Verein Oberlinhaus

Verein Oberlinhaus (commonly known as Oberlinhaus) is a German diaconal voluntary association headquartered in Potsdam-Babelsberg. It is an independent provider of specialized services in the areas of participation (Teilhabe), health, education and work. The organization is named after the Alsatian social reformer Pastor Johann Friedrich Oberlin (1740–1826). The association was founded in 1871 in Berlin as the Oberlinverein, with the driving force being Adolph von Bissing auf Beerberg, a Silesian nobleman who had long advocated for a "Christian Kleinkinderschule" (a kind of kindergarten or preschool). The primary goal of the association was to organize and promote the care and education of small children. In 1874, the Oberlinverein opened a Kleinkinderschule with a seminar for training kindergarten teachers in what was then Nowawes (today part of Babelsberg). Over the decades, the Oberlinhaus grew into a comprehensive diaconal institution. It became a Diakonissen-Mutterhaus (deaconess mother house) in 1879, opened the Oberlinkirche in 1905, and expanded its work with people with disabilities starting in 1886. It established a hospital, a home for the physically disabled, a school for the deaf-blind, and vocational training workshops. The organization developed an innovative concept of complex rehabilitation that was awarded a gold medal at the 1900 Paris World Exposition. Today, Oberlinhaus operates through more than 14 companies (Gesellschaften) with over 2,100 employees at locations in Potsdam, Michendorf, Bad Belzig, Kleinmachnow, Werder (Havel), Berlin and Wolfsburg. Its services include kindergartens, schools, a vocational training center (Berufsbildungswerk), an orthopedic specialist clinic, a rehabilitation clinic, a rehabilitation center, residential homes, workshops, and other facilities. The organization serves people of all ages with disabilities including intellectual, physical and multiple disabilities, hearing and visual impairments, and autism. Its mission is to strengthen self-determination and participation opportunities through counseling, support, promotion and residential services. The Oberlinhaus is a member of the Diakonisches Werk Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz e. V. It is an "altrechtlicher Verein" (a voluntary association founded before the German Civil Code came into force) and pursues exclusively church-diaconal, charitable purposes. Its affairs are managed by a full-time executive board (Vorstand) consisting of two persons: a theological board member and a commercial board member. The Oberlinstiftung (Oberlin Foundation) was founded in 2002 to support the Oberlinhaus in its tasks, services and projects.

The Oberlinhaus was founded in 1871 in Berlin as the Oberlinverein. It was named after the Alsatian social reformer Pastor Johann Friedrich Oberlin (1740–1826). The driving force behind its founding was Adolph von Bissing auf Beerberg, a Silesian nobleman who had for years campaigned for a "Christian Kleinkinderschule" (a kind of kindergarten or preschool) and had himself operated one. The essential goal of the association was to organize and promote the care and education of small children. In 1874, the Oberlinverein opened a Kleinkinderschule with a seminar for training kindergarten teachers in what was then Nowawes (today part of Babelsberg). The Kleinkinderschule was soon combined with community care. The communities needed deaconesses, so in 1879 the Oberlinhaus became a Diakonissen-Mutterhaus (deaconess mother house). On 12 January 1905, the Oberlinkirche was ceremonially consecrated on the grounds. Empress Auguste Viktoria attended the ceremony and donated not only a bell but also money and an altar Bible with a dedication. In 1878, the newly built Diakonissen-Mutterhaus opened, in which a polyclinic began operating in 1881, a children's nursery in 1883, and a first hospital ward in 1888. Theodor Hoppe became the first head (Vorsteher). In 1886, work with people with disabilities began at the Oberlinhaus. With the help of donations, the Oberlinverein was able to open the first hospital in Nowawes with 45 beds on its own property on 20 October 1890. In 1894 followed the first German Vollkrüppelheim (home for the physically disabled), supplemented in 1899 by a Krüppelschulhaus (school for crippled children), in 1906 the Taubstummblindenheim (home for the deaf-blind) and workshops for disability-appropriate vocational training, and in 1910 the Oberlin-Kreiskrankenhaus (district hospital). The first deaf-blind child at the Oberlinhaus was Hertha Schulz in January 1887, who from 1891 was taught by the royal deaf-mute senior teacher Gustav Riemann. In the first 40 years of its existence, the overall Oberlinhaus work grew very quickly. Ever new tasks were accepted and mastered. Even before the turn of the century, the then house leadership (Oberin Thusnelda von Saldern and Pastor Theodor Hoppe) developed a substantive foundation for further work at the Oberlinhaus. They developed the concept of a complex rehabilitation that holistically oriented the medical, pedagogical, vocational and social tasks on a spiritual basis to the needs of the individual. This concept, innovative and pioneering at the time, was awarded a gold medal at the Paris World Exposition in 1900. Within the Deutsche Vereinigung für Krüppelpflege e. V., the Oberlinhaus played a major role in the creation of the first Krüppelfürsorgegesetz (law on the care of cripples), which was enacted in 1920. For the work in the institutions, this law was of decisive importance. From then on, the care of the disabled was no longer a charitable act but a mandatory service of society and the state. It thus formed the foundation of today's rehabilitation laws. In the 1930s, there was again an expansion of tasks and, associated with it, structural extensions. In 1945, the Oberlinhaus was hit by heavy aerial bombs. The north wing of the deaf-blind home was completely destroyed, the old craftsmen's house almost completely, the new craftsmen's house partially destroyed. The church, mother house and clinic were severely affected by nearby bomb impacts. Overall, the Oberlinhaus had to mourn the death of two deaf-blind residents who were killed by the debris of the deaf-blind home. As a consequence of the war, from January 1945 the Oberlinhaus took on refugee care. Many external stations of the Oberlinhaus had to be evacuated, and so many sisters and the children, sick and elderly entrusted to them found initial refuge in the Oberlinhaus. After the air raids, the employees and sisters set about reconstruction and the establishment of temporary arrangements. They maintained operations and care. In the subsequent period, especially many war wounded were cared for in the clinic. In 1945, the statistics counted 788 patients, in 1948 even 923 patients with a capacity of 305 beds. It is thanks to the protecting hand of the National Socialist provincial governor Dietloff von Arnim that the Oberlinhaus was spared persecution and harassment during the Nazi era. Herr von Arnim was chairman of the central board until his death in 1945. Some houses were completely destroyed; church, mother house and clinic were severely affected by nearby bomb impacts. In the following period, the work continued in the DDR and after reunification until today. The Oberlinhaus celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2021, and the annual report for that year was titled "Vertrauen stärken" (Strengthening Trust).

• 2021

  150th anniversary celebrated; annual report titled "Vertrauen stärken".

• 2002

  Oberlinstiftung (Oberlin Foundation) founded.

• 1945

  Oberlinhaus hit by heavy aerial bombs; refugee care taken on from January.

• 1920

  First Krüppelfürsorgegesetz (law on the care of cripples) enacted; Oberlinhaus played a major role in its creation.

• 1910

  Oberlin-Kreiskrankenhaus (district hospital) established.

• 1906

  Taubstummblindenheim (home for the deaf-blind) and workshops for disability-appropriate vocational training established.

• 1905

  Oberlinkirche consecrated on 12 January; Empress Auguste Viktoria attended.

• 1900

  Concept of complex rehabilitation awarded a gold medal at the Paris World Exposition.

• 1899

  Krüppelschulhaus (school for crippled children) added.

• 1894

  First German Vollkrüppelheim (home for the physically disabled) established.

• 1890

  First hospital in Nowawes with 45 beds opened on 20 October.

• 1888

  First hospital ward began operating.

• 1887

  First deaf-blind child, Hertha Schulz, admitted in January.

• 1886

  Work with people with disabilities began at the Oberlinhaus.

• 1883

  Children's nursery began operating.

• 1881

  Polyclinic began operating.

• 1879

  Oberlinhaus became a Diakonissen-Mutterhaus (deaconess mother house).

• 1878

  Newly built Diakonissen-Mutterhaus opened.

• 1874

  Kleinkinderschule with a seminar for training kindergarten teachers opened in Nowawes (today Babelsberg).

• 1871

  Oberlinverein founded in Berlin, named after Johann Friedrich Oberlin.

Diaconal competence center for participation, health, education and work in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, rooted in Christian faith and providing specialized services for people with disabilities.

• Oberlinklinik (orthopedic specialist clinic)

• Rehaklinik (rehabilitation clinic)

• Rehazentrum (rehabilitation center)

• Berufsbildungswerk (vocational training center)

• Oberlinschule

• Kindergartens (Kindertagesstätten)

• Residential homes (Wohnstätten)

• Workshops (Werkstätten)

• Oberlin Krippen (ceramic nativity figures)

1. 1Menschen bilden. begleiten. behandeln.oberlinhaus.de
2. 2Geschichteoberlinhaus.de
3. 3Über unsoberlinhaus.de
4. 4Ehrenamtoberlinhaus.de
5. 5Verein Oberlinhauswikidata.org
6. 6Verein Oberlinhausde.wikipedia.org