Konrad Schweser

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Konrad Edmund Schweser (born November 16, 1899 in Sulzfeld am Main , † February 28, 1975 in Ochsenfurt ) was a German builder and Righteous Among the Nations . He hid Jews from members of the Schutzstaffel in Poland and the Ukraine during World War II , thus saving the lives of at least 44 Jews.

Life

Konrad Schweser was the son of the carpenter Valentin Schweser and his wife Maria Schweser (née Hofmann). In 1921 he passed the master carpenter examination and a year later the master mason examination. In 1927 and 1929 he passed the engineering exams for civil engineering. He married Maria Schweser (née Lutz) on November 5, 1927 in Würzburg . After having worked for various companies in the construction industry for several years, he became a city architect in Ochsenfurt in 1932.

During the Second World War he was obliged to serve as a city architect in Lodz and Ozorkow in Poland from June 1940 to October 1941 , where he supported Jews by procuring additional food. From November 1941 until the end of the war he had to work for the Todt Organization in Ukraine. Among other things, he managed the construction of roads, bridges and railway lines. Jewish inmates from the SS camp in Teplik were subordinate to him , which established contact with them. According to a report by Luisa Schorr, which he hid, “[Konrad Schweser] behaved in an exemplary manner towards the Jewish slave laborers, especially towards the children”.

Moritz Glückstein, a Jew from Heidelberg, later described that Konrad Schweser hid Jewish children who were supposed to be killed by the SS and thus saved the lives of at least 44 Jews. This led to the SS accusing Konrad Schweser of “favoring the escape of Jews” and “illegal distribution of food” and several court martial proceedings were initiated against him. Neither of them led to a conviction because the court martial in charge was also an opponent of the Nazi regime and stopped the trials for lack of evidence.

After the end of the war, the American military government had Konrad Schweser arrested. Moritz Glückstein achieved his release through several letters in which he described his experiences with Konrad Schweser. In 1946 Konrad Schweser became the district architect in Ochsenfurt. He died at the age of 75.

Awards

In 1968 Konrad Schweser was awarded the title “ Righteous Among the Nations ”, which the Holocaust memorial “ Yad Vashem awards on behalf of the State of Israel [...] to non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust for Jews to rescue". In honor of Konrad Schweser, a tree was also planted in the avenue of the righteous .

In 1971 Federal President Gustav Heinemann awarded Konrad Schweser the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on ribbon after it had been proposed for it by Bavarian Prime Minister Alfons Goppel .

literature

  • Anton Maria Keim: Yad Vashem. The rescuers of Jews from Germany . Kaiser & Grünewald Verlag, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-7867-1085-6 (Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag), ISBN 3-459-01523-3 (Kaiser).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Without an author: Oskar Schindler wasn't the only one . In: Mainpost, January 27, 2005.
  2. ↑ Israelitische Kultusgemeinde München (editor): One who obeyed conscience . In: Münchener Jüdische Nachrichten, April 25, 1975.
  3. ↑ Without an author: Oskar Schindler wasn't the only one . In: Mainpost, January 27, 2005.
  4. ^ Anton Maria Keim: Yad Vashem. The rescuers of Jews from Germany . Kaiser & Grünewald Verlag, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-7867-1085-6 (Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag), ISBN 3-459-01523-3 (Kaiser), p. 135.
  5. ↑ Without an author: Oskar Schindler wasn't the only one . In: Mainpost, January 27, 2005.
  6. ↑ Without an author: Schindler is not unique . In: Journal für Muße und Gesundheit, June / July 1994, pp. 10-11.
  7. ↑ Without an author: Schindler is not unique . In: Journal für Muße und Gesundheit, June / July 1994, pp. 10-11.
  8. ↑ Righteous Among the Nations, on Yad Vashem's website, accessed November 1, 2016.
  9. ↑ Without an author: Schindler is not unique . In: Journal für Muße und Gesundheit, June / July 1994, pp. 10-11.
personal data
SURNAME Schweser, Konrad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schweser, Konrad Edmund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German builder and Righteous Among the Nations
DATE OF BIRTH November 16, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Sulzfeld am Main
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 1975
Place of death Ochsenfurt