A Monument to a Martyr: Edith Stein
Press release of May 5, 2009
The Ernst Freiberger Foundation unveils a monument in Berlin – minister Annette Schavan pays homage to a “great woman of the 20th century” – seventh monument on the “Road of Recollection”.
Edith Stein was canonized in 1998. She is the first Catholic saint who was born a Jew. A year later, she was declared to be a patron of Europe. By means of monuments, accompanied by academic research, the Ernst Freiberger Foundation commemorates personalities of the first half of the 20th century who stood out due to exceptional scientific achievements, significant contributions to the fields of arts and culture in Germany or because they firmly and selflessly resisted the pressures of arbitrary power exerted by the regime.
Edith Stein is the seventh figure of contemporary history whose monument now stands on the “Road of Recollection”. The bronze sculpture has been created by Bert Gerresheim, one of the greatest graphic artists and sculptors of our time who lives in Düsseldorf. He already designed the Edith Stein monument in Cologne. Before Edith Stein, the Ernst Freiberger Foundation has set monuments to writer Albrecht Haushofer who had also been murdered by the National Socialists, computer pioneer Konrad Zuse, the former foreign minister Walther Rathenau, writer Thomas Mann, architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Georg Elser who tried to assassinate Hitler but failed.
A passionate search for truth
A passionate search for truth is emblematic of Edith Stein’s life. Being the child of Jewish parents she studies philosophy and writes a dissertation on the subject of empathy under the direction of the famous philosopher Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology. Due to her Jewish descent she is not allowed to continue with her habilitation. Her life comes to a turning point when she reads the autobiography of Carmelite Teresa of Avila. In 1922, Edith Stein converts to Catholicism but, for the time being, her wish to become a nun remains unfulfilled due to her ancestry. She becomes a teacher and fights for women’s rights.
When the National Socialists come to power in 1933, Edith Stein has to quit her teaching post at the Educational Institute in Münster. Shortly afterwards, she enters the Carmel of Cologne, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Early on, she tries to convince Pope Pius XI to stand up against anti-Semitism and the persecutions by the National Socialists. In 1939, Edith Stein flees to the Carmel in Echt, the Netherlands. Edith and her sister Rosa are arrested on August 2, 1942, when the police round up Jewish citizens – a retaliation against an encyclical issued by Dutch bishops protesting against the atrocities of the National Socialist occupation. Edith has the chance to flee to Switzerland but out of consideration for her sister she declines. Until the end, she retains close ties to her original family. “Come, Rosa, we go for our people”, she says to her sister when they are deported to the death camp Auschwitz. Five days later, she is executed in a gas chamber.
Overcoming borders, creating links
The foundation’s founder Ernst Freiberger in Berlin paid his respect to Edith Stein as a personality in whom “science and religion, intellect and devotion, a fastidious mind and humbleness, Judaism and Christianity convene”. We are confronted not only with the moving fate of a martyr but also the life of an outstanding academic who, with her work in phenomenology and religious studies, began to put her stamp on her intellectual surroundings.
The “Road of Recollection” represents a special field of activity of the Ernst Freiberger Foundation, established in 1994. By initiating extensive research regarding the issues of unemployment, religion and the family the foundation confronts major challenges concerning society and transcending cultural boundaries; the foundation seeks to offer solutions. These activities come together under the roof of the “Amerang Dispute” which is directed by social scientist Prof. Meinhard Miegel. The “Sunflower Meeting Point” at the Spree Bogen in Berlin-Moabit enables elderly and lonely yet mobile people to participate actively in cultural life.
The foundation’s founder Ernst Freiberger is the owner of the eponymous holding which is based in Amerang, Chiemgau. The holding’s main fields of business are real estate, health care and hotel business.
