Correspondence with Althaus, Georg
Extent and Medium
56 letters
Biographical History
Hermann Martin Georg Althaus (1898-1974) served as Lutheran minister near the city of Brunswick. In 1936 he had to spent six months in prison for publically denouncing the persecution of Jews. In the late 1950s Althaus established a Pfarramt für den Dienst an Israel und den Zigeunern, supporting Jewish and especially Sinti and Roma survivors. He also campaigned to expose collaboration of the Lutheran Church with the Nazi regime.
Information taken from the finding aid of Georg Althaus Photographs (including Hanns Weltzel Papers and Photographs) at Special Collections & Archives (SC&A), Library of the University of Liverpool.
Scope and Content
The correspondence comprises letters, circulars to other parish ministers, one postcard showing Althaus with Sinti and Roma children, and one copy of Der Sonntag, a Lutheran Church newsletter for Brunswick and surrounding.
The material documents Althaus’ conflict with officials from the Lutheran Church, which included disciplinary actions against him and attempts to have him retired early. Moreover, it sheds light on his long-term association with Sinti and Roma, mainly survivors of the Nazi genocide ('Porajmos'), who had settled in the nearby town of Hildesheim. Althaus' activities contained relief as well as missionary work. Additionally, the correspondence contains one letter to a person named Hans-Ludwig Althaus.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
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People
- Althaus, Hermann Martin Georg
Subjects
- Sinti and Roma
- Survivors
- Relief work
- Lutheran Church
- Christians
Places
- West Germany [1949-1990]
- Brunswick
- Hildesheim