Alfred Gerngroß
Alfred "Max" Gerngroß (born February 4, 1896 in Suhl , † October 6, 1944 in Saalfeld ) was a union member of the resistance fighter against fascism and died of serious injuries in the Gestapo prison
Life
He was born as the sixth child in the family of the trader Andreas Gerngroß and his wife Margarete Luise nee König. Even as a child, he had to help secure the family's livelihood through auxiliary work and then grew up in a foreign family. After attending elementary school, he learned the profession of gun polisher . During his apprenticeship he was one of the founders of the socialist working-class youth . He was drafted into the First World War as an army soldier and received the Iron Cross, Second Class, and the Front Fighter Cross of Honor for his service . He became a British prisoner of war and after his return in 1919 worked for the CG Haenel company as a mechanic , later as a special and barrel drill. In 1927 he became a member of the German Metalworkers' Association (DMV). He sympathized with the KPD , even if he did not become a member of this party. Since 1933 he belonged to the resistance groups at Haenel and in the " Friedberg Group ". Between 20 and 60 people belonged to his resistance group. Since 1939 he and his comrades wanted to help end the war more quickly, punish those guilty of war, and expropriate the Haenel armaments factory, particularly through armaments sabotage and the influence of the “work slowly movement” . They discussed the political and military situation with his work colleagues Max Jobst , Franz Bauer , Ewald and Otto Becher , Paul Will , Franz Günzler , Max Klein and Armin Siebelist . Since 1941 they tried to include the Soviet forced laborers in the resistance movement. Solidarity contacts were also established in this sense with other Suhl companies : with the workers of the Gustloff works and JP Sauer & Sohn . Soviet workers who joined were betrayed by the management to the Gestapo as "troublemakers" . Max even invited Russians to his home on the weekends, where they discussed the course of the war. On September 3, 1943, Gerngroß was provisionally arrested and taken to the Ichtershausen state prison . The actual arrest warrant was not issued until March 21, 1944 , and he and seven of his comrades were charged before the People's Court in Rudolstadt by the senior Reich attorney Albert Weyersberg of favoring the enemy , of high treason and of degrading military strength . On October 6, 1944, he died in Saalfeld from serious injuries inflicted on him while in custody.
Since 1925 "Max" Gerngroß was married to Martha Marie and had two sons with her.
memory
- A memorial stone on the Lupinenweg of the Friedbergsiedlung von Suhl to six executed anti-fascists also reminds of Alfred Gerngroß.
literature
- Gerd Kaiser (Ed.): Upright and strong, therein: Dagmar Schmidt, memories of Alfred "Max" Gerngroß, p. 39ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Memorials for the Victims of National Socialism II, p. 885
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | With pleasure, Alfred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gladly, Max |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German resistance fighters against National Socialism |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 4, 1896 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Suhl |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 6, 1944 |
| Place of death | Saalfeld |