Paul Gollmer
Paul Gollmer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 24, 1886 Bad Cannstadt, Stuttgart, Germany |
| Declared | 1910 |
| Died | September 9, 1961 |
| NSA member | Germany & Austria 1922 - 1936 1946 - 1951 |
Paul Gollmer (September 24, 1886 - September 9, 1961) was a German Bahá’í who helped establish Bahá’í Administration in Germany.
Biography[edit]
Gollmer was born in Stuttgart in 1886. His father passed away in 1892 and he was raised by his mother as a strong Christian. He began working fulltime as a joiner in Konigsfeld when he was fourteen but lost several fingers in a workplace accident. He then returned to Stuttgart and began working for the Allianz insurance company.[1]
In 1910 Gollmer first heard of the Bahá’í Faith and accepted the religion, officially registering as a Bahá’í when the German community formalized itself in 1912 and assisting with the management of a Bahá’í publishing house, becoming its head in 1928. He met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when He visited Stuttgart in 1913 and later received a Tablet from Him in 1919.[1]
Gollmer served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria after it was established in 1922 and also the Local Spiritual Assembly of Stuttgart. In 1936 he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and met Shoghi Effendi. Later that year the Nazi government of Germany outlawed the Bahá’í Faith and Gollmer kept Bahá’í literature hidden from the Gestapo to ensure that it wasn't destroyed. Throughout the Second World War he maintained contact with Bahá’ís across Germany while they were forbidden from holding meetings. At the end of the Second World War he secured permission from the new authorities in Germany to resume holding Bahá’í meetings and hosted a gathering in his home in 1945.[1]
After the end of the Second World War Gollmer held public meetings to proclaim the Bahá’í Faith and traveled across the country of Germany to visit isolated Bahá’ís.[1] His wife, Martha, passed away in 1960 and he passed away in 1961.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 934. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 933. View as PDF.
