Eberhard Koebel

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Eberhard Koebel, "tusk"

Eberhard Koebel (before 1934 Köbel), known in the youth movement by his journey name tusk ("the German") (born June 22, 1907 in Stuttgart ; † August 31, 1955 in Berlin ) was a German author and founder of the Deutsche Jungenschaft from 1 November 1929 (dj.1.11).

The Jungenschaft was a federation of the youth movement that split off from the German Freischar . Koebel wanted to break new ground with the youngsters. On the one hand, he formed its own style for the youth community, on the other hand, the youth community could not deny its origins in the youth movement. Overall, the charismatic Koebel shaped both style and forms as well as content. He composed several travel songs , including Spring over my home . He developed the Kohte and the boys' jacket . Through his influence, the young people dealt intensively with Asian philosophy ( Zen Buddhism ), which became clear in the publication Die Heldenfibel and the monthly booklets Die Kiefer . After 1933, these ideas inspired groups of young people in illegality.

Life

Coming from a middle-class family, Koebel was from 1922 a member of the Deutsch-Wandervogel, a German national Wandervogel association , which had split off from the Alt-Wandervogel in 1921 . Influenced by his parents' house and the Deutsch-Wandervogel, he was an admirer of Adolf Hitler , whom he visited in Munich in 1925. When his political attitude later changed, he described himself as a "fascist in reserve" in this earlier phase of life. From 1926 to 1929 Koebel studied at the Department of Graphics and Book Art at the Stuttgart School of Applied Arts, which was headed by FH Ernst Schneidler . His fellow students included HAP Grieshaber , Fritz Stelzer , Erich Mönch and Walter Renz . In 1932 he joined the Communist Party of Germany and asked the older relatives of dj.1.11 to follow him. In the spring of 1933 he left the KPD again and tried in vain to get a leading position in the Hitler Youth . The Gestapo arrested him in early 1934 for "communist decomposition", since the Reich Youth Leadership saw Koebel's journalistic activities as a danger to the Hitler Youth. He made two attempts to commit suicide and was eventually released from custody after a makeshift recovery. In June 1934 he emigrated to England via Sweden . From here Koebel kept in contact with illegal youth groups in the German Reich until they broke off in 1937, triggered by a wave of arrests.

From 1928 Koebel worked as an author and magazine editor. His texts were published by both Voggenreiter-Verlag and Günther Wolff , the two most important publishers of the Bundestag youth . For a short time Koebel had his own company for his publications, Lasso-Verlag and Atlantis-Verlag , which he had to give up in September 1932 due to a lack of economic success - caused by his communist involvement. The magazine Das Lagerfeuer , which appeared there as a supplement to the "pathfinder", was discontinued and, from October 1932, the publisher Günther Wolff published the icebreaker in its place . Although Koebel only officially signed as publisher for a few issues, he had a decisive influence on the content and style of the magazine. Among other things, he developed the tents typical of the youth movement to this day .

In Great Britain Koebel initially adhered to his departure from communism in 1933, but from 1938 onwards, when his contacts with Germany had broken off, he tried to reconnect with the exiled KPD. In 1940 he called on former members of the Bündische Jugend from London to join the Free German Youth (FDJ); It is not known whether Koebel himself became a member of the FDJ. From the beginning of 1944 he worked intensively in the Free Germany Movement , whereupon he was co-opted into the management of the FDB for the youth work department in May 1944 and elected to the executive branch of the FDB in February. In autumn 1945 he took part as a representative of the Bündische Jugend as a guest delegate at the founding conference of the World Federation of Democratic Youth in London.

After the war he did everything to return to Germany very soon, but this was stopped by anti-communist British personalities and institutions who feared his influence on the youth. In August 1948 Koebel was able to return to Germany, to what was then the Soviet occupation zone . The Socialist Unity Party of Germany , however, did not allow him to work in youth work again, and from then on he worked as a freelance writer after a temporary position on the radio. His book about the "war criminal group" AEG was only able to appear abridged after his death. He was expelled from the SED in 1951 because of his alleged activity as an agent and his behavior from 1933 until the war years, which was unclear for the SED. On March 31, 1990, he was rehabilitated by the Central Arbitration Commission of the Democratic Socialism Party .

Publications

  • AEG: energy, profit, crime . Edited by Peter Hess. Verlag die Wirtschaft, Berlin, 1958 (posthumously).
  • Collected writings and seals . Edited by Werner Helwig. Publishing house of the youth movement , Heidenheim an der Brenz, 1962. / 2., revised edition, ed. by Fritz Schmidt, 1996.
  • Eberhard Koebel-tusk: Works . 12 vols., Ed. Arno Klönne , Jürgen Reulecke , Eckard Holler, Fritz Schmidt et al., Achims Verlag Edermünde 2002-2005.
  • I see swans flying northwards , Ed. And with a biographical appendix by Erich Meier (1925-2004), Südmarkverlag Fritsch, Heidenheim an d. Brenz, 1977, ISBN 3-88258-036-4 .

literature

  • Werner Helwig : The blue flower of the wandering bird . About the rise, splendor and purpose of a youth movement. Revised new edition with a picture attachment, editor: Walter Sauer . Deutscher Spurbuchverlag, Baunach 1998, ISBN 3-88778-208-9 .
  • Werner Helwig:  Koebel, Eberhard. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-428-00193-1 , p. 288 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Fritz Schmidt (Hrsg.): Tusk: attempts via Eberhard Koebel . Südmarkverlag Michael Fritz, Witzenhausen 1994, ISBN 3-88258-125-5 .
  • Fritz Schmidt: A man between two worlds. Eberhard Koebel's political development, his first years in emigration and its effect on illegal dj.1.11. Verlag Achim Freudenstein, Edermünde 1997, ISBN 3-932435-28-1 .
  • Fritz Schmidt: dj.1.11 trilogy. Contains among other things: The dust eater festival. Foundation of dj.1.11 and the first year of the federal government. Achims Verlag, Edermünde 2005 (2nd edition), ISBN 3-932435-15-X .
  • Fritz Schmidt: around tusk and dj.1.11. 75 years of the German Youth Association from November 1, 1929. Achims Verlag, Edermünde 2006, ISBN 3-932435-16-8 .
  • Fritz Schmidt: Not a Trojan! Eberhard Koebel in a critical time. In: The ring is closed, the evening wind blows. vvb, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-942476-07-2 .

Web links

Wikiquote: Eberhard Koebel  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fritz Schmidt (ed.): Tusk: attempts via Eberhard Koebel . Südmarkverlag Michael Fritz, Witzenhausen 1994, ISBN 3-88258-125-5 , p. 215 .
  2. ↑ dadarish: 75 years of Kohte - it started with the free charlie lily ( memento of February 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). In: Freischar.de (PDF; 187 kB; about Koebel's contributions to tents in magazines).
  3. ^ Wording of the appeal in Alfred Fleischhacker (ed.): That was our life. Memories and documents on the history of the FDJ in Great Britain 1939–1946. Verlag Neues Leben , Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-355-01475-3 , p. 241.
  4. ^ Fritz Schmidt: Tusk. Trials via Eberhard Koebel . P. 156ff.
personal data
SURNAME Koebel, Eberhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Köbel, Eberhard; tusk
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German author, founder of the Jungschaft
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH August 31, 1955
Place of death Berlin