Josef Hufnagel (Nazi victim)

Memorial by Leo Kornbrust in the Munich court garden with a quote from Josef Hufnagel's farewell letter

Josef Hufnagel (born October 9, 1903 in Dünschede ; † June 5, 1944 in Brandenburg-Görden ) was a farmer. He was sentenced to death by the People's Court for listening to hostile broadcasters and executed on June 5, 1944 in the Brandenburg-Görden prison.

Life

Josef Hufnagel comes from an old farming family in Dünschede (district of Attendorn in the Olpe district ). The name "Hoiffnagel" is mentioned in an appraisal register (used to collect taxes) from 1543.

During his service during the Nazi era in Wörmge (near Attendorn), where he had to manage a farm, he was accused of listening to hostile radio stations and making defeatist statements by the farmer Otto Bicker and his cousin Franziska Otto in the district leadership of the NSDAP in Olpe to have done. They had observed Hufnagel and collected relevant evidence against him.

In February 1944, proceedings against Hufnagel were opened at the Olpe District Court. After various intermediate stops, he was sentenced to death by the People's Court in Berlin on April 18, 1944. Josef Hufnagel wrote three letters to his relatives from the Brandenburg-Görden prison. He wrote his suicide note on June 5, 1944, a few hours before his execution. The words provide information about his despair and disappointment, but also about his strong belief in God. In addition to the already quoted confidence in a reunion in eternity, u. a. to read “I just got St. Communion received by the pastor. Life is over now. Today there are again many who have to die. Don't worry too much about me. We're being burned here. I have 27 sts of money in the portemanne, 2 sweaters. I'll be dead in an hour. It's almost everyone here. Let 1 soul ministry read for me and don't mourn too much for me. "

In 1948 the informers Otto Bicker and Franziska Otto had to answer before the jury in Siegen. Otto Bicker was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes against humanity. It was judged in his favor that it could not be clearly proven that he had started the fateful proceedings. Franziska Otto was even acquitted because, in the opinion of the court, she had only fulfilled her witness duties. The mild verdict and the acquittal caused incomprehension and outrage in the population.

The Catholic parish of St. Martinus in Dünschede confessed to the victim of the Nazi dictatorship from among its ranks after the end of the war. Apparently out of fear of further persecution, the parish vicar at the time, who was summoned twice by the Gestapo for his youth work , initially did not announce the execution of Josef Hufnagel from the pulpit.

Commemoration

The sculptor Leo Kornbrust incorporated a quote from Josef Hufnagel's last letter into the memorial to commemorate the resistance against the Nazi dictatorship in the Munich Hofgarten . “ Dear ones! My last letter that I write to you. The request for clemency has been refused. I will be executed at 3 p.m. So farewell, and we'll see each other again in eternity. "

literature

Helga Pfoertner: memorials, memorials, places of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism in Munich 1933–1945. Live with the story. Volume 1, A to H , Herbert Utz Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-89675-859-4 , page 223 ff.

Saure, Werner, Josef Hufnagel - Victims of the Nazi Justice (title: "So goodbye, and we'll see each other again in eternity"), in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 3/2010, volume 240, publisher Kreisheimatbund Olpe eV, p. 255 ff.

Individual evidence

↑ heimatbund-finnentrop.de ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.8 MB) page 42 @1@ 2
↑ Saure, Werner, Josef Hufnagel - Victims of the Nazi Justice (title: "So goodbye, and in eternity we'll see each other again"), in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 3/2010, episode 240, Publisher Kreisheimatbund Olpe eV, p. 257.
↑ Saure, Werner, Josef Hufnagel - Victims of the Nazi Justice (title: "So goodbye, and in eternity we'll see each other again"), in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 3/2010, episode 240, Publisher Kreisheimatbund Olpe eV, p. 262.
↑ Saure, Werner, Josef Hufnagel - Victims of the Nazi Justice (title: "So goodbye, and in eternity we'll see each other again"), in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 3/2010, episode 240, Publisher Kreisheimatbund Olpe eV, p. 263.
↑ Helga Pfoertner: Living with history. Vol. 1, Literareron, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-89675-859-4 , pp. 223–225 ( PDF; 1.1 MB ( Memento from April 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ))

personal data
SURNAME	Hufnagel, Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German farmer, victim of the Nazi justice system
DATE OF BIRTH	October 9, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dünschede
DATE OF DEATH	June 5, 1944
Place of death	Brandenburg-Görden

[1] tbund-finnentrop.de ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.8 MB) page 42 @1@ 2

[2] Saure, Werner, Josef Hufnagel - Victims of the Nazi Justice (title: "So goodbye, and in eternity we'll see each other again"), in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 3/2010, episode 240, Publisher Kreisheimatbund Olpe eV, p. 257.

[3] Saure, Werner, Josef Hufnagel - Victims of the Nazi Justice (title: "So goodbye, and in eternity we'll see each other again"), in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 3/2010, episode 240, Publisher Kreisheimatbund Olpe eV, p. 262.

[4] Saure, Werner, Josef Hufnagel - Victims of the Nazi Justice (title: "So goodbye, and in eternity we'll see each other again"), in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 3/2010, episode 240, Publisher Kreisheimatbund Olpe eV, p. 263.

[5] Helga Pfoertner: Living with history. Vol. 1, Literareron, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-89675-859-4 , pp. 223–225 ( PDF; 1.1 MB ( Memento from April 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ))