Nikolaus Ehlen

Nikolaus Ehlen (born 9 December 1886 in Graach an der Mosel, died 8 October 1965 in Velbert) was a German pacifist teacher. He was a Catholic pioneer of the Selbsthilfe-Siedlungsbau, which was a movement to help workers get their own home.

Life

Nikolaus Ehlen was born as the son of a wine-grower in Graach an der Mosel near Bernkastel. Already in his youth he felt the urge to become a priest, and after his Abitur he enrolled in the Priestergymnasium (institute of higher education for people wishing to become a priest) in Trier. After two semesters of studying theology, he changed his plans and enrolled at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster in physics, chemistry, mathematics and philosophy. He was a student of Joseph Geyser. He completed his PhD in philosophy and natural sciences in 1914.

Family

He had eight children (Maria, Ludwig, Ruth, Norbert, Elisabeth, Johannes, Genoveva (Veva) and Nikolaus) from his marriage to Maria Stummel; His former high school is now named after him.