Kurt Bennewitz (resistance fighter)

Kurt Bennewitz (born June 10, 1902 in Eilenburg , † 1945 at the Loibl Pass ) was a communist resistance fighter against National Socialism .

Life

Kurt Bennewitz was born on Karlstrasse in Eilenburg as the son of a carpenter. His mother was a housewife. In 1916 he began training as a lathe operator at the machine builder Bernhardi & Sohn in Eilenburg, and in the same year began to become a union member of the German Metalworkers' Association . During his apprenticeship he became a member of the sports association Vorwärts within the workers' sports movement , to which he belonged until 1928 and in which, among other things, he carried out organizational tasks and was also politically active as a member of the "central management of the combat community".

After the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists , Bennewitz was instrumental in the development and organization of the combat community for Red Sports Unit in Eilenburg, which, in addition to the KPD's illegal resistance organization, participated in local resistance activities such as the production and distribution of leaflets and other publications as well as financial support for political " protective prisoners " was involved. Both the KPD and the Gestapo mentioned the Eilenburg “Red Sports Unit” in their reports in 1933/1934 as a well-organized resistance group. On the occasion of the illegal May Day celebrations in 1933, Bennewitz became a member of the KPD.

The now intensified investigation by the Gestapo led to the arrest of Bennewitz and over a hundred others on June 11, 1934, who were then taken to the Torgau remand prison. In April 1935, the trial “Bennewitz and Comrades” took place before the 5th criminal senate of the Higher Regional Court in Berlin, in which he and 23 other Eilenburg “red” athletes and communists were accused of preparing high treason . As the main defendant, Bennewitz received a five-year sentence and was forced to work in the Esterwegen concentration camp while he was in prison . In 1939 Bennewitz was released from prison, but had to report to the Gestapo every day. Initially classified as “unworthy of defense”, Bennewitz was assigned to the Penal Division 999 in 1943 and later a soldier of the 5th Fortress Infantry Battalion on the Greek island of Limnos . As Kurt Bennewitz was a courier in the battalion, he had the latest information. When the Wehrmacht withdrew , Bennewitz carried out public anti-war propaganda and called on the soldiers to mutiny . While on the run, Bennewitz was caught by the SS on the Loibl Pass and murdered before the end of the war.

Perception in the times of the GDR

Kurt Bennewitz's work was portrayed in the GDR as exemplary communist and heroic. In a publication by the Eilenburger SED district leadership, he was characterized as follows:

“He died for the just cause of the working class and the liberation of the German people. He was always steadfast and convinced that his class would win. This is how we will remember him. "

- Jürgen Hoffmann, Silke Giese, Petra Meier : Life pictures of revolutionary workers in the Eilenburg district

On the basis of this historical classification, Bennewitz was stylized as a local identification figure for the communist resistance against National Socialism. His admiration at the time is reflected in the treatment in numerous publications on regional history. In 1953 the sports stadium of the Eilenburg celluloid factory was given its name, since 1971 the NCO School II of the NVA in the Eilenburg barracks (from 1979 in Delitzsch , since 1986 as training center 17) carried the honorary name Kurt Bennewitz , as did numerous work collectives in Eilenburg. A street in Eilenburg was also named after him.

Bennewitz has hardly been remembered since reunification , and he is hardly mentioned in regional historical publications. In 2004 the Kurt Bennewitz Stadium was abandoned after it was badly hit by the 2002 floods . The FC Eilenburg youth center that opened afterwards is now called the Sparkasse Football Center. The main street in the Wedelwitz district of Eilenburg is also called Kurt-Bennewitz-Straße.

Web links

• Andreas Peschel: Kurt Bennewitz (1902–1945) . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Jürgen Hoffmann, Silke Giese, Petra Meier: Life pictures of revolutionary workers in the Eilenburg district , elaborated in the scientific study group "History of the Eilenburg District" at the Institute for Home Education "Dr. Theodor Neubauer "Hohenprießnitz, Eilenburg 1987.