Honor for brave Father: Stumbling block for Gandulf Korte in Lüchtringen!

Honor for brave Father: Stumbling block for Gandulf Korte in Lüchtringen!

in Lüchtringen, a district of Höxter, a significant sign of commemoration is set. Father Gandulf Korte, a brave Franciscan who publicly denounces the injustice towards the Jews and the oppression of his church during National Socialism, is posthumously honored with a stumbling block. The stumbling block is to be moved to the Lüchtringer Church, as the local association Lüchtringen has requested the SPD in cooperation with the CDU, BFH and UWG.

Father Korte, born on April 28, 1897 in Lüchtringen, was known for his critical sermons, who vehemently directed the Nazi regime. In his last sermon on Johanni in 1944, he once again spelled the Nazis sharply and also criticized Joseph Goebbels. This courageous attitude led him to be followed by the Gestapo.

a pioneer of commemoration

Deacon Erwin Winkler deals intensively with the life of Father Korte, whom he calls martyr. He points out that many people no longer know the life story Korte. Winkler would like to help keep the priest's memory alive, especially on the anniversaries on which numerous Franciscan monks often came to Lüchtringen to commemorate the deceased priest.

Korte was an opponent of National Socialism, starting with his training. He had to move to the First World War in 1916 and returned seriously wounded. After his ordination in 1928 in the Paderborn Cathedral, he studied German studies in Münster and later took over a teaching position for catechetics in the Franciscan monastery.

his active pastoral care began in Bochum, where he worked in 1941 as a 1st Vicar at the Christ King Church. In 1944 the inconceivable happened: Korte was arrested after a critical sermon while waiting for his trial in front of the Court of Justice. Tragically, he died on November 4, 1944 in the Bochum court prison during a bomb attack. At this point he was already intended for a death penalty.

a project with a large reach

The stumbling blocks are a project by the artist Gunter Demnig, which was launched in 1992 to remember the victims of National Socialism. In Germany and other countries, over 100,000 stumbling blocks have already been laid. In Lüchtringen it will be the first stumbling block to honor the legacy of Gandulf Korte and at the same time sets a sign against forgetting.

The next local committee in Lüchtringen, which deals with this topic, will take place on May 14th at 6 p.m. in the Westphalia Stuben. It remains to be hoped that this stumbling block not only reminds of Korte, but also stimulates the community to think about the important issues of the past and to draw teaching for the future. Father Gandulf Korte remains an exemplary example of civil courage and the courage to oppose the injustice.

While Korte was a priest and teacher for his values, his fate still reminds us of raising the voice against oppression and injustice. At a time when the memory of the horrors of the past is becoming increasingly important, Gandulf Korte's words and deeds can serve as a leitmotif for the generations living today.