Erich Krewet

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Erich Krewet (born December 5, 1900 in Barmen ; † February 13, 1970 in Mölln ) was a German communist functionary and resistance fighter against National Socialism .

In the navy and at sea

Since 1916 Erich Krewet went to sea as a marine . In 1918 he was one of the sailors who instigated the Kiel sailors' uprising and thus contributed to the end of the German Empire . In 1920 Krewet joined the USPD and later the KPD in Barmen . From 1919 he continued to sail and rarely returned to his hometown.

Krewet worked his way up to a boatman and at the same time was actively involved as a communist functionary. From 1931 he lived in Hamburg , was political director of the shipping cell of the KPD and was active in the local Interclub . In April 1933 he was arrested and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison for "high treason" . After his release he first returned to Wuppertal , but then went to Antwerp , where he was hired on a ship to Brazil . In December 1935, however, he left the ship after the head of the NSDAP group on board wanted to have him forcibly brought to Germany. He got hired on a Norwegian ship and traveled to the USA .

In the USA

Despite successful actions - such as an effective disruption of a congress by German-American National Socialists in Buffalo - Krewet was sidelined in the USA within the communist movement because he did not spare criticism of the structures in the party there. Finally, he separated from the KP and became active in the German-American Cultural Association (DAKV). Honorary president of this association was Thomas Mann , his aim was the fight against National Socialism in the USA. Krewet cooperated with the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League . On his initiative, the Maritime Union of Pacific (MUOP), a seafarers and dock workers union, called in August 1937 a half-hour general strike against the suppression of the German unions and for solidarity with workers in Spain . Together with the MUOP, the DAKV succeeded in having the German consul general in San Francisco , Manfred von Killinger , who was considered one of the masterminds behind the murder of Matthias Erzberger .

In 1939 Erich Krewet was arrested for his political activities, and in 1941 interned as an "enemy alien" . In 1942 he was released on condition that he did not settle near the coast; In the following years he got by with various jobs. In 1956 he returned to Germany, where he died in 1972 without his political achievements being recognized.

The exile researcher Prof. Marta Mierendorff characterized Krewet as “ a very important, previously suppressed personality of exile [...] who literally turned his head out. "

References and comments

  1. ↑ The Interclubs (International Seafarers' Club) were institutions of the Communist International , which served as a contact point for seafarers, and also operated the political and trade union organization. As a result, the level of organization among seafarers was particularly high.
  2. ↑ Quoted from: Dieter Nelles: "That we hold our heads high, even if it should be cut off" - Wuppertal sailors in the resistance ". In: “… We don't get broken.” Faces of the Wuppertal resistance. Edited by the Wuppertal Resistance Research Group. Essen 1995, p. 168

literature

  • Dieter Nelles: "That we hold our heads high, even if it should be cut off" - Wuppertal sailors in the resistance ". In: “… We don't get broken.” Faces of the Wuppertal resistance. Edited by the Wuppertal Resistance Research Group. Essen 1995. pp. 159-179 online
  • Biographical handbook of German-speaking emigration after 1933. Volume 1, Saur, Munich 1980
personal data
SURNAME Krewet, Erich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH 5th December 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Barmen
DATE OF DEATH February 13, 1970
Place of death Mölln