Friedrich Hedrich

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Friedrich Hedrich , also Fritz Hedrich (born on September 22, 1914 in Vienna ; died on February 25, 1944 in Vienna) was an Austrian electrician and radio technician , as well as a resistance fighter against the Nazi regime . He was sentenced to death by the Nazi judiciary and executed with the guillotine in the Vienna Regional Court .

life and work

Hedrich grew up in a communist family. As a child he was already with the pioneers , the communist children's organization. As a gifted student, he learned the professions of electrician and radio technician, was elected to the student council, organized student strikes and wage disputes. At the age of 16 he became the head of organization in the Central Committee of the Communist Youth Association of Austria (KJVÖ), worked as an agitator and gained a high reputation within the communist movement. After Austrofascism had prevailed and the KJVÖ had been declared an illegal organization, Hedrich organized a secret printing plant in which the “Proletarian Youth”, the journalistic organ of the KJVÖ, could continue to be produced. From 1938 he made a contribution to the rebuilding of party structures in the anti-fascist resistance struggle.

Hedrich was arrested by the Gestapo in October 1941 and tortured during his interrogation. On September 30, 1943, the trial before the People's Court took place, "in which he gave a brilliant testimony to his intelligence and speaking skills." He was sentenced to death and "loss of honor for life" with co-defendant Hermine Zaynard and other comrades . The reasoning for the judgment read on preparation for high treason and favoring the enemy .

He was executed with the guillotine on February 25, 1944, together with nine other political prisoners of the Nazi regime . Hermione Zaynard was executed on November 19, 1943. Hedrich is presumably buried in the shaft graves of group 40 (row 22 / grave 45) of the Vienna Central Cemetery . The lack of security is based on a letter that the Nazi Reich Minister of Justice addressed to the senior Reich attorney in Berlin, with reference to the executions of Hermine Zaynard and Friedrich Hedrich: 39 of the RV. of February 19, 1939, the anatomical institute of the university is to be taken into account. "

Hedrich's wife Erna was also arrested in 1941. Their daughter Elisabeth, then three years old, would not see her mother again until four years later, and never see her father again. Erna Hedrich published the book Untergang und Wiedergeburt Österreichs in Vienna in 1967 , Elisabeth Hedrich got involved in the concentration camp association .

Commemoration

Memorial plaque for Fritz Hedrich

To commemorate the resistance fighter, a memorial plaque was placed on the house at Jägerstrasse 28 in Vienna- Brigittenau in November 1953 , on which one can read:

“Fritz Hedrich lived in this house. During the National Socialist rule he was sentenced to death and executed on February 25, 1944 at the age of 29. He fought for a free, democratic Austria, for peace, and for the happiness of mankind. May the people understand his sacrifice! "

- Memorial plaque for Friedrich Hedrich

Hedrich's name can also be found on the memorial plaque in the former execution room of the Vienna Regional Court .

literature

  • Alfred-Klahr-Gesellschaft : On the history of the Communist Youth Association 1918–1945 , accessed on May 15, 2015
  • Felix Czeike : Historical Lexicon Vienna . Vienna: Verlag Kremayr & Scheriau 1992–2004
  • Erna Hedrich : Fall and Rebirth of Austria , Vienna 1967
  • Katharina Kniefacz, Alexander Krysl, Manès Weisskircher: University and discipline: Members of the University of Vienna and National Socialism. Münster 2011, 33
  • University of Vienna : Austrian Women in Resistance , entry on Sophie Vitek , accessed on May 15, 2015
  • 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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfred Klahr Society : Fritz HEDRICH September 22 , 1914 to February 25 , 1944 , accessed on May 15, 2015
  2. ^ Alfred Klahr Society : Willi Weinert: "You can put me out, but not the fire" , accessed on May 15, 2015
  3. ↑ Concentration Camp Association : Never Forget! Never again! , Article about Hedrich's memorial plaque (with illustration), accessed on May 15, 2015
  4. ^ Jägerstraße in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  5. ^ Postwar Justice , accessed May 15, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Hedrich, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hedrich, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian electrician, radio technician and resistance fighter against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1944
Place of death Vienna