School visit and talk in lingen

The project team provides insights into the work of the research project through workshops at Franziskusgymnasium and a talk at the Ludwig-Windthorst-Haus.

On Wednesday, 15 April, 2026, the didactics team of the research project “Asking the Pope for Help” visited a eleventh and a twelfth grade of the Franziskusgymnasium in Lingen. Together with the students, they explored the fates of two Jewish persecutees who had turned to Pope Pius XII in petitions during the Second World War. Alissa Geisler, Alexander Deeters, Emma Eixler-Deeters and Jana Haack embarked on a search for clues with the students using reconstructed files from the Vatican archives.

Photos

The workshops of the project team took place in religious education and history lessons.
The workshops of the project team took place in religious education and history lessons.
© SMNKG - Emma Eixler-Deeters
  • Students worked in groups to research the life stories of the young rabbinical candidate Martin Wachskerz.
    © SMNKG - Emma Eixler-Deeters
  • Professor Hubert Wolf spoke in the Ludwig-Windhorst-Haus before nearly 140 audience members about current research results from the project “Asking the Pope for Help”.
    © SMNKG - Jana Haack
  • Professor Hubert Wolf and Dr Barbara Schüler read from selected petitions of Jewish persecutees.
    © SMNKG - Jana Haack
  • Engaging discussion after the lecture.
    © SMNKG - Jana Haack
  • After the talk, students took the opportunity to exchange ideas directly with Professor Hubert Wolf.
    © SMNKG - Jana Haack

The workshops took place in the religious education and history classes. Initially, the students could inform themselves about the research work of the team in Münster and Rome through different films. Subsequently, they worked highly motivated and independently on the life stories of the young rabbinical candidate Martin Wachskerz and the Jewish-born Meta Sommerfeld, who converted to Catholicism, in group work. Additionally, the history class of year 12 had the opportunity to ask the project leader Professor Hubert Wolf questions about the project, his motivation, and his academic career via video conference.

In the context of a Lehrhaus evening, Professor Hubert Wolf spoke to an audience of almost 140 people at the Ludwig-Windthorst-Haus about current research findings from the project “Asking the Pope for Help”. Together with Dr Barbara Schüler, he also read from selected petitions of Jewish persecutees, providing insights into the scope for action of the persecutees and the processing of their requests behind the high walls of the Vatican.