Wolfgang Bethke died - He was on the trail of the historical roots

Created: 04/20/2022, 07:15

By: Wolfgang Rotzsche

Chronicler Wolfgang Bethke liked to delve into the local history.

© wjr

Wolfgang Bethke wrote the local chronicle for Siegertsbrunn and also many other local and family histories.

Although he was born in Chemnitz and lived in Höhenkirchen, he was more or less an “honorary” Siegertsbrunner.

Now the Saxon has died at the age of 95.

Höhenkirchen

– At his father's request, Bethke came to the Allgäu in 1947.

He himself commented on this: "The language was foreign to me, but the country in its cultural down-to-earth diversity, the buildings from different epochs meant that I got to know and appreciate Bavaria." He was a farmhand, miner and then a soldier, taught as a nurse at the Academy of Sanitation and Health Services of the German Armed Forces.

In 1980 the pensioner Bethke came to Höhenkirchen.

Hobby was home history

His hobby was local history, which he dealt with again and again.

And that's how he came into contact with Höhenkirchen's local chronicler, Rudolf Stingl.

The mayor, in turn, pointed out Rudolf Mailer and met with open ears.

Bethke promptly became the local chronicler in 1995: “It was really a stroke of luck that Mr. Bethke was so well received by the people of Siegertsbrunn with his manner and approach.

His trick was the "court stories", for which almost everyone even looked for documents in the attics," says the current former mayor Mailer.

Research pursued persistently

The result was an illustrated book (1999) and a 750-page chronicle (2006) for Siegertsbrunn, although only Bethke knew how much time and effort he put into the discussions and research.

Mailer only knows one thing about this: "It was a full-time job for him for many years."

But such was the deceased, known for his humor and for his talkative nature.

Every week at City Hall

Former mayor Ursula Mayer also likes to remember: "He was in the town hall every week and he was so proud of his chronicle, which he would have liked to have added to another illustrated book on Siegertsbrunn.

He was always funny and in a good mood and was never averse to a bit of advice.” It was a point of honor for Wolfgang Bethke that he helped the local clubs to come to terms with the history of the club.

He was also involved in the German War Graves Commission.

Even better as a duo

Wolfgang Bethke got support for the Siegertsbrunn Chronicle.

He found it in the Ayingen archivist Franziska Ahlborn von Raven.

“I wrestled with him for numerous mornings, trying to get the text into a readable form.

We became a really good team.

I don't know anyone who has delved so deeply into historical topics from such a non-specialist field," says the historian.

Incidentally, the trained photo druggist took photos of conversion and demolition work as well as of new buildings in Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn and also contributed to the fact that many things in the places were not completely forgotten.

Deputy Mayor Luitgart Dittmann-Chylla summed it up aptly: “Even though he lived in Höhenkirchen, Mr. Bethke always had a very special relationship with “his” people from Siegertsbrunn.

The whole community will sorely miss him.”