Eugen Herman-Friede

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Eugen Herman-Friede (born April 23, 1926 in Berlin ; † October 6, 2018 ) was a German anti-fascist resistance fighter, best known for his autobiographical writings.

Life

Eugen Herman grew up on Mehringdamm. His Jewish parents separated early, and his mother married the non-Jew Julius Friede. It was only after starting school that he found out that he was a Jew and experienced growing discrimination and marginalization. At the beginning of 1943 the protection of the non-Jewish stepfather was no longer sufficient. Until the end of the war he was hidden with friends, relatives and acquaintances in Berlin and especially with Hans Winkler in Luckenwalde . Here he joined the resistance group called Community for Peace and Construction, founded by Jews and "Aryans" . He copied and distributed leaflets and helped to find shelter and false papers for the persecuted.

After the war he joined the KPD, became a member of the SED after the forced unification of the SPD and KPD , attended party schools, studied and became a journalist with the Märkische Volksstimme in Potsdam. In the late summer of 1948 he was arrested because of a family involvement in "economic crimes". After his release in early 1949, he went to West Berlin. In 1953 he moved to Canada with his family and opened the first German restaurant in Toronto. After three years he returned to Germany, where he worked in the clothing industry and for a chemical company.

In submerged! As a submarine in the resistance , the Holocaust survivor described his experiences.

In 2017 the film The Invisible - We Want to Live , in which he can be seen in interview excerpts, was released. As a young man he is portrayed by Aaron Altaras .

Fonts

  • No time for jumps for joy. Memories of illegality and rebellion 1942–1948 , 5th edition Metropol, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-926893-11-7 (first edition 1991).
  • Submerged! As a submarine in the resistance. Tatsachenroman , 2nd edition Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 2009, ISBN 978-3-8369-5241-5 (first edition 2004).
  • As a schoolboy I fought to be a Hitler Youth, later against Hitler . In: Tina Hüttl; Alexander Meschnig (Ed.): You won't get us: hidden as children - Jewish survivors tell stories . Munich: Piper 2013, ISBN 978-3-492-05521-5 , pp. 269–285 (short biography on page 285).

Audio book

  • Eugen Herman-Friede tells from his life: “I wasn't a resistance fighter. I enjoyed doing something against the Nazis ” . Paul Lazarus Foundation, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-942902-05-2 (2 CDs)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eugen Friede died
  2. ^ Traveling exhibition "Jews in Resistance" ( Memento from August 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Herman-Friede, Eugene
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German resistance fighter
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 2018