Anton Brunner (resistance fighter)

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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

Memorial plaque at the consecration chapel in Emmersdorf an der Donau

Web links

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