Franz Reingruber

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Franz Reingruber (born on September 25, 1921 ; died on October 22, 1943 in Vienna ) was an Austrian electrical mechanic and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime . He was sentenced to death by the Nazi judiciary and executed in the Vienna Regional Court .

life and work

Reingruber was an only child and lost his father at an early age. After attending primary and secondary school, he completed a one-year training course and was hired as a machine fitter apprentice at the age of 15. After the acquittal , he continued to work in the same company as a fitter candidate and attended an evening course for foremen.

Reingruber was politically involved in the Communist Youth Association of Austria (KJVÖ). He joined the Hitler Youth (HJ) on behalf of the KJVÖ and soon became a trainer there with a high reputation within his spell (this was the name of the basic unit of the HJ). “His influence was so great that after his arrest this group had to be disbanded by the NSDAP because an opposition had formed that took a stand for Reingruber.” In 1941 he founded Felix , together with his comrade Elfriede Hartmann , who were also executed later Imre , Walter Kämpf , Friedrich Mastny a . a. - the KJVÖ group The Soldiers' Council and produced illegal newspapers, leaflets and communist leaflets. He also took part in letter campaigns for soldiers from the front.

He was arrested on July 9, 1941 and severely tortured by the Gestapo . On September 23, 1943 Reingruber was sentenced to death by the People's Court in Krems an der Donau for “preparing to commit high treason ” and “ favoring the enemy ” . While in custody, he kept a diary that has been preserved for posterity. In it he wanted to let his thoughts "run free" and "casually write down everything" that "caused him joy and sorrow". On May 1, 1942 and 1943, Reingruber organized small celebrations in the Vienna Regional Court together with comrades who were also in custody. On May 1, 1942, he and like-minded people decided not to work in protest and sang the song of work and the international at a ceremony after a speech . On May 1, 1943, Reingruber gave a speech from his prison window across the courtyard in which he celebrated Labor Day and the “invincible Red Army”.

He was executed with the guillotine four weeks after the trial, together with the trade clerk Anton Mayer (born 1923), the locksmith Johann Neubauer (born 1920), and three other political prisoners of the Nazi regime .

Commemoration

Memorial plaque on the house at Randhartingergasse 14

A plaque on the house at Randhartingergasse 14 in Vienna-Favoriten commemorates Reingruber . Reingruber's name can also be found on the plaque in the former execution room of the Vienna Regional Court . He is buried in the shaft graves of group 40 (row 26 / grave 192) of the Vienna Central Cemetery .

In a glass showcase of the permanent exhibition of the documentation archive of the Austrian resistance are several objects of Reingruber, including his diary and a last letter, both of which were smuggled out of prison.

Sources and literature

  • Alfred-Klahr-Gesellschaft : On the history of the Communist Youth Association 1918–1945 , accessed on April 5, 2015
  • KPÖ (ed.): Immortal victims , fallen in the struggle of the Communist Party for Austria's freedom, Vienna undated
  • Peter Larndorfer: Memory and Musealization , The Staging of Memory using the Example of the Exhibition “The Austrian Struggle for Freedom 1934-1945” in the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance 1978-2005, Master's thesis at the University of Vienna 2009, 112, 146 and 155
  • Dirk Rupnow, Heidemarie Uhl: Exhibiting contemporary history in Austria: museums, memorials, exhibitions , Perfect Paperback Böhlau Verlag Vienna, 2011, 129
  • Willi Weinert: “You can put me out, but not the fire”: a guide through the grove of honor of Group 40 at the Vienna Central Cemetery for the executed resistance fighters . Verlag Alfred-Klahr-Ges., 2005, p. 80 / p. 153 [1]
  • Maria Wirth: Christian Broda . V&R unipress GmbH, 2011, 103

proof

  1. ↑ a b c Alfred Klahr Society : On the history of the Communist Youth Association 1918–1945 , accessed on April 4, 2015
  2. ↑ Immortal Sacrifice, 78
  3. ^ Post-War Justice , accessed April 4, 2015
  4. ^ Documentation archive of the Austrian resistance (ed.): Festschrift 10 years Documentation archive of the Austrian resistance , Vienna 1972, 12
personal data
SURNAME Reingruber, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian tailor's assistant and resistance fighter against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH September 25, 1921
DATE OF DEATH October 22, 1943
Place of death Vienna