Gertrude von Petzold

Gertrude von Petzold
Reverend; Gertrude von Petzold
	Von Petzold in 1904
Born	Gertrud von Petzold; January 9, 1876; Thorn, West Prussia, German Empire; (now Toruń, Poland)
Died	March 14, 1953 (aged 77); Bad Homburg, West Germany
Nationality	German
Alma mater	University of St Andrews; University of Edinburgh; Manchester College, Oxford; University of Tübingen (PhD)
Occupation	Minister · Lecturer

Gertrude von Petzold (9 January 1876 – 14 March 1952)[1] was a German Unitarian minister and public lecturer. She was the first woman to be appointed for church ministry in England. Petzold was also the first woman in Germany who qualified for professorship in Germanics at the University of Kiel. She taught English at the University of Frankfurt.

Early life and education

Petzold was born on 9 January 1876 in Thorn, West Prussia (now Toruń, Poland) as the daughter of an officer in the Prussian army.[1] She grew up in the Lutheran faith and was thoroughly instructed by her mother in its catechism. By the age of 18, she passed her teacher's exam in Stettin, Pomerania (now Szczecin, Poland) but felt inadequate and experienced "the burning desire to improve my intellectual culture".[2] Although Germany began to open up to higher education, she grew impatient of the limited opportunities afforded to women and instead saw Britain as "land of freedom" where she decided to pursue her higher education.[2][3]

Petzold also grew increasingly critical to the literal interpretation of Lutheranism and started to occupy herself with theological books. She then decided to devote herself entirely to the study of theology and make it her life vocation. She wrote:

Ever since I had left the normal school I had begun to doubt the traditional forms of Christianity as the catechism had taught them to us. I had especially arrived at the conclusion that many of the Biblical stories could not possibly be understood literally, as was required of us at the school. What then was true in the Bible? What was true in Christianity? What could on still believe of the so-called plan of salvation, and the essential Christian doctrines which had been so impressed upon us at the school?[2]

She first made her way to the University of St Andrews, where she studied between 1985 and 1897, and then the University of Edinburgh where graduated with a Master of Arts in 1901. The same year, she entered a three-year theological course at Manchester College, Oxford, where she became the first woman to train for church ministry in England.[4]

Career

Ministry in Leicester

In order to pursue her vocation, Petzold needed a church sufficiently liberal to accept a woman as minister. This role was fulfilled by the Unitarian Narborough Road Free Christian Church in Leicester which decided to rise above the convention and invited her unanimously – in competition with several male candidates – to the pulpit.[5][3] Her induction took place on 29 September 1904, making her the first woman minister in England.

In 1907, Petzold was the only European woman delegate to attend the Fourth International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston.[2][3]

Experience in America

Petzold left Leicester and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1908.

Return to Germany

Shortly after the start of the First World War in 1914, Petzold had to return to Germany since her application to obtain British citizenship had lapsed and emigration to the USA was not possible.[1][3]

In 1941, she qualified through the writing of a Habilitation for the possibility of gaining a professorship at the University of Kiel in Germanics – being the first woman to achieve this in Germany. However, she never received the call to professorship for several reasons: At the age of 65 she was considered too old and did not have close ties to the NSDAP which made it impossible to take a professorship for her. The Second World War might have also led to little funding being available to the Humanities as all resources were allocated in the war.[1]

Death

Petzold survived the war and died on 14 March 1952 in Bad Homburg, West Germany.[1]

Publications

Saviour Figures in Modern German Literature (1917)
The Influence of Nietzsche on the Intellectual and Spiritual Development of John Davidson (1928)
Nietzsche in English and American Estimation up to 1918 (1929)
Harriet Martineau – Her Moral and Religious Attitudes (1941)

References

Bernet, Claus (29 January 2015). "Gertrude von Petzold (1876-1952): Quaker and First Woman Minister". Quaker Studies. 12 (1): 129–133. ISSN 1363-013X. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
Forty portraits and biographical sketches for the Fourth International Congress of Religious Liberals, held at Boston, U.S.A., September 22-28, 1907 (International Congress of Religious Liberals Boston, M. ed.). Boston, Massachusetts. 1907. p. 43. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
Gilley, Keith (23 September 2004). "Petzold, Gertrude von". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/45467. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
Holt, Raymond Vincent (1938). The Unitarian contribution to social progress in England (G. Allen & Unwin, ltd ed.). London. p. 245. In 1898, Gertrude von Petzold received an Exhibition from the College to enable her to take her degree before entering on the theological course which she took from 1901 to 1904. In 1904 she became the first woman minister in England.
Gilley, Keith (1995). "Gertrude von Petzold – The Pioneer Woman Minister". Transactions of the Unitarian Historical Society. London: Lindsey Press. 21 (1): 157. ISSN 0082-7800. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

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[Bernet-1] Bernet, Claus (29 January 2015). "Gertrude von Petzold (1876-1952): Quaker and First Woman Minister". Quaker Studies. 12 (1): 129–133. ISSN 1363-013X. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[Forty_portraits-2] Forty portraits and biographical sketches for the Fourth International Congress of Religious Liberals, held at Boston, U.S.A., September 22-28, 1907 (International Congress of Religious Liberals Boston, M. ed.). Boston, Massachusetts. 1907. p. 43. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[ODNB-3] Gilley, Keith (23 September 2004). "Petzold, Gertrude von". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/45467. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

[4] Holt, Raymond Vincent (1938). The Unitarian contribution to social progress in England (G. Allen & Unwin, ltd ed.). London. p. 245. In 1898, Gertrude von Petzold received an Exhibition from the College to enable her to take her degree before entering on the theological course which she took from 1901 to 1904. In 1904 she became the first woman minister in England.

[5] Gilley, Keith (1995). "Gertrude von Petzold – The Pioneer Woman Minister". Transactions of the Unitarian Historical Society. London: Lindsey Press. 21 (1): 157. ISSN 0082-7800. Retrieved 3 February 2021.