Erwin Fischer (communist)

Erwin Fischer (born August 17, 1907 in Frauendorf ; † December 8, 1942 in Berlin-Plötzensee ) was a German communist resistance fighter against National Socialism

Life

Erwin Fischer was born as one of three children in a working-class family in Stettin-Frauendorf. His father was a shipyard worker . Because the family income was very low, he already contributed as a child by delivering newspapers. At the age of 13 he lost his father, so that he now had to look after the family even more. He went to work as an unskilled laborer at the shipyard, where he was employed as a "rust beater". The events of the time - World War I , the elimination of the Russian Empire , the October Revolution and the November Revolution in Germany - aroused his interest in political changes that could overcome the misery of working people. The communist actors Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg in particular spread this hope . He got to know people of the same age who organized themselves in the Communist Youth Association (KJVD) and joined it in 1923. He took part in gatherings and demonstrations for workers' rights, which were suppressed by the reactionary law enforcement forces of the time. He was injured by a policeman in a grazing shot in 1924. In 1927 he was elected secretary in the youth association. He found his task now in leading the children from communist families as pioneers and inspiring them for the goals of a communist transformation of society. He went on hikes with them in nature and helped them to understand the social context and to work on their change. Above all, he inspired them to resist the emerging National Socialism, to stand up against militarism and to prevent a new war. That's why he was by a court for "undermining the realm resistance " to 16 months imprisonment sentenced. When he was released, he became Gauleiter Pomerania of the Communist Youth Association.

In 1931 he joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and in 1932 became a member of the Pomeranian district leadership. Because of his anti-fascist activities, his name was on the wanted list set the police. He adopted an alias , dyed his blond hair dark and has been wearing glasses ever since. In 1933 he became the courier of the Central Committee of the KPD. From the end of 1933 to 1934 he attended the International Lenin School of the Comintern in Moscow as a course student . Then he went to Amsterdam and worked as a "defender" for the AM apparatus and as an instructor for West Germany. Because of contacts with the British secret service , he was removed from this position by his party and has since worked for their solidarity service “ Red Aid ”. The Gestapo tracked him down and he was convicted of a “passport offense” and was supposed to be extradited to National Socialist Germany - but this was prevented by massive public protests. In 1937 he was interned . After the invasion of German troops, he was extradited to Germany in 1940 and imprisoned. He was sentenced to death by the People's Court in 1942 and executed with the guillotine in Plötzensee .

memory

During the GDR times, a polytechnic high school from Greifswald-Schönwalde received its name. Today it operates as the Integrated Comprehensive School "Erwin Fischer".

literature

• Erich Wiesner : I was called Ernst. Experiences and episodes from the history of the workers' youth movement , Berlin 1978, 1st edition 1956, p. 265ff.
• Erwin Fischer In: Hermann Weber , Andreas Herbst : German Communists. Biographical Handbook 1918 to 1945 . 2nd, revised and greatly expanded edition. Karl Dietz, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-320-02130-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.bundesstiftung-aufteilung.de/de/recherche/kataloge-datenbanken/biographische-datenbanken/erwin-fischer
2. ↑ https://www.fischerschule-hgw.de/erwin-fischer.html