Continental typewriter with a green wooden cover used by Martin Niemoeller 2004.661.1_b top
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Continental typewriter with wooden cover used by Pastor Martin Niemoeller to prepare his sermons before and after World War II. When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, Niemoeller was a Lutheran pastor in Berlin-Dahlem. In September 1933, Niemoeller helped found the Pastor's Emergency League to protest Nazi interference in church affairs and the attacks on Christians of Jewish origin. In May 1934, he helped found a new Protestant church in Germany, the Bekennende Kirche (the Confessing Church) and was barred from preaching by the government. Recognizing that the new government was a dictatorship, Niemoeller traveled around Germany preaching against the Nazis. He was arrested several times and, in July 1937, was imprisoned in Berlin for nearly eight months. He was convicted of treason, but his sentence equalled time already served. In February 1938, Niemoeller rejected the terms of his release and was placed by the Gestapo in protective detention and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was again kept in solitary confinement. In 1941, he was sent to Dachau concentration camp, where he was housed with Catholic dissenters and permitted access to books. In 1945, he was transferred to Tirol, Austria, where he was liberated by American troops on May 5. After the war, he became president of the Hesse-Nassau Lutheran Church. He also began a world tour where he preached of the collective guilt of all Germans for World War II.
Continental typewriter with wooden cover used by Pastor Martin Niemoeller to prepare his sermons before and after World War II. When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, Niemoeller was a Lutheran pastor in Berlin-Dahlem. In September 1933, Niemoeller helped found the Pastor's Emergency League to protest Nazi interference in church affairs and the attacks on Christians of Jewish origin. In May 1934, he helped found a new Protestant church in Germany, the Bekennende Kirche (the Confessing Church) and was barred from preaching by the government. Recognizing that the new government was a dictatorship, Niemoeller traveled around Germany preaching against the Nazis. He was arrested several times and, in July 1937, was imprisoned in Berlin for nearly eight months. He was convicted of treason, but his sentence equalled time already served. In February 1938, Niemoeller rejected the terms of his release and was placed by the Gestapo in protective detention and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was again kept in solitary confinement. In 1941, he was sent to Dachau concentration camp, where he was housed with Catholic dissenters and permitted access to books. In 1945, he was transferred to Tirol, Austria, where he was liberated by American troops on May 5. After the war, he became president of the Hesse-Nassau Lutheran Church. He also began a world tour where he preached of the collective guilt of all Germans for World War II.
- Title: Continental typewriter with a green wooden cover used by Martin Niemoeller 2004.661.1_b top
- Provenance: The typewriter with cover was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Sibylle Niemoeller, the wife of Martin Niemoeller., The typewriter with cover was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Sibylle Niemoeller, the wife of Martin Niemoeller.
- Subject Keywords: Lutheran Church--Clergy--Biography. Church and state--Germany--History--1933-1945. Clergy--Germany--Biography. Political prisoners--Germany--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prison, German., Lutheran Church--Clergy--Biography. Church and state--Germany--History--1933-1945. Clergy--Germany--Biography. Political prisoners--Germany--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prison, German.
- Type: Office Equipment and Supplies, Office Equipment and Supplies
- Rights: Permanent Collection, Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: a. Black square-shaped metal typewriter with a keyboard of circular white letters, numbers, and symbol keys. It has a black cartridge and ribbon. There is a black cylindrical tube horizontally attached to the top with gold painted English text. b. Rectangular wooden typewriter cover with adhered green, coated cloth, made to resemble leather, that slopes downward from the back ot the front. On the front center, a green treated cloth covered plastic handle is attached by loop rings to metal plates. Below is a lock plate with a keyhole and a latch which would insert into a platform on which the typewriter sits. On the back upright side are rounded metal feet. The interior is lined with textured green paper and has rectangular top corner supports. The back panel has beveled edges and a groove along the bottom long edge where the typewriter base would be inserted. The exterior edges are worn., a. Black square-shaped metal typewriter with a keyboard of circular white letters, numbers, and symbol keys. It has a black cartridge and ribbon. There is a black cylindrical tube horizontally attached to the top with gold painted English text. b. Rectangular wooden typewriter cover with adhered green, coated cloth, made to resemble leather, that slopes downward from the back ot the front. On the front center, a green treated cloth covered plastic handle is attached by loop rings to metal plates. Below is a lock plate with a keyhole and a latch which would insert into a platform on which the typewriter sits. On the back upright side are rounded metal feet. The interior is lined with textured green paper and has rectangular top corner supports. The back panel has beveled edges and a groove along the bottom long edge where the typewriter base would be inserted. The exterior edges are worn.
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