Lübeck Martyrs

From the summer of 1941, a deep spiritual and human friendship was forged between Pastor Stellbrink and the three Catholic priests of the Sacred Heart parish. Transcending denominational barriers, they met regularly to exchange information, analyze the political situation, and share spiritual writings. Together, they engaged in active spiritual resistance by listening to banned foreign radio stations (notably the BBC) and distributing leaflets and sermons critical of the Nazi regime, particularly those of the Bishop of Münster, Mgr Clemens August Graf von Galen, denouncing the euthanasia program. Their opposition became public during the Palm Sunday sermon on March 29, 1942, when Pastor Stellbrink declared that the destruction of Lübeck by bombing was a "judgment of God," which led to his immediate arrest, followed by that of the three Catholic priests between May and June 1942.

During their long detention of more than a year, the four clergymen underwent rigorous interrogations and constant pressure. It was in the ordeal of the cells of the Lübeck prison that their ecumenical communion reached its peak. Their farewell letters testify to an extraordinary inner peace, a total absence of hatred, and an absolute trust in God. In June 1943, they were brought before the "People's Court" (Volksgerichtshof) during the trial known as the "Lübeck Christians" trial. On June 23, 1943, they were sentenced to death for "subversion of military force, malice, complicity with the enemy, and listening to foreign radio stations." On November 10, 1943, they were led to the guillotine at the Holstenglacis prison in Hamburg and executed at three-minute intervals. Witnesses reported that their blood mingled on the floor of the scaffold, sealing their unity in martyrdom.

Sixty years after their execution, in 2003, the Archbishop of Hamburg, Mgr Werner Thissen, officially launched the beatification process for the three Catholic priests, while the Evangelical Lutheran Church joined the initiative to honor the memory of Pastor Stellbrink. On July 1, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the martyrdom of Johannes Prassek, Eduard Müller, and Hermann Lange. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 25, 2011, in Lübeck, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato. During this ecumenical celebration, a place of honor was reserved for the memory of Pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink. The following day, during the Angelus on June 26, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI saluted the memory of the new blesseds and emphasized that their shared suffering constitutes a "great ecumenical testimony of humanity and hope."

The Martyrs of Lübeck have become one of the most powerful symbols of the "ecumenism of blood." As Benedict XVI emphasized in September 2010 before the German ambassador to the Holy See, their friendship experienced in Nazi prisons is "an impressive testimony to the ecumenism of prayer and suffering." Their spiritual legacy is preserved today at the Lübeck Martyrs Memorial, located in the crypt of the Sacred Heart Church (Herz-Jesu) and at the Lutherkirche in Lübeck. Their prison writings continue to inspire Christians of all denominations, reminding us that fidelity to the Gospel and to individual conscience must take precedence over submission to totalitarian ideologies.