Hans Fricke (resistance fighter)

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Hans Fricke (born May 12, 1926 in Cologne ; † April 9, 2015 ) was a German resistance fighter during the Second World War .

Life

Fricke, born out of wedlock, grew up in a foster family in Cologne. At the age of ten he joined the Deutscher Jungvolk , but refused to join the Hitler Youth (HJ) in 1940 after graduating from elementary school . He then began an apprenticeship as a machine fitter in Cologne- Raderthal .

As a 15-year-old, Fricke began to openly show his attitude towards the regime by refusing to give the Hitler salute and in 1941 he joined the group of the Cologne Edelweiss Pirates . The Edelweiss Pirates saw themselves in the tradition of the Bündische Jugend, which had been banned since the summer of 1933, and continued to drive illegally and undercover, independently of the Nazi youth organizations. The members argued with Hitler Youth stripes, wrote anti- Nazi slogans on walls and showed in particular that they belonged to the group by wearing checkered shirts, brightly colored scarves and white knee socks, which they "rolled up" untidily down to their shoes. . Fricke himself described the goals of the Edelweiss pirates as follows: "With their appearance, attitude, demeanor and songs alone, they publicly distanced themselves from the Hitler regime." At the end of National Socialism, wearing Bundi clothing was already a punishable offense and was known as Bundische Umtriebe pursued by the police and the Gestapo .

After completing his apprenticeship, Fricke was drafted into the Reich Labor Service in 1943 . He was then drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1944 . In the same year he was taken prisoner in France. In 1948, after a period as a civilian worker, he returned to Cologne, where he lived and worked as a machinist. After retirement he moved to Bad Münstereifel in the Eifel .

Since 2004, Fricke has participated as a contemporary witness in coming to terms with the National Socialist era .

Hans Fricke died on April 9, 2015.

Honors

In April 2011, Hans Fricke was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon for his commitment as a contemporary witness , handed over by Cologne's Lord Mayor Jürgen Roters . He received it together with the other four surviving members of the Edelweißpiraten and Ehrenfeld group , Gertrud Koch , Peter Schäfer , Wolfgang Schwarz and Fritz Theilen . The best-known member of the Cologne resistance groups, Jean Jülich , who had already been honored in 1991, was present as a guest of honor.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Stefan Palm: Lord Mayor Roters condolences relatives of Hans Fricke. City of Cologne - Office for Press and Public Relations, April 16, 2015, accessed on April 16, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Hans Fricke: Edelweiss Pirates from my point of view! 1941 to 1944. Reminder report for the NS Documentation Center Cologne. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  3. ↑ Die Welt online : Article Order of Merit for Edelweiss Pirates from April 14, 2011
  4. ↑ Mattias Pesch: Edelweisspiraten "Role models for civil courage" , in: Kölner Stadtanzeiger from April 14, 2011, p. 26 online (accessed June 23, 2016)
personal data
SURNAME Fricke, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German resistance fighter during the Second World War
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne
DATE OF DEATH April 9, 2015