Emil Eckstein

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Emil Eckstein (born September 23, 1889 in Albrechts , † November 1, 1944 in Ichtershausen ) was a social democratic resistance fighter against National Socialism who died in Gestapo custody .

Life

After attending elementary school, he learned the trade of gunsmith. Later he qualified to be a gauge maker. His brother was Adolf Eckstein, who lived on Friedberg , Blumenweg 3. Because of new jobs, he moved from Suhl to Sömmerda and later to Berlin before the First World War . After the war he settled in Schmalkalden . Politically, his path led him from the SPD to the USPD to the KPD and, since 1928, back to the SPD. He was also a member of the German Metalworkers Association (DMV). During the First World War he was drafted as a reinforcement soldier in 1915, but was released again in 1916 to work for the armaments company Gebr. Kerner Am Sehmar. Since 1919 he was employed in the local administration of the DMV von Schmalkalden and was a city ​​councilor for three years with the mandate of the KPD. Since 1925 he was unemployed and earned his living for a decade as an advertiser for the newspaper “Volksstimme” in Schmalkalden. In 1936 he found a job as a training builder with Friedrich Wilhelm Heym in Suhl. Since the mid-1930s he belonged to the anti-fascist Friedberg group . They met illegally, exchanged information from Switzerland and the Allies , and discussed educational campaigns through leaflets and personal conversations. Numerous connections were also established with opponents of Hitler in Leipzig and Erfurt , such as Karl Ross and Willi Vogler . The workers in the armaments factories were encouraged to work slowly and call in sick in order to reduce arms emissions. News about the deportation and murder of fellow Jewish citizens was also obtained and distributed. On September 3, 1943, Eckstein was one of more than 50 people who were to be brought to the Suhl high treason trials in the event of a mass arrest . He was taken to the Ichtershausen state penal institution . Although he was cruelly mistreated here, he still encouraged his comrades. On October 4, 1944, Attorney General Weyersberg signed the indictment of high treason , favoring the enemy and degrading military strength against Emil Eckstein & Comrades. However, his death sentence never came back. Because he had to go through a stomach operation in 1943, he actually died of starvation on November 1, 1944 under the inhumane conditions of detention .

memory

  • His name and the names of other resistance fighters are carved on the memorial near the former settlers' restaurant on Friedberg.
  • On November 23, 2008, a stumbling stone was laid in his memory in front of his last residence at Azalienweg 5 in Suhl .

literature

  • Gerd Kaiser (Ed.), Upright and strong , therein Dagmar Schmidt with a memory of Emil Eckstein, p. 32ff.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Memorials for the Victims of National Socialism II, p. 885
personal data
SURNAME Eckstein, Emil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German resistance fighters against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH September 23, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Albrechts
DATE OF DEATH November 1, 1944
Place of death Ichtershausen