Anton Brunner (resistance fighter)
Anton Brunner (born May 29, 1923 in Emmersdorf an der Donau , Lower Austria ; † August 4, 1999 in Furth near Göttweig ) was an Austrian clergyman and resistance fighter in the Third Reich.
Life
Brunner first attended the Stiftsgymnasium Melk , which was closed in 1938. After Austria's annexation to the German Reich, at the age of 15, he wrote leaflets in which he urged people not to “forget their faith” and threw them off the train. He was therefore arrested in Krems in May 1938 and spent his 16th birthday in prison. In 1940 he was banned from all schools in the Reichsgau Niederdonau . Thereupon he received private lessons in St. Pölten and in this connection came into contact with cathedral chaplain Franz König .
Brunner was later able to continue his secondary school studies in Vienna , where a resistance group again formed in his class. The pupils distribute leaflets with the inscription: "How long do you want to invade foreign countries?" On January 19, 1942, two of his classmates were arrested, and the next day he himself. On August 28, 1942, he was sentenced to death for “favoring the enemy” and “preparing for high treason”. He was then put on death row for seven months and the firing squad came twice a week.
On March 15, 1943, he was pardoned and his sentence reduced to five years in prison. He was taken to the Kaiserebersdorf youth prison . In 1944 he was transferred to a Wehrmacht penal company . After being taken prisoner in France, he returned home in 1946. In 1950 he was ordained a priest . 1956 to 1987 he took over the care of the prisoners in the prison Stein , then he was pastor of Imbach until 1995 .
Honors
- Decoration of honor for services to the liberation of Austria 1979
- Appointed Chaplain to His Holiness in 1979
- Awarded the title Real Councilor in 1982
- Great Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria (1952) 1985
- Silver market coat of arms of the community of Furth near Göttweig 1996
Web links
- In prison for Austria at the age of 15 , parish gazette of the Paudorf-Göttweig community
- Memorial plaque for Msgr. Anton Brunner
- Kaiserebersdorf ( Memento from December 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), documentation archive of the Austrian resistance
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Brunner, Anton |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian clergyman and resistance fighter |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1923 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Emmersdorf on the Danube |
DATE OF DEATH | August 4, 1999 |
Place of death | Furth near Göttweig |