Catalogue description DIETRICH BONHOEFFER KIRCHE (GERMAN CHURCH, SYDENHAM)

This record is held by London Metropolitan Archives: City of London

Details of LMA/4288
Reference: LMA/4288
Title: DIETRICH BONHOEFFER KIRCHE (GERMAN CHURCH, SYDENHAM)
Description:

The collection consists of records relating to the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church, St Georg (Alie Street, London E1), St Paul (Goulston Street, London E1), Camberwell Church (Denmark Hill SE5), St Marien (Sandwich Street, WC1) and Brighton Church.

 

The greater part of the collection originated from Pastor Dr Julius Rieger (reponsible for the parish 1945-1953) and Pastor Wallman who assisted Rieger from 1951.

 

The records also include the archives of the Camberwell Church which closed in 1914.

 

Records relating to Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer are held in Berlin. This collection contains a microfilm index of the material held in this archive (LMA/4288/H/01/019 [item 656]).
Date: 1852 - 1998
Arrangement:

The records had already been listed when they arrived at LMA, and this original order has been retained. Although the call number has been changed to reflect the LMA office style of cataloguing, the original document number has been included in the list (in parenthesis after the document description).

 

The present arrangement of the material reflects the arrangement described in 'Catalogue to the archives of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Kirche (German Church, Sydenham)' as much as possible:

 

LMA/4288/A CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

 

LMA/4288/A/01 Constitution and meetings

 

LMA/4288/A/02 Council correspondence

 

LMA/4288/A/03 Relations with the church in Germany

 

LMA/4288/A/04 Pastoral correspondence

 

LMA/4288/A/05 Parish history and statistics

 

LMA/4288/B PERSONNEL

 

LMA/4288/B/01 Pastors

 

LMA/4288/B/02 Curates

 

LMA/4288/C CHURCH SERVICES

 

LMA/4288/C/01 Registers

 

LMA/4288/C/02 Services

 

LMA/4288/C/03 Litergy

 

LMA/4288/C/04 Music and sermons

 

LMA/4288/D PARISH

 

LMA/4288/D/01 Organisations

 

LMA/4288/D/02 Outreach

 

LMA/4288/D/03 Newsletters

 

LMA/4288/D/04 Prisoners-of-war

 

LMA/4288/D/05 Refugees

 

LMA/4288/D/06 Aid to Germany

 

LMA/4288/D/07 Welfare of Germans in Great Britain

 

LMA/4288/E PROPERTY

 

LMA/4288/E/01 Finance and legal

 

LMA/4288/F BUILDINGS

 

LMA/4288/F/01 Church

 

LMA/4288/F/02 Vicarage

 

LMA/4288/G OTHER GERMAN CONGREGATIONS

 

LMA/4288/G/01 Other churches

 

LMA/4288/G/02 Work with other Lutheran churches

 

LMA/4288/G/03 Union of Lutheran churches

 

LMA/4288/G/04 German-speaking Evangelical Synod in Great Britain

 

LMA/4288/G/05 Geistlicher Rat (Lutheran Council)

 

LMA/4288/G/06 Relations with other churches

 

LMA/4288/G/07 Inter-congregational newsletter

 

LMA/4288/H PRINTED MATERIAL AND PHOTOGRAPHS

 

LMA/4288/H/01 Printed material

 

LMA/4288/H/02 Photographs

 

Records relating to the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church can also be found at the Tower Hamlets Local Studies Library amongst the material of St Georg Church.
Held by: London Metropolitan Archives: City of London, not available at The National Archives
Language: English
Creator:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church, Sydenham, 1959 -

German Evangelical Church, 1882 - 1959

Saint Georg Church, Alie Street, London

Saint Paul Church, Goulston Street, London

Camberwell Church, Denmark Hill, London

Brighton German Church

Saint Marien Church, Sandwich Street, London
Access conditions:

A PROPORTION OF THE CORRESPONDENCE FILES CONTAIN PERSONAL INFORMATION RELATING TO INDIVIDUALS. THESE FILES HAVE A 65 YEAR CLOSURE PERIOD.
Administrative / biographical background:

The German Evangelical Church, later the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church was built 1882-1883. The foundation stone was laid on 13 July 1882 in Dacres Road, Sydenham and the church was finally dedicated on 17 March 1883.

 

The origin of the Sydenham congregation preceeds the building of the church. On Good Friday 1875, the first service was conducted by Pastor Elias Schrenk in Park Hall (Congregational Church, The Grove, Sydenham). On 14 April of the same year, the first church committee was formed.

 

The church suffered greatly during the two World Wars. From Easter 1916 until October 1921, the church was forced to close because of hostility towards the German Community. Then in December 1940, incendiary bombs set fire to the church. The damage was such that the building was finally demolished in August 1950. Negotiations with the War Damage Commision raised $34,000 in funds for the rebuilding of the church.

 

The foundation stone for the new church was laid on 20 July 1958, and the church was dedicated 21 June 1959. The new church was renamed the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church, a suggestion made by Professor Franz Hildebradt.

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was pastor of the German Evangelical Church in Sydenham and the German Reformed Church of St Paul's, Whitechapel between 1933-1935. He led his congregations to join the Confessing Church in Germany, and in the early years of the Nazi regime, German Refugees recieved help from the two congregations. He was a prominent member of the German Resistance Movement and was involved in a plot to assasinate Hitler. On 9 April 1945, he was hanged by the Nazis in Flossenburg concentration camp.

 

Other pastors who served at the church (until 1953) are as follows:-

 

1876 - 1890 Wagner, C (Budapest) 1890 - 1894 Meister, M (Berlin-Brandenburg)

 

1895 - 1902 Diettrich, Dr (Berlin)

 

1902 - 1911 Wollschlager (Westphalia)

 

1912 - 1918 Goehling, O (Berlin-Brandenburg)

 

1922 - 1933 Singer, F (Wurttemberg)

 

1933 - 1935 Bonhoeffer, D (Berlin)

 

1935 - 1939 Bockheler, M (Wurtemberg)

 

1953 - Bethge, E (Berlin)
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