Alois Grimm
Encyclopedia
Alois Grimm was a Jesuit priest
, Patristic scholar, educator, and victim of Nazi religious hostility.
career or become a priest. Together with his father he made a retreat with Jesuits in Holland, since the order had been outlawed in Germany since the Kulturkampf
(1870). In the Fall of 1907, he entered the Society of Jesus
. His philosophical and theological studies were interrupted by World War I
, which he spent as a nurse in military hospitals. 1920 he was ordained priest and was assigned to the German Speaking Catholic Mission in Florence, Italy. From 1922 until 1926 he studied the classical languages, Latin and Greek, and history in Vienna and Heidelberg. From 1926 on he taught at the Jesuit Gymnasium, Kolleg Stella Matutina
in Feldkirch Austria and after 1934 at the Kolleg St. Blasien
in Germany.
for the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
(CSEL) in Vienna
, Austria
. The Ambrosiaster is a Latin
commentary on Saint Paul, dating back to the fourth century. It exists in many manuscripts and was believed to have been written by Ambrose of Milan. Grimm’s research was aimed at making a critical edition of the Ambrosiaster, which would determine the original version as well as provide an accurate account of the development of variant texts.
and a member of the NSDAP remarked, "Grimm talked in derogatory ways about our new ideology. I hope we will shut him up, for a long time, or better even, forever". Grimm was aware of this hostile attention and had some sense of its implications: It would be my greatest honour and luck, if something happens to me.
Nazi hostility to the Catholic Church, and the Jesuit order in particular, led the government to expel the Jesuits from Sankt-Blasien in 1939. Father Grimm returned to Tisis, Austria
, were he taught Latin
in a nearby Catholic seminary
and assisted in the local parish. In 1943, an SS soldier came to Grimm and asked to be admitted to the Catholic Church. Father Grimm provided the soldier with religious instruction and eventually received the soldier's wife and child into the Church as well. All these actions were illegal under German law at the time. The soldier also introduced Grimm to an acquaintance who likewise expressed interest in entering the Church. In October 1943, the Gestapo
arrested Father Grimm from the parish rectory and transported him for interrogation to the Gestapo prison in Innsbruck
. Father Grimm had been arrested on the basis of a denunciation by the S.S. soldier’s acquaintance, who was a Gestapo agent.
, where he underwent further torture and interrogation. In the summer of 1944 Father Grimm was put on trial before the so-called Volksgerichtshof, which had jurisdiction over ideological offenses against the Third Reich. Both Fr. Grimm's "converts" testified against him. Fr. Grimm suggested he had been entrapped. The notoriously hysterical chief justice of the Volksgerichtshof, Roland Freisler
screamed in response, as was his wont, "Fishes are caught in different ways. I have to be very careful to catch a trout. If I want to catch a Jesuit, I have to use special methods. You swallowed it. That proved us right." His public defender, Joachim Lingenberg, wrote afterwards: "Father Grimm's defense belongs to the most frightful memories of my life. It has to do with a piece of historical truth that we must hold onto especially in a time that cheapens the memory of such events.".
On 12 August 1944, Roland Freisler
stripped Father Grimm of all civil rights and privileges damnatio memoriae
and sentenced him to death for two counts of undermining the fighting spirit of the German Wehrmacht
and for defeatism.
Reflecting on his sentence, Grimm wrote: "The hour has come, I am going home into eternity. In a few hours, I will stand in front of my Judge, my Redeemer and my Father. It is God’s will, to be done everywhere. Don’t mourn over me, I am returning home, you have to wait. I give my life for the kingdom of God, which knows no end, for the society of Jesus, for the youth and religion of our home land". Father Alois Grimm was hanged at the age of 57 on 11 September 1944 in the Brandenburg-Görden Prison
.
by its Superior, Otto Faller
: “Dear friend, this will be our vow on your silent grave, to live for the kingdom of God, which knows no end, for the society of Jesus, for the youth and religion of our home land. Farewell, dear friend. From now on, be custodian of this house and its ever renewing youth, protect us with your spirit and pray for us, so we may keep our promises, always”.
With these words, Kolleg St. Blasien was dedicated to Alois Grimm in 1949. Afterwards, other schools, buildings, streets were named after Father Alois Grimm. Today, in his hometown Kuelsheim, there is a Father Alois Grimm school. In the Jesuit Church in Innsbruck
and in Pullach
near Munich, Father Grimm is honored with memorial plaques. Last year, a new building in St. Blasien was named after him. Benedicta Kempner, the wife of US attorney Robert Kempner
, war crime tribunals in Nuremberg set Alois Grimm a memorial in her book on the persecution of Catholic priests during the Nazi era.
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, Patristic scholar, educator, and victim of Nazi religious hostility.
Early years
After graduation from Gymnasium (German high school), the young Grimm could not decide as to whether he should follow a navyNavy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
career or become a priest. Together with his father he made a retreat with Jesuits in Holland, since the order had been outlawed in Germany since the Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf
The German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. The Kulturkampf did not extend to the other German states such as Bavaria...
(1870). In the Fall of 1907, he entered the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
. His philosophical and theological studies were interrupted by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, which he spent as a nurse in military hospitals. 1920 he was ordained priest and was assigned to the German Speaking Catholic Mission in Florence, Italy. From 1922 until 1926 he studied the classical languages, Latin and Greek, and history in Vienna and Heidelberg. From 1926 on he taught at the Jesuit Gymnasium, Kolleg Stella Matutina
Stella Matutina
The Stella Matutina was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known as Mystic Rose or Order of the M.R. in the Outer...
in Feldkirch Austria and after 1934 at the Kolleg St. Blasien
Kolleg St. Blasien
The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order...
in Germany.
Theological research
As patristic scholar, Grimm worked on a critical edition of the AmbrosiasterAmbrosiaster
Ambrosiaster is the name given to the writer of a commentary on St Paul's epistles, "brief in words but weighty in matter," and valuable for the criticism of the Latin text of the New Testament...
for the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
The Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum is a series of critical editions of the Latin Church Fathers published by a committee of the Austrian Academy of Sciences....
(CSEL) in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The Ambrosiaster is a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
commentary on Saint Paul, dating back to the fourth century. It exists in many manuscripts and was believed to have been written by Ambrose of Milan. Grimm’s research was aimed at making a critical edition of the Ambrosiaster, which would determine the original version as well as provide an accurate account of the development of variant texts.
Confrontation with National socialism
The rise of Naziism in Germany caused complications for the Jesuits at Sankt-Blasien, many of whom were openly opposed to the Nazi Party, its ideology, and its political program. Father Grimm was among those who became increasingly vocal in his opposition to Naziism while at Sankt Blasien, and he attracted the negative attention first of more sympathetic colleagues and then of the authorities. A layman who was teaching at Kolleg St. BlasienKolleg St. Blasien
The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order...
and a member of the NSDAP remarked, "Grimm talked in derogatory ways about our new ideology. I hope we will shut him up, for a long time, or better even, forever". Grimm was aware of this hostile attention and had some sense of its implications: It would be my greatest honour and luck, if something happens to me.
Nazi hostility to the Catholic Church, and the Jesuit order in particular, led the government to expel the Jesuits from Sankt-Blasien in 1939. Father Grimm returned to Tisis, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, were he taught Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
in a nearby Catholic seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
and assisted in the local parish. In 1943, an SS soldier came to Grimm and asked to be admitted to the Catholic Church. Father Grimm provided the soldier with religious instruction and eventually received the soldier's wife and child into the Church as well. All these actions were illegal under German law at the time. The soldier also introduced Grimm to an acquaintance who likewise expressed interest in entering the Church. In October 1943, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
arrested Father Grimm from the parish rectory and transported him for interrogation to the Gestapo prison in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
. Father Grimm had been arrested on the basis of a denunciation by the S.S. soldier’s acquaintance, who was a Gestapo agent.
Execution by hanging
After several weeks of interrogation and mistreatment in Innsbruck, Fr. Grimm was transferred to BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he underwent further torture and interrogation. In the summer of 1944 Father Grimm was put on trial before the so-called Volksgerichtshof, which had jurisdiction over ideological offenses against the Third Reich. Both Fr. Grimm's "converts" testified against him. Fr. Grimm suggested he had been entrapped. The notoriously hysterical chief justice of the Volksgerichtshof, Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
screamed in response, as was his wont, "Fishes are caught in different ways. I have to be very careful to catch a trout. If I want to catch a Jesuit, I have to use special methods. You swallowed it. That proved us right." His public defender, Joachim Lingenberg, wrote afterwards: "Father Grimm's defense belongs to the most frightful memories of my life. It has to do with a piece of historical truth that we must hold onto especially in a time that cheapens the memory of such events.".
On 12 August 1944, Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
stripped Father Grimm of all civil rights and privileges damnatio memoriae
Damnatio memoriae
Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State...
and sentenced him to death for two counts of undermining the fighting spirit of the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and for defeatism.
Reflecting on his sentence, Grimm wrote: "The hour has come, I am going home into eternity. In a few hours, I will stand in front of my Judge, my Redeemer and my Father. It is God’s will, to be done everywhere. Don’t mourn over me, I am returning home, you have to wait. I give my life for the kingdom of God, which knows no end, for the society of Jesus, for the youth and religion of our home land". Father Alois Grimm was hanged at the age of 57 on 11 September 1944 in the Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden section of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. It was a Zuchthaus for inmates with lengthy or life sentences at hard labor, as well as...
.
Honours
Five years after the execution, his ashes were given a resting place at the Kolleg St. BlasienKolleg St. Blasien
The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order...
by its Superior, Otto Faller
Otto Faller
Rev.Otto Faller SJ was Provincial Superior of the Jesuit order in Germany, educator, teacher and Dean at Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria and Kolleg St. Blasien in Germany, professor of patristic studies at the Gregorian University. He was life-long editor of the works of St. Ambrose...
: “Dear friend, this will be our vow on your silent grave, to live for the kingdom of God, which knows no end, for the society of Jesus, for the youth and religion of our home land. Farewell, dear friend. From now on, be custodian of this house and its ever renewing youth, protect us with your spirit and pray for us, so we may keep our promises, always”.
With these words, Kolleg St. Blasien was dedicated to Alois Grimm in 1949. Afterwards, other schools, buildings, streets were named after Father Alois Grimm. Today, in his hometown Kuelsheim, there is a Father Alois Grimm school. In the Jesuit Church in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
and in Pullach
Pullach
Pullach, officially Pullach i. Isartal, is a municipality in the district of Munich in Bavaria in Germany. It is serviced by the S 7 line of the Munich S-Bahn, at the Großhesselohe Isartalbahnhof, Pullach and Höllriegelskreuth railway stations....
near Munich, Father Grimm is honored with memorial plaques. Last year, a new building in St. Blasien was named after him. Benedicta Kempner, the wife of US attorney Robert Kempner
Robert Kempner
Robert Kempner was a German-born American lawyer.Kempner was a successful Jewish lawyer in Berlin during the 1920s who then became the chief legal advisor to the Prussian police...
, war crime tribunals in Nuremberg set Alois Grimm a memorial in her book on the persecution of Catholic priests during the Nazi era.
Quotes of Father Grimm
-
- We live in a time, in which the Church of God is under attack like never before. Not compassion or pity, honour is being demanded today. But if the orders of this world are contrary to the orders of Christ, then the orders of the World are obviously wrong. Every human authority, yes, the authority of a whole people too, has to step back, before the authority of Christ.
-
- The suffering increases, the cross is getting heavier, as all seem to know. But Christ carrying his cross his our model, our consolation, even our joy. In front of us eternity full of light and the full victory of Christ, who will reign in truth forever. (1936)
-
- We live in a difficult time. Our responsibility before God and before the coming centuries will be enormous. Our prayer, work and sacrifice must contribute, so that the present and future belong to Christ. This is a large and beautiful calling, which should fill us with joy, despite of all the sufferings. This is not the time for petty jealousies or self-pity. Everything is at stake.(1937)