The Self-immolation of Oskar Bruesewitz Compared to Other Suicides Committed as a Political Protest

by Malgorzata Czabanska-Rosada, Adam Czabanski

Overview

This book studies the phenomenon of altruistic suicide which was a form of political protest. The authors investigate the self-immolation of German pastor Oskar Brüsewitz and compare it with other politically motivated suicides. They portray both life and pastoral activity of Brüsewitz and analyse the motives of his suicide. Furthermore, they evaluate the judgement of this tragic event by confreres in faith and other witnesses. Besides the thorough analysis of Oskar Brüsewitz’s case, the book inspects the genesis of self-immolation and locates it in the tradition of Buddhism and Hinduism. It depicts cases of self-immolations in Vietnam, the USA, India, Tibet, China, Iran, and particularly in Middle-Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia, Poland and Lithuania). The analysis also covers cases of self-immolations that occurred during the Arab Spring (2011–2012) and in Bulgaria in 2013.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783631674215
Publisher:	Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Publication date:	01/31/2018
Pages:	150
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Adam Czabański is a Professor and Head of the Health Sociology and Social Pathologies Unit at the Department of Social Sciences at the Karol Marcinkowski Medical University in Poznań. His research interests focus on phenomena connected with sociology of health, sociology of medicine and social pathologies.

Małgorzata Czabańska-Rosada is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Humanities of the Jacob of Paradyż Academy in Gorzów Wielkopolski. She conducts multi-faceted studies of literary, magazine-writing and documentary artefacts made in the areas of the German-Polish border. Her academic interests include the phenomenon of the outsider in the broad area of socio-cultural research.

Table of Contents

Altruistic suicide as a political protest – Self-immolation – Common form of an altruistic suicide – Political protest – Traditions of Asia, of Buddhism and Hinduism, in Vietnam and in the USA during the Vietnam War – Central and Eastern Europe – Self-immolation of Oskar Brüsewitz – Analysis of a Phenomenon – Followers