Hermann Lange

In Lübeck, Father Hermann Lange’s pastoral activity was primarily oriented toward the youth and the men of the parish. Described by his contemporaries as a serious, reliable man gifted with great pedagogical talent, he distinguished himself through methodical, rigorously prepared homilies of great intellectual depth. Deeply opposed to the ideology of National Socialism, which he viewed with horror, Hermann Lange did not hesitate to express his criticisms in private. He notably denounced war as an intrinsic element of this ideology and expressed serious reservations regarding military service under the Nazi regime. Together with his colleagues from the Sacred Heart parish, Fathers Johannes Prassek and Eduard Müller, as well as the city’s Lutheran pastor, Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, he formed a group of friends and spiritual resistors. Together, they exchanged information, listened to foreign radio broadcasts, and distributed forbidden writings, notably the sermons of the Bishop of Münster, Mgr. Clemens August von Galen, who publicly opposed the euthanasia of disabled persons practiced by the regime. Denounced for his activities hostile to the State, Hermann Lange was arrested by the Gestapo on June 15, 1942.

After his arrest, Hermann Lange was incarcerated in the Lübeck-Lauerhof prison. During his detention, he maintained regular correspondence with his family, testifying to an unwavering faith and great serenity in the face of trials. On June 23, 1943, the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof), whose judges traveled from Berlin to Lübeck for this trial (known as the "Lübeck Christians Trial"), sentenced him to death for "preparation for high treason," "demoralization of the armed forces," and "aiding and abetting the enemy." His confreres Johannes Prassek and Eduard Müller, along with Pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, received the same sentence. On November 10, 1943, the four clergymen were executed by guillotine at the Hamburg prison (Holstenglacis), at three-minute intervals. Witnesses reported that the blood of the four martyrs mingled on the floor of the scaffold, becoming a powerful symbol of the ecumenism of blood and suffering. Hermann Lange's body was cremated at the Ohlsdorf crematorium in Hamburg on November 15, 1943, and his ashes were later deposited in the crypt of the Sacred Heart Church in Lübeck.

The diocesan process for the beatification of the three Catholic priests (Johannes Prassek, Hermann Lange, and Eduard Müller) was officially opened in 2004 by the Archbishop of Hamburg, Mgr. Werner Thissen. On July 1, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith). The beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 25, 2011, in Lübeck, in front of the Sacred Heart Church, in the presence of thousands of Catholic and Protestant faithful. It was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Benedict XVI. During this celebration, a solemn memorial was also rendered to the Lutheran pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, giving the event a deeply ecumenical dimension, hailed by the Holy Father as a luminous testimony of the ecumenism of prayer and suffering.

The spirituality of Hermann Lange is deeply rooted in the liturgy and the proclamation of the Word of God, influenced by the liturgical movement of the interwar period. His priestly commitment is characterized by a search for truth and an absolute consistency between his Christian faith and his life choices, leading to the ultimate sacrifice. In his prison letters, he expresses a profound inner peace, the absence of fear in the face of death, and an unwavering hope in God. The legacy of the "Lübeck Martyrs" is above all ecumenical. By overcoming the confessional barriers of their time to oppose Nazi barbarism together, they blazed a path of unity through common witness. In 2012, the Archdiocese of Hamburg created the "Lübeck Martyrs Foundation" (Lübecker Märtyrer-Stiftung) to perpetuate their memory. A memorial and a permanent exhibition are dedicated to them at the Sacred Heart Church in Lübeck, where the ashes of Hermann Lange rest.