Roman Catholic
St Sigismund parish
05-507 Słomczyn
85 Wiślana Str.
Konstancin deanery
Warsaw archdiocese, Poland
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Martyrology of the clergy — Poland
XX century (1914 – 1989)
personal data
religious status
Servant of God
surname
MERSMANN
forename(s)
Alphonse (pl. Alfons)
function
diocesan priest
creed
Latin (Roman Catholic) Church RCmore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2014.09.21]
diocese / province
Fulda diocesemore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.07.16]
Territorial Prelature of Schneidemühlmore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2013.07.06]
nationality
German
date and place
of death
12.04.1945
KL Buchenwaldconcentration camp
today: n. Weimar, Weimar urban dist., Thuringia state, Germany
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.01.09]
alt. dates and places
of death
KL Buchenwald‐Wahlauconcentration camp
today: n. Weimar, Weimar urban dist., Thuringia state, Germany
details of death
In 1935 accused by the German National Socialist authorities of treason.
The accusation was dropped after the intervention of the mayor of Piła.
In 1937 accused of abusing the pulpit to criticize the German youth union Hitler Youth, but a year later the investigation was terminated for „lack of evidence”.
After German and Russian invasion of Poland in 09.1939 and the start of World War II, for the third time accused of „discrediting the German nation” under the articles of the Treason Act.
On 17.07.1942 stood before the Germ. Sondergericht (Eng. Special court) in Piła.
Sentenced to four months in prison.
After release expelled from his parish and the Prelature of Schneidemühl (Piła).
Returned to his hometown of Greven and wandered between Gdańsk and Klewve, finally settling as a vicar in Treysa near Kassel, in Fulda diocese (from 1944).
On 07.03.1945, on his 40th birthday, condemned National Socialism from the church pulpit.
On the same day, after one of his parishioners denounced him, arrested by the German Gestapo.
Brought to Kassel and held in prison in the Wehlheiden district.
From there, briefly transported to the KL Breitenau concentration camp.
From there, on 30.03.1945 transported to KL Buchenwald concentration camp (to block 52, where was to undergo the so‐called „quarantine”).
Died several days later, prob. shot during the „death march” — during the evacuation of prisoners from KL Buchenwald.
The first such evacuation transport departed from KL Buchenwald on 05‐06.04.1945, the second column, consisting of about 40,000 people, left the camp a few days later.
The marches were directed to the network of dispersed subcamps of the KL Flossenbürg concentration camp group — initially to the east, to Weimar, and then to Jena.
There, some of the prisoners were transported further east, towards the AL Chemnitz and AL Leitmeritz sub—camps, and the other group was sent south, towards the AL Plauen sub–camp and KL Flossenbürg itself.
Approx. 13,500 prisoners did not survive the „death marches” of KL Buchywald.
KL Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated by American troops a day earlier, on 11.04.1945.
alt. details of death
In some sources, „Wahlau” is mentioned as the place of death.
Such a place could not be identified.
Perhaps it is Wahlen, today a district of Crimmitschau, on the road from Jena to AL Chemnitz.
prisoner camp's numbers
139844Click to display source page (KL BuchenwaldClick to display the description)
cause of death
mass murder
perpetrators
Germans
sites and events
KL BuchenwaldClick to display the description, Ribbentrop‐MolotovClick to display the description, Pius XI's encyclicalsClick to display the description
date and place
of birth
07.03.1905
Greventoday: Steinfurt dist., Münster reg., North Rhine‐Westphalia state, Germany
more on
de.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.07.16]
presbyter (holy orders)
ordination
22.03.1931 (Innsbrucktoday: Innsbruck‐Land dist., Upper Austria state, Austria
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2024.03.19])
positions held
1943 – 1945
parish priest — Treysatoday: district in Schwalmstadt, Schwalm‐Eder dist., Kassel reg., Hesse state, Germany
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.07.16] ⋄ RC parish
1939 – 1942
parish priest — Zakrzewotoday: Zakrzewo gm., Złotów pov., Greater Poland voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.07.16] ⋄ St Mary Magdalene RC parish
1934 – 1939
vicar — Zakrzewotoday: Zakrzewo gm., Złotów pov., Greater Poland voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.07.16] ⋄ St Mary Magdalene RC parish
1931 – 1934
priest — Chicagotoday: Cook Cou., Illinois US‐IL state, United States of America
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.07.16] — i.a. to Polish emigrants
till 1931
student — Innsbrucktoday: Innsbruck‐Land dist., Upper Austria state, Austria
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2024.03.19] ⋄ philosophy and theology, College (Canisianum), Jesuits SI
others related
in death
BLESKEClick to display biography John, BUHLClick to display biography John, CZEKALLAClick to display biography Theophilus, GRABKEClick to display biography Leo, GROCHOCKIClick to display biography John, HELLWIGClick to display biography Francis, HUNDRIESERClick to display biography Paul Leo, KLEMTClick to display biography Leo, KÖNIGClick to display biography Robert, KRUGClick to display biography Maximilian, MICHALIKClick to display biography Herbert, REPKEClick to display biography Justus, RISSClick to display biography Francis, SCHADEClick to display biography John, SOBIERAJCZYKClick to display biography Alphonse, STEINKEClick to display biography Eric, STEINKEClick to display biography Herbert, STRAUCHClick to display biography Emil, SZYNKOWSKIClick to display biography Francis, TETZLAFFClick to display biography Anthony, WINGERClick to display biography Leo, WITTIGClick to display biography Augustus
sites and events
descriptions
KL Buchenwald: In German Germ. Konzentrationslager (Eng. concentration camp) KL Buchenwald concentration camp, founded in 1937 and operational till 1945, Germans held c. 238,380 prisoners and murdered approx. 56,000 of them, among them thousands of Poles. Prisoners were victims of pseudo‐scientific experiments, conducted among others by Behring‐Werke from Marburg and Robert Koch Institute from Berlin companies. They slaved for Gustloff in Weimar and Fritz‐Sauckel companies manufacturing armaments. To support Erla‐Maschinenwerk GmbH in Leipzig, Junkers in Schönebeck (airplanes) and Rautal in Wernigerode Germans organized special sub‐camps. In 1945 there were more than 100 such sub‐camps. Dora concentration camp was initially one of them, as well as KL Ravensbrück sub‐camps (from 08.1944). On 08.04.1945 Polish prisoner, Mr Guido Damazyn, used clandestinely constructed short wave transmitter to sent, together with a Russian prisoner, a short message begging for help. It was received and he got a reply: „KZ Bu. Hold out. Rushing to your aid. Staff of Third Army” (American). Three days later the camp was liberated. (more on: www.buchenwald.deClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.08.10], en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.08.10])
Ribbentrop‐Molotov: Genocidal Russian‐German alliance pact between Russian leader Joseph Stalin and German leader Adolf Hitler signed on 23.08.1939 in Moscow by respective foreign ministers, Mr. Vyacheslav Molotov for Russia and Joachim von Ribbentrop for Germany. The pact sanctioned and was the direct cause of joint Russian and German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the World War II in 09.1939. In a political sense, the pact was an attempt to restore the status quo ante before 1914, with one exception, namely the „commercial” exchange of the so‐called „Kingdom of Poland”, which in 1914 was part of the Russian Empire, fore Eastern Galicia (today's western Ukraine), in 1914 belonging to the Austro‐Hungarian Empire. Galicia, including Lviv, was to be taken over by the Russians, the „Kingdom of Poland” — under the name of the General Governorate — Germany. The resultant „war was one of the greatest calamities and dramas of humanity in history, for two atheistic and anti‐Christian ideologies — national and international socialism — rejected God and His fifth Decalogue commandment: Thou shall not kill!” (Abp Stanislav Gądecki, 01.09.2019). The decisions taken — backed up by the betrayal of the formal allies of Poland, France and Germany, which on 12.09.1939, at a joint conference in Abbeville, decided not to provide aid to attacked Poland and not to take military action against Germany (a clear breach of treaty obligations with Poland) — were on 28.09.1939 slightly altered and made more precise when a treaty on „German‐Russian boundaries and friendship” was agreed by the same murderous signatories. One of its findings was establishment of spheres of influence in Central and Eastern Europe and in consequence IV partition of Poland. In one of its secret annexes agreed, that: „the Signatories will not tolerate on its respective territories any Polish propaganda that affects the territory of the other Side. On their respective territories they will suppress all such propaganda and inform each other of the measures taken to accomplish it”. The agreements resulted in a series of meeting between two genocidal organization representing both sides — German Gestapo and Russian NKVD when coordination of efforts to exterminate Polish intelligentsia and Polish leading classes (in Germany called «Intelligenzaktion», in Russia took the form of Katyń massacres) where discussed. Resulted in deaths of hundreds of thousands of Polish intelligentsia, including thousands of priests presented here, and tens of millions of ordinary people,. The results of this Russian‐German pact lasted till 1989 and are still in evidence even today. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2015.09.30])
Pius XI's encyclicals: Facing the creation of two totalitarian systems in Europe, which seemed to compete with each other, though there were more similarities than contradictions between them, Pope Pius XI issued in 03.1937 (within 5 days) two encyclicals. In the „Mit brennender Sorge” (Eng. „With Burning Concern”) published on 14.03.1938, condemned the national socialism prevailing in Germany. The Pope wrote: „Whoever, following the old Germanic‐pre‐Christian beliefs, puts various impersonal fate in the place of a personal God, denies the wisdom of God and Providence […], whoever exalts earthly values: race or nation, or state, or state system, representatives of state power or other fundamental values of human society, […] and makes them the highest standard of all values, including religious ones, and idolizes them, this one […] is far from true faith in God and from a worldview corresponding to such faith”. On 19.03.1937, published „Divini Redemptoris” (Eng. „Divine Redeemer”), in which criticized Russian communism, dialectical materialism and the class struggle theory. The Pope wrote: „Communism deprives man of freedom, and therefore the spiritual basis of all life norms. It deprives the human person of all his dignity and any moral support with which he could resist the onslaught of blind passions […] This is the new gospel that Bolshevik and godless communism preaches as a message of salvation and redemption of humanity”… Pius XI demanded that the established human law be subjected to the natural law of God , recommended the implementation of the ideal of a Christian state and society, and called on Catholics to resist. Two years later, National Socialist Germany and Communist Russia came together and started World War II. (more on: www.vatican.vaClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2023.05.28], www.vatican.vaClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2023.05.28])
sources
personal:
www.przewodnik-katolicki.plClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.07.06], pila.naszemiasto.plClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.07.06], de.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2022.07.16], www.wn.deClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2016.03.14]
original images:
www.wn.deClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2016.03.14]
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