Karl-Heinz Schnibbe

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Karl-Heinz Schnibbe (born January 5, 1924 in Hamburg ; † May 9, 2010 near Salt Lake City , Utah ) was a German resistance fighter against National Socialism .

Life

Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, who was a member of the German Mormon Church , joined the Hitler Youth (HJ) at the age of twelve against the will of his father , but was later expelled from it again for refusing to give orders. Together with his also Mormon friend Helmuth Hübener , who was a year younger, he formed a resistance group to which Rudolf Wobbe and Gerhard Düwer also belonged. In 1941 the young people secretly listened to radio broadcasts from the British BBC and distributed their reports in protest flyers in Hamburg's working-class neighborhoods.

The Helmuth Hübener group was discovered in February 1942 and arrested by members of the Gestapo . Schnibbe was initially imprisoned in the Fuhlsbüttel concentration camp. In August 1942 the convicted people's court in Berlin Helmuth Hübener death, Schnibbe came with five years ' imprisonment comparatively lightly. Hübener was executed on October 27, 1942 in the Berlin-Plötzensee prison, while Schnibbe had to serve his sentence in Hamburg. In the spring of 1945, after his liberation from prison, Schnibbe was mistakenly taken into prison by the Americans and the Soviets.

In early 1952, Schnibbe emigrated to Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah , the majority of the population belonging to the Mormon religious community. Schnibbe worked there as a painter and upholsterer. In 1991 he published his memoirs in the book "Young People Against Hitler". He made many trips to Germany, most recently in 2006, to tell young people about his suffering and experiences during the Nazi era in lectures and symposia, for example at schools and youth facilities. He was also deeply moved to visit the place of execution of his friend Helmuth Hübener in Berlin-Plötzensee .

Karl-Heinz Schnibbe died on May 9, 2010 near Salt Lake City. He was married and had two children. The " Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints " honored Schnibbe's "upright character" in an obituary on the occasion.

plant

  • Karl-Heinz Schnibbe: Young people against Hitler - the Helmuth-Hübener-Group in Hamburg 194-42 . Documented by Blair Holmes and Alan Keele. Berg am See 1991 ISBN 3-921655-75-7

literature

  • Ulrich Sander: Youth Resistance in War - the Helmuth-Hübener-Group 1941/1942 . Pahl-Rugenstein, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-89144-336-6

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schnibbe, Karl-Heinz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German resistance fighters against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH January 5, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 2010
Place of death near Salt Lake City