Otto Riethmüller
| Otto Riethmüller | |
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Riethmüller's grave at the Uff-Kirchhof: Cross on the globe with the inscription of John 16:33
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| Born |
26 February 1889 Cannstatt |
| Died | 19 November 1938 (aged 49) Berlin |
| Education | University of Tübingen |
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Otto Riethmüller (26 February 1889 – 19 November 1938) was a German minister, writer, and hymnwriter. He was the president of Protestant youth organisations from 1928, published songbooks, and was a leading member of the Confessing Church. He designed the Protestant youth organization's logo, the Cross on the Globe, which is still used today.
Born in Cannstatt, Riethmüller studied theology at the University of Tübingen and was especially influenced by Adolf Schlatter. He held several offices as parish minister, including from 1919 in Esslingen am Neckar. He married Anna née von Heider (1886–1967) on 17 June 1919. The couple had two sons and a daughter.
In 1928, Riethmüler became director of the national Protestant organisation of young women (Evangelischer Reichsverband weiblicher Jugend) in the Burckhardthaus in Berlin-Dahlem, which was founded by Johannes Burckhardt in 1889.
From 1930, a yearly motto (Jahreslosung) for the church was chosen on his initiative. He selected for the first year from Romans 1:16: "Ich schäme mich des Evangeliums von Jesus Christus nicht" (I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ). He published in 1932 a songbook for young people, Ein neues Lied (A new song), with songs such as his compilation "Sonne der Gerechtigkeit", meant to wake up in the face of Nazi doctrines winning acceptance. He also translated Latin hymn such as Verbum supernum prodiens ( ("Das Wort geht von dem Vater aus") and wrote new songs including "Herr, wir stehen Hand in Hand" (Lord, we stand hand in hand), printed in the songbook Der helle Ton (The light sound) of 1934. In 1935, he became president of the section for young people (Jugendkammer) of the Bekennende Kirche. He was among the first to sign a protest to accept the Aryan paragraph for the church.
While he was president of the Evangelische Jugend (Protestant Youth), he created their logo, the Cross on the Globe, in 1935. It is still the logo of Protestant youth organisations.
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