Aurel Billstein
Aurel Billstein (born August 29, 1901 in Krefeld ; † February 12, 1996 there ) was a German politician ( KPD ).
Life
Aurel Billstein was the son of Wilhelm Billstein and his wife Paula (née Rothe). He had an older sister (Josefine) and a younger brother (Wilhelm). The father worked as a packer and newspaper delivery man. His mother Paula was a city councilor for the Communists (KPD) from 1924 to 1933 . Aurel came into contact with the workers' movement in Krefeld at an early age . Aurel Billstein, now a trained locksmith and member of the German Metalworkers' Association (DMV) since 1919 , was also involved in local politics.
This came to an abrupt end in 1933 when the National Socialists seized power . In order to secure their newly won power, they gradually eliminated all political opponents, above all the communists. Aurel Billstein was arrested and taken to the Sonnenburg concentration camp.
Shortly after his release, Billstein resumed his now forbidden activity for the KPD, but the organization was exposed by a spy . In a show trial in 1934 , Billstein was sentenced to seven years in prison. While in detention, he kept in touch with his family through letters. Paula Billstein tried to encourage her son, which aroused the censor's displeasure and led to her arrest. They were held in the women's concentration camps in Moringen and Lichtenburg and died a few days after their release.
Towards the end of the war , Aurel Billstein was drafted into Penal Division 999 . He was taken prisoner by the Soviets . Returning to Krefeld in 1947, he immediately became involved again for the KPD and was for this party from 1948 to 1952 in the council of the city of Krefeld. After the party was banned in 1956, he concentrated his political work on the union and IG Metall . He was particularly interested in the unity of the labor movement and cooperation with all who were ready to oppose right-wing extremism . He especially wanted to warn the youth against fascism .
When Aurel Billstein retired, he found a new task in dealing with the history of National Socialism in Krefeld. He was the first to evaluate the files of the Krefeld Gestapo . A series of educational pamphlets appeared. For years he campaigned for a memorial for the victims of National Socialism. The successes of this work, including the memorial with the names of the victims of political persecution in the main cemetery on Heideckstrasse, he was able to personally inspect. Aurel Billstein's work was to be continued by the city archive and the NS documentation center of the city of Krefeld.
Aurel Billstein died on February 12, 1996.
Awards
Aurel Billstein received the city seal of the city of Krefeld in 1986 for his services to coming to terms with the Nazi era, and in 1990 he became an honorary citizen of his hometown. In 1991 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class. At the funeral service after his death in 1996, the then mayor of Krefeld , Dieter Pützhofen, and the former mayor, Willi Wahl, each gave a speech. The “Paula-Billstein-Straße” near the main train station and the “Fabrik Heeder” cultural center and the series of publications by the NS Documentation Center, the “Edition Billstein” commemorate the Billstein family.
IG Metall organized a commemoration for his 100th birthday in the museum barn in Krefeld-Linn. The journalist Eckhart Spoo spoke “On the topicality of a century of life”.
Individual evidence
- ↑ villamerlaender.de: VI_2016 | Paula Billstein | Ritterstrasse 189 , accessed on June 17, 2017
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Billstein, Aurel |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German politician (KPD) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 29, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Krefeld |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 12, 1996 |
| Place of death | Krefeld |