Elisabeth Käsemann
German sociologist and freedom fighter (1947–1977)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elisabeth Käsemann (11 May 1947 – 24 May 1977) was a West German sociologist killed in Argentina as part of the Dirty War.
Elisabeth Käsemann | |
|---|---|
Käsemann in 1974 or 1975 | |
| Born | May 11, 1947 |
| Died | May 24, 1977 (aged 30) Monte Grande, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina |
Burial place | Tübingen, West Germany |
| Education | University of Oxford; Freie Universität Berlin; University of Buenos Aires; University of Tübingen |
| Father | Ernst Käsemann |
Life
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 study 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
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
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-Familienbildungsstätte".[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]