Biography
Pastor Alfred Rudolf Kleindienst, son of Leopold Kleindienst & Ottilie Ida Häusler, was born 4 November 1893 in Luzk, Volhynia (today in Ukraine). He studied at the seminary in Dorpat from 1912-1916 and was ordained on 17 April 1918 in Moscow. He served congregations in Stephan (1917-1918), in Galka (1918-1921), and in Luzk, Volhynia (1921-1939). He was married to Marie Hoffmann (1894-1969).
At the end of World War II, the Polish government alleged that Pastor Kleindienst was a war criminal, and he was arrested on 3 September 1945 by the Americans and turned over to the Polish government who imprisoned him in Lodz along with approximately 5,000 other pastors and priests. He was exonerated on 21 May 1948 following almost 3 years in prison.
He and his family settled in Augsburg (Bavaria, Germany) where he died on 23 November 1978.
At the end of World War II, the Polish government alleged that Pastor Kleindienst was a war criminal, and he was arrested on 3 September 1945 by the Americans and turned over to the Polish government who imprisoned him in Lodz along with approximately 5,000 other pastors and priests. He was exonerated on 21 May 1948 following almost 3 years in prison.
He and his family settled in Augsburg (Bavaria, Germany) where he died on 23 November 1978.
Photo
Sources
- Schnurr, Joseph, Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen - Evangelischer Teil (Stuttgart: Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland, 1978): 150.
- Weise, Christian. "Alfred Kleindienst." Biographisch-bibliographische
- Weise, Christian. "Alfred Kleindienst." Biographisch-bibliographische