

(Prague) and in 1964 was elected to its executive committee. On account of his critique of Soviet policies he was expelled from the Executive in 1968. He said his 'parish' stretched from East Berlin to Vladivostok, and he paid 77 pastoral visits to

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

before the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

. He was a member of the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

from 1970–81 and 1995–97. From 1968 to 1981 he was appointed the parish priest of the Church of the Ascension, Blackheath by

John Robinson (bishop of Woolwich) John Arthur Thomas Robinson (16 May 1919 – 5 December 1983) was an English New Testament scholar, author and the Anglican Bishop of Woolwich. He was a lecturer at Trinity College, Cambridge, and later Dean of Chapel at Trinity College, "a rela ...

. During this time he appointed Deaconess Elsie Baker to lead the pastoral work of the parish, well ahead of the ordination of women to the priesthood. The Church of England eventually ordained her in her 85th year. Oestreicher was a founding member of the

Movement for the Ordination of Women The Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) was the name used by organisations in England and Australia that campaigned for the ordination of women as Deacon#Anglicanism, deacons, Priest#Anglican or Episcopalian, priests and bishops in the Angl ...

. In 1974 in his personal capacity, he was invited by the West German Minister of Justice, and the families of the prisoners, to help bring to an end a long-lasting hunger strike by the imprisoned members of the

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...

, which had led to deaths inside and, in retaliation, outside the prison system. This entailed mediating between Attorney-General

Siegfried Buback Siegfried Buback (3 January 1920, Wilsdruff, Saxony – 7 April 1977, Karlsruhe) was the Attorney General of West Germany from 1974 until his murder in 1977. Life and career Buback studied at the University of Leipzig. From 1940 to 1945, he ...

and the prisoners. Although partially successful, this mission did not prevent the subsequent deaths of the leading RAF prisoners. In 1979 he encouraged

Helen Bamber Helen Rae Bamber OBE, ''née'' Helen Balmuth (1 May 1925 – 21 August 2014), was a British psychotherapist and human rights activist. She worked with Holocaust survivors in Germany after the concentration camps were liberated in 1945. In 1947, ...

to set up the Medical Foundation for Care of Victims of Torture. In 1995 he became President of Action by Christians Against Torture. Oestreicher_protesting_the_bombing_of_Libya

Oestreicher_protesting_the_bombing_of_Libya

From 1981 to 1985 he was Director of the Division of International Affairs of the

. As part of this work, in cooperation with the

South African Council of Churches The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is an interdenominational forum in South Africa. It was a prominent anti-apartheid organisation during the years of apartheid in South Africa. Its leaders have included Desmond Tutu, Beyers Naudé ...

, he was actively involved in the

Anti-Apartheid Movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

. Later, at the invitation of

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

, he helped to bring an end to the armed conflict between the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

and

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (; 27 August 1928 – 9 September 2023) was a South African politician and Zulu people, Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He ...

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP; ) is a conservative political party in South Africa, which is a part of the current South African Third Cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa, government of national unity together with the African National Congress (ANC). A ...

. During this period he became a member of the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. He made a substantial contribution to the work of the Dresden Trust, which raised funds in the UK for the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1985 the Diocesan Synod elected Oestreicher Bishop of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. The Anglican Church leadership declined to ratify this election. Oestreicher_Dresden_50th_Anniversary_Bombing

From 1985–1997, Oestreicher was Canon Residentiary and Director of the

International Centre for Reconciliation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

at Coventry Cathedral UK. This enabled him to further the work of the Community of the Cross of Nails. After his retirement, he continued to work in an advisory role with his successor

Andrew White (priest) Andrew Paul Bartholomew White (born June 1964) is a British clergyman who was the Vicar of St George's Church, Baghdad, the only Anglican church in Iraq, until his departure was ordered in November 2014 by the Archbishop of Canterbury due to secu ...

. In 1993, he spent a sabbatical year as Humboldt Fellow at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

, studying Church-state relations in

. After his retirement in 1998 Oestreicher continued to work at Coventry Cathedral in an advisory capacity, remaining Canon

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

. His wife Lore died in 2000. He then moved to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, and in 2002 married his second wife, the New Zealander Barbara Einhorn, a professor of

Gender Studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. They first met after Oestreicher helped get Einhorn released from arrest and imprisonment by the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

for befriending a women's dissident peace group. In 2010, Einhorn and Oestreicher both taught for one semester at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies,

, of which they are still Research Affiliates. He and Einhorn are amongst the founding members of

Jews for Justice for Palestinians Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JJP) is a Jewish activist group based in Britain that describes itself as advocating for human and civil rights, and economic and political freedom, for the Palestinian people. It opposes the current policy o ...

. From 2004 to 2009 Oestreicher was honorary Quaker chaplain to the

. In 2011, Oestreicher held the keynote speech on the abolition of war at the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. A lifelong pacifist, Oestreicher was co-founder of the

Anglican Pacifist Fellowship The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship (APF) is a body of people within the Anglican Communion who reject war as a means of solving international disputes, and believe that peace and justice should be sought through nonviolence, nonviolent means. Belief ...

in New Zealand, and remains a Counsellor of APF UK. In 1959 he joined the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

and is still one of its Vice-Presidents. He joined

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

at its inception in 1961 and was Chair of AI UK from 1975 to 1979. In 2020 Oestreicher returned to

with his wife. They live in

. Oestreicher was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for services to peace, human rights and reconciliation.

Awards

* Federal Service Cross first class (1995) *Honorary Citizen,

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

, Germany (1995) *Wartburg Prize for the Promotion of European Unity (1997) *Award of Merit,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, UK (2002) * Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony, Germany (2004)

Doctorates

*DD Lambeth UK (2008) *DLitt Coventry Polytechnic (1991) (honorary) *LLD University of Sussex UK (2005) (honorary) *DD University of Otago New Zealand (2009) (honorary)

Publications

*(Editor, English edn) Helmut Gollwitzer, The Demands of Freedom (1965) *(Translator) H. J. Schultz, Conversion to the World (1967) *(Co-editor, with J. Klugmann) What Kind of Revolution: A Christian-Communist Dialogue (1968) *(Editor) The Christian–Marxist Dialogue (1969) *(Joint author) The Church and the Bomb (1983) *(Sole author) The Double Cross (1986); German version with a foreword by

, Aufs Kreuz gelegt. Erfahrungen eines kämpferischen Pazifisten (1993) *Frequent articles in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', the ''

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

'', and German publications

References

External links

*http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/pauloestreicher
Works on and by Oestreicher
in the

Deutschen Nationalbibliothek The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehensiv ...