Michaelis, Hans-Thorald

Educator, historian

Born: 23.04.1925 in Hanover

Died: 18.12.2004 in Aachen

Michaelis came to Biebrich as a child through his father, who took up a position with the Kalle company in 1932. He studied history, German studies, philosophy and Protestant theology in Frankfurt am Main, Mainz, Göttingen and Marburg, graduating in 1963 with a doctorate and initially working as a secondary school teacher.

In 1966-71, he took over the development and management of the evening grammar school in Wiesbaden. He was a member of the Wiesbaden SPD from 1965-73 and contributed to the commemorative publication for its 100th anniversary in 1967. After leaving the party, he co-founded the Wiesbaden Free Voters' Association (FWG) in 1977. From 1965-81, he was a member of the "Frankfurter Tafelrunde", a conservative discussion group of academics and business representatives. He was involved in the Protestant church for many years and campaigned for ecumenism. As a delegate, he took part in the 4th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Uppsala in 1968. In 1976, he joined the Brüderlicher Kreis, a Christian lay brotherhood with an evangelical character.

After his retirement in 1982, he devoted himself to setting up the archives of the German Shooting Association in Wiesbaden and also took over its management. He published several historical treatises on German marksmanship and organized exhibitions. As a member of the working groups of East German family researchers and for Central German family research, he wrote genealogical publications and compiled a database with entries on more than 10,000 people for the Michaelis, Böhmer/von Boehmer, von Görschen and Weitbrecht families.