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Elisabeth Käsemann

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Elisabeth Käsemann
Käsemann in 1974 or 1975
Born(1947-05-11)May 11, 1947
Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
DiedMay 24, 1977(1977-05-24) (aged 30)
Monte Grande, Buenos Aires province, Argentina
Burial placeTübingen, West Germany
FatherErnst Käsemann

Elisabeth Käsemann (11 May 1947 - 24 May 1977) was a West German sociologist killed in Argentina as part of the Dirty War.

Life

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Käsemann was born in Gelsenkirchen to Margit Käsemann and German theologian Ernst Käsemann.[1][2] The family moved frequently in her childhood due to her father's work, living in Mainz, Göttingen, and Tübingen (beginning in 1959). She ran a "political study group" at Wildermuth High School, from which she graduated in 1966. She attended Oxford briefly on a language stay before going on to study politics at the Freie Universität Berlin beginning in late 1966. Her coursework required her to take a mandatory practical training semester, which she spent in Bolivia in 1968. There, she worked for the Evangelical Methodist Church in La Paz.[2]

While studying and working in Bolivia, Käsemann toured Latin America and decided to economics at the University of Buenos Aires. She also worked as a secretary and translator, and began to become involved with local political groups throughout 1968 and 1969.[2][3] She also studied as a sociologist at Tübingen University.[4]

In Argentina, Käsemann furthered literacy projects by teaching in poor neighborhoods.[5]

Following the country's 1976 military coup, she worked to forge documents to help political targets escape the country.[1][4] Käsemann was arrested for her work on 9 March 1977,[3] having been discovered missing after she failed to meet an American friend.[4] She was taken to El Vesubio torture camp in Monte Grande, where she was killed sometime in late May.[3][4] Her body was recovered on 23 May with signs of "heavy torture" from electric shocks.[3][4] According to a German autopsy, she had been killed "by several close-range bullet shots to her back and neck".[1][3] Junta leaders initially reported that she had died "in a firefight during a standoff with terrorist guerillas".[1][2]

She was buried in Tübingen in the summer of 1977.[6]

Political aftermath of Käsemann's killing

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The German government faced criticism for their failure to secure Käsemann's release from Argentina.[4][5] Germany issued warrants for Käsemann's killers in 2003.[4]

In 2011, General Hector Gamen and Colonel Hugo Pascarelli, two men involved in the El Vesubio camp and Käsemann's killing, were given sentences of life in prison by Argentine courts.[4]

Legacy

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Gelsenkirchen's family education center of the Protestant Church was named in Käsemann's honor in 1993.[2] In 2005, after the center's building was closed, the entire, decentralized educational institution has been renamed "Elisabeth-Käsemann-Famikienbildungsstätte".[7]

In 2012, Wildermuth High School established the Elisabeth Käsemann Award for outstanding social commitment. That same year, a street in Tübingen's Lustnau district was also named in Käsemann's honor.[2]

The Elisabeth Käsemann Foundation was established in 2014 by Käsemann's niece, Dorothee Weitbrecht.[5] The organization focuses on German-Latin American relations and education surrounding totalitarian regimes.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Käsemann case". DW. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Biography". Elisabeth Kaesemann Stiftung. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Justice at last: Judgment in the Elisabeth Käsemann case". European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Paterson, Tony (2011-07-15). "Argentina jails 'dirty war' officers accused over killing of German". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  5. ^ a b c Pieper, Oliver (2018-06-16). "Der tragische Fall Elisabeth Käsemann". DW (in German). Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  6. ^ Grozdanov, Zoran (2016-12-15). Theology—Descent into the Vicious Circles of Death: On the Fortieth Anniversary of Jürgen Moltmann's The Crucified God. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4982-3276-0.
  7. ^ "www.gelsenkirchen.de - Elisabeth Käsemann".
  8. ^ "Welcome". Elisabeth Kaesemann Stiftung. 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
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