Elisabeth Schmitz

Elisabeth Schmitz (23 August 1893 – 10 September 1977) was a German Lutheran theologian, teacher, and author of "On the Situation of German Non-Aryans", a memorandum that attempted to persuade those in the Confessing Church to stand against the persecution of Jews in 1930s Germany. She also sheltered Jews and was granted the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" in 2011 by the Commission of Yad Vashem.

Early life and education

Elisabeth Schmitz was born in Hanau, Germany, on 23 August 1893, to August and Clara Marie (née Bach) Schmitz. She had two older sisters. Her father was a teacher at the local high school (Hohe Landesschule), She attended Schillerschule in nearby Frankfurt.

Schmitz graduated in 1914 and her strong academic performance allowed her to pursue further education, first at University of Bonn and then, in 1915, at the (now-named) Humboldt University of Berlin. She studied history, German, and theology and completed a dissertation on Edwin von Manteuffel, a Prussian field marshal, in 1920. Her most significant teachers included historian Friedrich Meinecke and the liberal theologian Adolf von Harnack, and she maintained close ties with both men and their families. She was probably the first woman to be included in von Harnack's "Church History Seminar", an elite group that also included Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.