Elisabeth Käsemann

Elisabeth Käsemann
Elisabeth Käsemann
	Käsemann in 1974 or 1975
Born	May 11, 1947; Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Died	May 24, 1977 (aged 30); Monte Grande, Buenos Aires province, Argentina
Burial place	Tübingen, West Germany
Father	Ernst Käsemann

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

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 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 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.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Käsemann case". DW. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Biography". Elisabeth Kaesemann Stiftung. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
^ ^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.
^ ^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.
^ ^a ^b ^c Pieper, Oliver (2018-06-16). "Der tragische Fall Elisabeth Käsemann". DW (in German). Retrieved 2024-08-31.
^ 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.
^ "Welcome". Elisabeth Kaesemann Stiftung. 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2024-08-31.

[:0-1] "Käsemann case". DW. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2024-08-31.

[:1-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Biography". Elisabeth Kaesemann Stiftung. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2024-08-31.

[:2-3] "Justice at last: Judgment in the Elisabeth Käsemann case". European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. Retrieved 2024-08-31.

[:3-4] ^ ^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.

[:4-5] 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] "Welcome". Elisabeth Kaesemann Stiftung. 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2024-08-31.

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