- 3 - children in reality. This enticed him to find a remedy and he made the decision to bring these starving children to the Netherlands for recuperation. This plan did however encounter great difficulties. His bishop and all pertinent authorities denied him any assistance. Pastor Greber did not allow this to divert his attention. He tackled this great endeavour all by himself and between 1915 and 1918 organised within the framework of his already established aid organisation the temporary placement of undernourished city children with German farmers to begin with and from 1916 onwards in the adjacent Netherlands. He often spent his last Dollar in order to buy the required train tickets for these children. On the 31st of March 1915, after almost 11 years as priest in Obergondershausen, Greber asked the Bishop of Trier for a sabbatical so he could accept the position as director of the "MittelrheinischNassauischen Bauernvereins". This is the reason why he went to live in Coblenz. Greber did however undertake this activity only to the 12th of July 1916, but continued to live in Coblenz. The next two years saw Greber predominantly dedicate his efforts to the aid organisation he founded. Performing this assignment taught Greber to conduct larger undertakings and to prevail against all sorts of difficulties. He had shown his willingness to make sacrifices and this in turn procured the evidence that he could master even more important assignments. These assignments came to him during the depression. When the sending of children was no longer required after the end of the war, Greber once again entered the service of the Church and took over the parish of the small municipality of Kell (Picture 2), 5km north-west of Andernach. The municipality there also respected and liked him very much. He also took on the management of the aid organisation he founded and whose office was in Coblenz. He drove there twice a week in order to attend to the welfare work that cropped up. Picture 2: Greber’s Parish Church St. Lubentius in Kell (7)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI1MzY3