Robert Krengel

Robert Krengel (1884–1916) came from Wesel in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. After attending the Catholic teacher-training institute in Bautzen, he taught at the 6th Catholic District School (6. katholische Bezirksschule) at Wittenberger Straße 88 in Dresden. In his spare time, he was choirmaster of the Striesener Liedertafel, a men’s choral society. During the First World War, the Catholic schoolteacher served as a Gefreiter (a junior enlisted rank) and officer candidate in the replacement battalion of an infantry regiment.

On 10 April 1916, Krengel died aged 32 at a reserve military hospital in Bautzen from a serious lung illness. After his body had been laid out in the hospital hall, it was taken to Dresden, accompanied by an escort of honour from Bischofswerda onwards. Six days later, on 16 April, he was buried in Section F of the Neuer Katholischer Friedhof. Schoolchildren were among those attending the funeral. The funeral address was delivered by Father Franz Bodenburg of the Dresden-Striesen parish, to which Krengel had belonged.

In August 1918, the church authorities ordered a border to be placed around his grave. The grave was levelled at an unknown later date. A memorial stone at the Nikolaifriedhof in Bautzen commemorates former students of the Catholic teacher-training institute who died during the First World War, including Robert Krengel.