Ludwig A. Fritsch

Ludwig Adolphus Fritsch (b. 18 July 1893 in Transylvania, Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, Austria-Hungary; d. 24 December 1982 in Glenview, Northfield Township, Cook, Illinois, United States), ODS, Ph.D., D.D., was an ethnic German Lutheran pastor and the author of The Crime of Our Age published in Chicago in 1947 describing America's responsibility for the crime against the German people after WWI and during WWII, especially the expulsions from Eastern Germany.

Life

Marriage License, 1922

Fritsch was a history professor in Romania before coming to the United States in 1921. Fritsch was pastor of the Honterus Lutheran Church in Youngstown, Ohio. In 1945, he resigned from the ministry and later moved to Chicago, then to Glenview, Northfield Township.

Family

Ludwig was the son of Samuel Fritsch and his wife Theresa, née von Varfalva.

Marriage

On 19 October 1922 in Honterus Lutheran Church, Youngstown, Mahoning, Ohio, Prof. Dr. Fritsch married his fiancée Editha Gerlinde Brosig (1898–1990), daughter of Richard Brosig (presumably until 1918 Freiherr Brosig von Schwartzwasser) and his wife Amelia, née Wardegger. They were the parents of at least three sons:

• Dr. Wilfred K. Fritsch (1923–1992)
• Yatthold "Holdie" R. Fritsch (b. 13 February 1925 in Austintown Township, Mahoning, Ohio)
• G. Werner Fritsch (1930–2009); ∞ Dolores "Dee" Huelskamp, two sons (William and Frederick), one daughter (Linda Marie)
  • He was very active in the church and was a founding member of the Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights. He was a retired accountant of Illinois Bell Telephone Co. and was a member of their Comptrollers Club. He enjoyed model railroads and was a member of the Nation Model Railroad Association.

Works

• The Crime of Our Age, 1947 (read as archive.org)
  • Amerikas Verantwortung für das Verbrechen am deutschen Volk – Ein Gewissensappell an die amerikanische Führungsschicht (German edition), 8. German Edition, Grabert-Verlag, Tübingen 1994

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."

See also

• Austin J. App