Friedrich Brandes (politician)
Friedrich "Fritz" Brandes (born October 8, 1895 in Wendhausen ; † December 13, 1946 there ) was a German politician. He was the first freely elected district administrator in the former Braunschweig district after the Second World War. After the liberation by the Americans in April 1945, the Social Democrat was appointed mayor of Wendhausen. He was appointed to the district council and district administrator. After the district elections in October 1946, the district council unanimously confirmed Brandes as district administrator. He was known as an upright democrat even before 1933.
Life
Fritz Brandes attended elementary school in Wendhausen and then learned to be a carpenter. He later worked as a cattle dealer. With the beginning of the war in 1914, Brandes volunteered as a soldier. Marked by the horror of the war, he joined the SPD after the war. In 1929 he came to the district council and in 1931 was elected to the local council of Wendhausen. The leitmotif of his political action: He did not want to accept that there were people who had nothing and others who lived in abundance. He warned early on: "If the Nazis come to power, there will be war!"
After the National Socialists came to power, Fritz Brandes was taken into so-called “protective custody” by a local SA commando in Wendhausen on the evening of March 30, 1933, and severely mistreated and threatened in the Volksfreund-Haus in Braunschweig. The reason for the “protective custody”, which lasted until April 18, 1933: Brandes had always clearly expressed his opinion - also against the Nazis. After the abuse, he was forced to "voluntarily" resign from his county seat. Brandes was monitored by the police until 1935. He continued to have private contacts with other social democrats.
After the liberation on April 11, 1945, Fritz Brandes became politically active again. He refused revenge on his tormentors: “I don't want blood on my hands”. In the summer of 1945 he made a statement to the police about the alleged perpetrators for his imprisonment. They were never convicted for it. Fritz Brandes died in December 1946. Until then, he was mainly committed to accommodating the refugees. The “Braunschweiger Zeitung” paid tribute to him with the words: “With this, Braunschweig and the Social Democratic Party have lost one of their most capable minds. His life was just work and struggle ”.
His daughter described him as follows: “He was a very argumentative political person. He was good with people and the job of a trader suited him. "
Web links
- Fritz Brandes is mistreated in protective custody in: Forward September 21, 2009
- An upright Wendhausener In: Braunschweiger Zeitung May 19, 2009 (payment barrier)
swell
- A memorial for Fritz Brandes in: Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung June 27, 2009
- Otte researches the Nazi period in teaching in: Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung July 25, 2009
- An upright Wendhausener in: Braunschweiger Zeitung (Helmstedt) May 20, 2009
- Also remember Fritz Brandes in the Braunschweiger Zeitung (Helmstedt) June 26, 2009
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brandes, Friedrich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Brandes, Fritz (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German politician (SPD) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 8, 1895 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wendhausen |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 13, 1946 |
| Place of death | Wendhausen |