Group Christopher

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The "Christopher Group" from the small town of Bruchsal in Baden was one of the opposition youth groups under the rule of National Socialism . The group emerged from the Bund Neudeutschland , which was founded in 1920 . It had about 35 members and its activities included camping, hiking, and pilgrimages. The group acted out of the self-image of being youthful and Catholic and resisted the conformity that the Nazi regime had intended for them. The declared goals of the young Catholics were a high degree of closeness to nature and physical fitness.

Emergence

The "Christopher Group" emerged from the National Socialists ' ban on activities , as this meant that every youth organization, with the exception of the Hitler Youth , was forbidden from further practicing their practices. In the case of the “New Germany” federal government, this primarily concerned the common journey (hiking and camping). Even if the Catholic youth associations still had a somewhat privileged position through the Reich Concordat , the usual work in the association "New Germany" became increasingly difficult. Even if the agreements between the Nazi government and the Catholic Church permitted “purely religious” work in the “interior of the church”, which in principle meant a restriction to purely pastoral work, the federal government was no longer able to maintain its traditions and To continue practices. The Bruchsal section of “New Germany” continued the tradition of pilgrimages and camps despite enormous pressure from persecution by members of the Hitler Youth of the same age in the hill country of Baden. The radius of action was even extended to areas of the Black Forest to take rallies.

A ban on the federal "New Germany" by the Reichsführer SS and chief of the German police Heinrich Himmler followed on June 27, 1939. This fact was communicated in writing by the former group leader of the "ND" Hans Bausch (...) to all remaining allies. The letter contained the following message in encrypted form:

“You can only forbid the organization, not the ethos. We stay what we were. We're going on somehow, but nobody is allowed to find out ” .

The ban was followed a short time later by house searches at Bausch and other members. In the course of this, the “Secret State Police” confiscated some books, including “Die Buddenbrocks”, from their parents' apartments and once again issued a ban on the continuation of the “New Germany” federal government. Despite this show of force by the state, the former members of the "ND" founded a new group in the same tradition and structure. In reference to St. Christopher - the patron saint of travelers - they called themselves the "Christopher Group" which primarily pursued the goal of maintaining the exchange of ideas and long-term friendships.

Known members

  • Hermann, Hubert and Franzpeter Bläsi
  • Rudi Farrenkopf
  • Willibrod herb
  • Berthold Frey
  • Norbert Lampert
  • Werner and Klaus Schnell
  • Kunibert Saur
  • Willi Fröhlich
  • Rudolf Fackler
  • Erich Schulz
  • Hermann Soder
  • Franz Schmidt
  • Joseph Sparn
  • Günther Fierhauser
  • Emil Greulich
  • Franz Brückmann
  • Gerhard Dengel
  • Franz J. Schmitt
  • Otto Pfau
  • Hans Bausch
  • Anton Heuchemer
  • Otto B. Roegele
  • Paul Kallenbach
  • Fritz Sautner

Development and creation of the group

The original goals were not easy to implement. Every member who had already achieved the general university entrance qualification was obliged to serve in the Reich Labor Service for six months and then to serve in the Wehrmacht . An attempt was made to maintain group communication by sending the members' field post in turn. The control of the soldiers 'mail posed a danger here. An attempt was made to evade this by collecting the members' mail in specially produced "We" notebooks and then sending them to each individual. It was difficult for the authorities to determine who was the author of the scriptures due to the aliases and other coding of these booklets. The group's operations were not supported by any Catholic authority, as they tried to avoid the accusation of political Catholicism to a large extent. If such an accusation had been made against the authorities, they would also have lost the area of ​​the pastoral care granted to them in National Socialist Germany. There was also no support from the young men's parents' homes. In this context, Otto B. Roegele, as a member of the "Christopher Group", described the Hitler Youth's maxim " Youth leads youth " as the " irony of history ".

Persecution and Exclusion

Persecution by the Gestapo began on May 12, 1941, when Wilhelm Eckert (1923–1943) and other members of the "Christopher Group" came into the focus of the Nazi authorities. In the course of the investigation, the Secret State Police were looking for the "man behind the scenes" because the investigating officers were not convinced that a group of young men could organize themselves so well. The investigation was even expanded to include members of the group fighting in the field. They were questioned by the Secret Field Police at their respective front lines. This procedure did not work for all obligated members of the "Christopher Group", as some commanders of the Wehrmacht spoke out against the usefulness of an interrogation.

In the course of the investigation into Wilhelm Eckert, a telegram from the Catholic clergyman Franz Schmitt was found. Schmitt was a former group leader of the ND (1930-1935) and was therefore considered the main suspect for the investigators. The priest was arrested in Chemnitz, where he practiced his profession, and transferred to the Maltheuern labor education camp near Brüx. Schmitt remained in this camp until his hearing on November 21, 1941 at the Karlsruhe Regional Court . In addition to the Chemnitz chaplain, three other members of the "Christopher Group" were negotiated, including Wilhelm Eckert and Otto Pfau. At this point, Pfau was already a private in the Wehrmacht .

Statutory allegations and judgments

With the “illegal continuation” of the federal “New Germany”, the members had violated §§ 1.4 of the ordinance for the protection of people and state . This was the so-called deceit regulation .

At the end of the first day of the trial, the defendants were found guilty in terms of the above indictment. The priest Franz Schmitt was sentenced to ten and Wilhelm Eckert to eight months. No judgments could be pronounced against Otto Pfau, Paul Kallenbach and Anton Heuchemer because of their service in the Wehrmacht, as the commanders in charge did not issue them with a travel permit.

In addition, interrogations and threats against the group continued. However, the actions of the authorities only resulted in entries in the military papers of the young men, which caused problems with promotions in their military careers. Otto B. Roegele concluded in his notes with the following remark:

"(...) the impression increased that these were steps that were supposed to create the conditions for the matter to be dealt with generously after the" final victory "... "

Reception of the judgment

The verdict against the "Christopher Group" could not be compared with the conventional judgments of the Nazi judiciary in the case of resistance groups. In this context, the witness Otto B. Roegele even spoke of a kind of respect that the judges showed the accused. The members of the group found great confirmation in the judgment of the court, when it was formulated there that a dissolution of “New Germany” never took place and the prohibition of further “activity” had in no way influenced the inner federal life. There were no further charges despite the urging of the "Gestapo control center" in Karlsruhe. The proceedings were formally closed with the occupation of southern Germany by the Allied forces in October 1945.

Differentiation from other resistance groups in the "Third Reich"

Apart from the popularity of the "Christopher Group" in comparison to other resistance groups, the type of resistance differed. A brief comparison in the following should show these differences.

The swing youth

Compared to the Catholic youth resistance, the “swing” youth had a different objective and thus also practiced a different type of resistance against the existing system. It was also an international phenomenon and an irreligious movement from the upper middle class. She was neither interested in the Reich Labor Service nor in service in the Wehrmacht. However, the “Swings” did not actively oppose these institutions.

the White Rose

The resistance of the siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl as well as Christoph Probsts and Kurt Hubers was, because of its nature, very different from that which came from the Bruchsal group. The White Rose saw the public as a clearly defined element in its concept of resistance, while "Christopher" was only dedicated to the preservation of tradition and community. Accordingly, the facts that the People's Court brought against the “White Rose” differed greatly from that against the “Christopher Group”. The Scholl siblings and their comrades-in-arms were charged and found guilty in the sense of “preparation for high treason, treasonous enemy favoring and demoralization of the military”. The six main defendants were sentenced to death in the course of this, while their accomplices and aides were sentenced to terms of between six months and ten years in prison.

The socialization within the family also differed considerably from that of the Bruchsal adolescents as they grew up. The parents of the members of the group in Baden were rather passive in their contribution to resistance. Robert Scholl , the father of Hans and Sophie Scholl, publicly referred to the Ulm protective custody camp - Oberer Kuhberg as early as the early 1930s as a “war in the midst of peace”. If the siblings showed enthusiasm for the politics of Adolf Hitler or the institution of the Hitler Youth, their father replied:

" Don't believe them, they are wolves and bear drivers and they abuse the German people terribly ".

The fact of the place of residence also led to a different perception of the National Socialist system. While the Scholls grew up in Ulm, the city with the largest garrison of the Third Reich, and saw up close what was happening to people hostile to the system, Bruchsal as a small town and thus also its youth remained undisturbed.

Edelweiss pirates

The edelweiss pirates openly sought confrontation with the Hitler Youth and thus actively resisted statehood. One thing the two groups have in common is their organizational pattern, because the “Edelweiss Pirates” are also based on the structure and practice of the “Bündische Jugend”. The attention that both groups received also differed significantly when Reinhard Heydrich took on the “Edelweiss Pirate thing” on Heinrich Himmler's orders. The disputes became increasingly intense. As a result of these disputes with the authorities, some members of the “Edelweiss Pirates” went to the Moringen youth concentration camp .

In general, the biggest difference between the groups mentioned and the Bruchsal youths, as well as their resistance, lies in the Catholic principles of the young men. Otto B. Roegele called the circumstances a "trilemma between the fulfillment of patriotic duty, defense against the danger of communism and loyalty to the church".

This “trilemma” is a peculiarity of the group, but also a general circumstance with which the Catholic resistance was confronted. So it makes sense to understand the resistance of the young people as a kind of resistance of the Catholic kind, because it only referred to the preservation of the previous living conditions in the religious group. The Bruchsal group did not have any anti-system tendencies aimed at overthrowing. In her individual work she was a direct derivative of the overall Vatican policy.

The difference between the groups lies in the fact that, compared to groups like the “White Rose” or the “Edelweiss Pirates”, there was no political conviction, but a religious and ideological one that produced a nonconformity. Another example in addition to the "Christopher Group" would be the "Catholic Young Men Association", against which a judgment was pronounced in Dortmund in 1937 on the same basis because of "the care of local customs".

Revolutions are the work of the devil and “We Christians don't make a revolution,” said Clemens August Graf von Galen . A peaceful coexistence with National Socialism was sought, as communism was viewed as a much greater threat. Catholic youth did not break free of this view either. That was certainly the case for the "Christopher Group".

literature

  • Beilmann, Christel : A youth in the Catholic milieu. On the relationship between faith and resistance , Bonn 1991.
  • Denzler, Georg: Resistance is not the right word. Catholic priests, bishops and theologians in the Third Reich , Zurich 2003.
  • Gel, Günther: Catholic youth in the Third Reich in the Catholic province. Limits to conformity - three examples in the Diocese of Trier , Weimar 2008.
  • Gotto, Klaus / Hockert, Hans Günther / Repgen, Konrad: National Socialist Challenge and Church Response , in: The Catholics and the Third Reich , ed. v. Klaus Gotto / Konrad Repgen :, Mainz 1990, pp. 173–191.
  • Matthias von Hellfeld: Bündischer Mythos and Bündische Opposition. For a reassessment of the Bündischen tradition and its cultural practice , in: Piraten, Swings und Junge Garde , ed. v. Wilfried Breyvogel, Bonn 1991, pp. 74-102.
  • Hellfeld, Matthias, Klönne, Arno: The Deceived Generation , Cologne 1985.
  • Klönne, Arno: Youth in the Third Reich , Cologne 2008.
  • Klönne, Arno: Young Opposition in the “Third Reich” , Erfurt 2013.
  • Koehn, Barbara: The German resistance against Hitler. An appreciation , Berlin 2007.
  • Rainer Pohl: “Weird birds, moult!” Of restlessness, arrogance and persecution. Hamburger Swings and Pariser Zazous , in: Piraten, Swings and Junge Garde , ed. v. Wilfried Breyvogel, Bonn 1991, pp. 241-271.
  • Otto B. Roegele: "Has never stopped ...". Catholic youth in illegality , in: Does not extinguish the spirit. The Bund New Germany in the Third Reich , ed. v. Rolf Eilers (ed.):, Mainz 1985, pp. 154-162.
  • Kurt Schilde: Resistance of young people, in: Resistance against the National Socialist dictatorship 1933–1945 (= series of publications by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Volume 438), ed. v. Peter Steinbach, Johannes Tuchel, Bonn 2004, pp. 266–282.
  • Franz Schmitt: In the hands of the Gestapo , in: Does not extinguish the spirit. The Bund New Germany in the Third Reich , ed. v. Rolf Eilers (ed.):, Mainz 1985, pp. 163-177.
  • Scholl, Inge: The White Rose , Frankfurt aM 1983.
  • Schüler, Barbara: "In the spirit of the murdered ..." The "White Rose" and its effect in the post-war period , Paderborn 2007.
  • Stasiewski, Bernhard (ed.): Files of the German bishops on the situation of the churches 1933–1945 , Volume 1, Mainz 1968.
  • Volk, Ludwig: The Bavarian Episcopate and National Socialism 1930–1934 , Mainz 1966.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Roegele, Otto B., "Has never stopped ..." Catholic youth in the illegality, in: Eilers, Rolf (ed.), Does not delete the spirit - The Bund New Germany in the Third Reich, Mainz 1985, p. 154-162. Here: p. 156.
  2. ↑ Internet presence for the exhibition of the Christopher Circle
  3. ↑ Roegele, Otto B., "Has never stopped ...", p. 158.
  4. ↑ Janzyk, Stephan, Socialization in the Hitler Youth, A systematic genesis of the German officer corps ?, Hamburg 2013, p. 52.
  5. ↑ Roegele, Otto B., "Has never stopped ...", p. 160.
  6. ↑ Schmitt, Franz, In the hands of the Gestapo, in: Eilers, Rolf (ed.), Does not extinguish the spirit. The Bund New Germany in the Third Reich, Mainz 1985, pp. 163–177. Here: p. 166.
  7. ↑ Roegele, Otto B., "Has never stopped ...", p. 160 f.
  8. ↑ Roegele, Otto B., "Has never stopped ...", p. 162.
  9. ^ Judgment of the Criminal Chamber II of the Karlsruhe Regional Court of November 21, 1941, p. 4.
  10. ↑ Pohl, Rainer, weird birds are moulting! Of recklessness, arrogance and persecution. Hamburger Swings and Pariser Zazous, in: Breyvogel, Wilfried (ed.), Piraten, Swings and Junge Garde, Bonn 1991, pp. 241–255. Here: p. 241 ff.
  11. ↑ a b Koehn, Barbara, The German Resistance Against Hitler. An appreciation, Berlin 2007, p. 76.
  12. ↑ Schüler, Barbara, In the spirit of the murdered… The “White Rose” and its effect in the post-war period, Paderborn 2007, p. 45.
  13. ↑ Koehn, Weisse Rose, p. 68.
  14. ↑ Koehn, Barbara, The German Resistance Against Hitler, p. 68 f.
  15. ↑ Denzler, Georg, resistance is not the right word. Catholic priests, bishops and theologians in the Third Reich, Zurich 2003, p. 12.
  16. ^ Schilde, Kurt, Resistance of Young People, in: Steinbach, Peter, Tuchel, Johannes (eds.), Resistance against the National Socialist Dictatorship 1933–1945, Bonn 2004. pp. 266–281. Here: p. 274.
  17. ↑ Beilman, Christel, A Youth in a Catholic Milieu. On the relationship between belief and resistance, in: Breyvogel, Wilfried (ed.), Piraten, Swings and Junge Garde, Bonn 1991. pp. 57–75. Here: p. 61 f.