Ludwig A. Fritsch

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Rev. Dr. Ludwig Adolphus Fritsch (born 8 July 1893, died December 1982)[1] was the author of The Crime of Our Age published in Chicago in 1947.

Ludwig Fritsch was a history professor in Romania before coming to the United States in 1921.[2]

Fritsch was pastor of the Honterus Lutheran Church in Youngstown, Ohio. In 1945 he resigned from the ministry and later moved to Chicago.

Dr. Fritsch was married to Baroness Edith Gerlinde Brosig von Schwartzwasse.[3]

Works

Review

The present document is not only a particularly characteristic document of German post-war history, but has also made history itself, post-war history, in the United States. The author, Dr. Ludwig A. Fritsch, is an American clergyman of German descent who worked in Chicago at the time. The original English edition of his writing was distributed in 50,000 copies in 1948 and 1949. 37,000 pieces were sold, the rest shipped freely, including to President Truman, all members of the government, all senators and deputies, the four cardinals, all archbishops and bishops, all Protestant church presidents, to the presidents of all universities and colleges and many other authoritative public figures. The author's aim was to counter the hate propaganda, which did not cease even after the end of the war, with the truth about what happened in Germany after the war and to appeal to the moral sense of responsibility of American politicians, but above all of the clergy. The proceeds from the sold copies were used for relief campaigns for the displaced, homeless and otherwise needy in the "homeland", i.e. in Germany. About the effect of this systematically distributed writing, the author learned that President Truman had finally given permission to send love gift packages to Germany on the basis of the reading, which, as is well known, was not allowed in the first years after 1945. The well-known german-American Senator of North Dakota, William A. Langer, wrote to the author at the time: "You have achieved more with your courageous and enlightening book with the President than all the petitioners and delegations put together, because you have called him into his conscience." The subsequent package campaign saved countless people in Germany from the worst consequences of hunger. The resonance that Scripture found in all circles, especially of German-Americanism, but also of the higher clergy, proves how rousing it was at that time. In part, these voices also reflect the excitement and bitterness that prevailed over what was happening in defeated Germany and about American policy towards Germany. Cardinal Stritch of Chicago wrote, "Yes, it hurts terribly to read your book The Crime of Our Age, but it is the truth and all truth hurts."[4]

Notes

  1. Ludwig Fritsch Social Security Index
  2. "Time to stop slander of the Munich pact" Chicago Tribune - Jan 8, 1974
  3. G. Werner Fritsch Obituary
  4. Review of German edition

See also