National Socialism in Eichsfeld

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The National Socialism in Eichsfeld be considered must be from two different perspectives. On the one hand one speaks of the lower field and on the other hand of the upper field. The two regions are separated from each other south of the district town of Duderstadt .

The Eichsfeld [regional dialect: ˈaɪksfɛlt ] is a historical territory and is considered a cultural landscape in south-east Lower Saxony, in north-west Thuringia and in north-east Hesse between the Harz and Werra . The largest towns in Eichsfeld are the cities of Dingelstädt , Duderstadt, Heiligenstadt and Leinefelde-Worbis . After the Reformation , almost all of the residents became Protestants. The Counter Reformation forced them back to the Catholic denomination from 1575. This belief was to prove to be constant even at the time of the Third Reich .

Propaganda (in the subfield)

The Nazi propaganda took place in the Untereichsfeld mainly through propaganda films . Most of these were shown in the “Kronprinzen Lichtspiele” cinema in Duderstadt. In 1939, manipulist films made up 13.1% of the total film program here. In the same year, films glorifying the war were shown in approximately the same proportion. In the years 1944/1945 both decreased: Propaganda films only took up 10% of the program, war films only 4.3%. The largest share was accounted for by entertainment films in both periods, with the cinema being obliged to show the newsreel and an accompanying program of documentary and cultural films before each film. But also with the entertainment films the question arises to what extent this was influenced by the party to improve the mood within the population. Occasionally, propaganda films were also shown in village community centers, where appearing was usually mandatory.

Propaganda that seemed too strong to those in charge of the lower area was kept under lock and key and not distributed. So was also Alfred Rosenberg's retained "To the Dark men of our time."

Election results 1932/33

The spring of 1933 was dominated by elections throughout the German Reich. Adolf Hitler had meanwhile been elected Chancellor . Therefore his party should now also gain absolute power. Despite all the terror and intimidation, the majority of the German people voted against Hitler. The NSDAP did not achieve an absolute majority in all of Germany with 43.9% of the votes , so Hitler was only able to achieve the remaining 6% with the help of the German Nationals. The "non-voting" of the NSDAP was undoubtedly associated with reprisals and various inconveniences, yet Eichsfeld showed courage and steadfastness against National Socialism.

Election results in the sub-field

In the district of Duderstadt , no party other than the center was able to achieve significant votes until 1933. In the Reichstag elections , the NSDAP gained an absolute majority with 52%. In Eichsfeld, however, only 26% voted for the NSDAP. In the Duderstadt district, the Center Party achieved 62.4% of the votes cast, the NSDAP 26.4%, the SPD 8%, the KPD 3.3% and the German-Hanoverian Party 0.2%. In comparison, the village of Ebergötzen, two kilometers behind the Untereichsfeld border, was the leading party, as in most of Germany, with 53% of the NSDAP. The Center Party only got 0.2% here.

Shortly after the elections, the mayors close to the center of the villages were deposed and replaced by National Socialists.

In the vote on the merging of the offices of Reich President and Reich Chancellor in August 1934, only 5% were against in the Reich. In the entire Eichsfeld, 13.7% spoke out against the merging of the offices. In the district of Duderstadt, 9.9% and in the city of Duderstadt 17.8% were against. In the city of Duderstadt, 5.3%, and in the district of Duderstadt, 3.8% were cast invalid ballot papers. This was the last time a result was published that shamed the party so much. The Eichsfelder Morgenpost described those who did not agree as the "stubborn people who really had no moral right to bread and work".

The firm ideological roots of the Eichsfelder initially prevented the NSDAP from being successful in this area. Due to Catholicism , the Eichsfelder were initially resistant to National Socialism. Nevertheless, the rise of National Socialism did not stop in Eichsfeld, it only happened later and more slowly.

The reason for the high approval of the sub-fields in the election to merge the offices was probably based on the Reich Concordat of July 1933 between the Reich and the Vatican. The voters assumed that the coexistence of church and state could be seen as secure. This was also due to the fact that several times men of the SA attended the service in their uniforms. Another reason for the acceptance of the Nazi regime was the elimination of huge unemployment.

Election results in the area field

Similar to the town of Duderstadt, it can be seen in the Obereichsfeld that the Catholic beliefs and attitudes of the people made it difficult for the National Socialists to gain a foothold. This is not only reflected in the Hitler Youth, but also in society and politics. This is also made clear by the high number of center voters. The election of the Christian party was a tradition in Eichsfeld then as it is today and is considered as manifested as the faith itself.

Takeover of power in Eichsfeld in 1933

The mostly small number of party members in the villages meant that people often had to be appointed to the municipal councils who did not even belong to the party. The NSDAP was already very present in Duderstadt in March 1933 with marches and the hanging of swastika flags. The presence of the party in the villages was limited to meetings of the latter. Nevertheless, after clashes with the NSDAP and its organs, arrests and political persecution occurred in some villages.

Little research has been done to date on the takeover of power by the National Socialists in Eichsfeld, explicitly in Obereichsfeld. However, the year 1932 had increased the social and political tensions in Eichsfeld. The great unemployment in the districts of Heiligenstadt and Worbis caused worries and unrest. Everyday life, however, went on quite normally. But local small events, such as that of the student leisure center (SFZ - Heiligenstadt) were overshadowed by the political events, since the national elections were to follow in relatively short intervals. In March 1932, the Reich President was first elected. In the Eichsfeld daily newspaper of the time it says:

"Choose the man of loyalty and duty - choose Hindenburg."

As is well known, Hindenburg became President of the Reich. So it was again possible to stop Hitler. However, the rise of the NSDAP could no longer be stopped. Since 1930, the party gained increasing power with anti-democratic tendencies, anti-Semitism and pseudo-revolutionary propaganda. In 1932 it was proclaimed the strongest party, which was confirmed in the 1932 Reichstag elections. On January 30, 1933, A. Hitler was finally promoted to Reich Chancellor, which signaled a further consolidation of power.

If you look explicitly at the takeover of power in the Obereichsfeld, one name should be mentioned: Karl Wolters, Mayor of Heiligenstadt since 1921. On November 14, 1932, he was elected for another 12 years, although he was considered an opponent of National Socialism. Wolters "despised the Nazis as a rabble." Therefore, the inevitable overtook him - the ousting from the office of mayor. Within a few weeks he was deposed and ultimately replaced by NSDAP members. A city council meeting was convened on March 27, 1933 with which the NSDAP wanted to legalize entry into the city parliament. However, the first attempt failed, which is why the NSDAP parliamentary group leader and Heiligenstadt local group leader Peter Müller did not come to power as planned, but center member Adam Hendus. This was used due to a stalemate and the resulting lottery procedure. After this failure, another city council meeting was called on April 3, 1933, to question the city council election. At a further city council meeting on May 29, 1933, Peter Müller was finally assigned the mandate as head of the district with 10: 9 votes. With his appointment as acting mayor, the NSDAP was able to record its first political success in Eichsfeld.

In 1939 there was no trace of the enthusiasm and awareness of victory of 1914 in the Untereichsfeld.

Judaism (in the lower field)

In 1933, the year of the seizure of power, 25 people of Jewish faith lived in Duderstadt. On March 31, 1933, both of the newspapers in the area at the time (Eichsfelder Morgenpost and Südhannoversche Volkszeitung) called on the residents of Duderstadt to boycott the three existing Jewish shops on their respective front pages. The next day, the “ Jewish boycott ” involved damage to property that was not intended by the initiators. The residents were urged to refrain from further serious damage to property due to the “damage to the German insurance company, i.e. the German national wealth”. The Jewish business owners, however, were not intimidated by this excess, at least outwardly. They even ran ads in the newspaper a few days later promoting their products.

In 1934, the Aryanization of Jewish shops began in Duderstadt , as a result of which only two of the previous three resident shops could remain.

The following year there were signs on the city entrance streets with the inscription "No business is done with Jews in this city!" Alfons Schmalstieg, editor of the National Socialist-influenced Eichsfelder Morgenpost, planned “that the remaining Jewish influence will be completely removed, just as we removed Jüdenstrasse here, in order to prove in this way that we have nothing to do with the Jews want to have". At this time, Jüdenstrasse had already been renamed Adolf-Hitler-Strasse .

The boycott from 1933 and its consequences were not sufficient for the NSDAP, which is why the district training leader Wieprecht answered the self-posed question “Why do we reject the Jews?” In the Eichsfelder Morgenpost in 1935. He wrote that Jews were "racially completely different people" and "destroyers of culture" and would "live as leeches on the body of other peoples".

In October 1936, a renewed agitation against the Jewish companies Rosenbaum and Löwenthal began with notices in the city, whereby their customers were accused of "ammunition for the civil war and Bolshevism" and " treason ". Recordings of customers shopping in the Jewish shops were published in the notice box on Marktstrasse with the remark "These traitors bought from the Jew Rosenbaum" in order to put the buyers under pressure. Since many residents of the Duderstadt district did not allow themselves to be infected or unsettled by the anti-Semitic statements, the Rosenbaum company did not initially record any major losses. Some residents sometimes had friendships with the city's Jewish families. Since Rosenbaum hired a lawyer, the actions already mentioned had to be stopped because they represented a violation of form in anti-Jewish overzealousness. In order to sell the Jewish companies elsewhere, their competitors subjected them to unfair competition. This led to police investigations against the companies, which, to the chagrin of the complainants, did not confirm any dishonest machinations. The disgruntled mayor called these anti-Semitic acts a "defensive measure". The district administrator called it “self-help” of the competitors, since the businesses that were run by Christians should not have had a very large customer base and thus the customers would have needed them more than Rosenbaum's company. From November 1939 onwards, there were obviously fewer customers in Rosenbaum's shop, as he had to send the goods back to the dealer.

On the morning of November 10, 1938, the Reich pogrom also broke out in Duderstadt . The synagogue was destroyed by fire. The mayor of the city did not allow a fireman to try to put out the fire. Only when the fire threatened to spread to the neighboring house was the fireman allowed to extinguish it. Subsequently, the SS-Standarte 51 and some residents of Duderstadt looted the two remaining Jewish shops. The inventory was confiscated and handed over to the NS-Volkswohlfahrt in Duderstadt for safekeeping. The last four Jewish men in the city were arrested. Within two weeks, the last two stores were forcible .

The six remaining Jewish women were handed over to the Hildesheim Stapo in March 1942 . Thus Duderstadt was "Jew clean" in the same year.

In the last months of the war, Jews came to Duderstadt again involuntarily. Several hundred women had to do forced labor in the Polte plants .

A total of 22 Jewish Duderstädter fell victim to the “ Final Solution ”. In 2008, a memorial stone was erected in the Jewish cemetery to commemorate those who died from the Duderstadt subcamp.

Hitler Youth

The Hitler Youth is one of the most famous Nazi organizations. It is a prime example of the rigorous conformity of young people and the associated restrictive influence of the Nazi dictatorship on society. The attendant ideas diverge from reality. The rural regions are symbolic of this. Above all, their Catholic sentiments and the associated loyalty to their homeland and church provided considerable resistance in their upbringing. Nevertheless, from 1939 the highly Catholic Eichsfeld was also required to join.

Hitler Youth (in the Untereichsfeld)

The Hitler Youth and the Association of German Girls were well represented in the Duderstadt district . The girls did handicrafts together and did various handicrafts. Together they went on hikes to Huebenthal and drove to the Weser.

Most of the boys from the sub-field were members of the Hitler Youth. For them there were leisure activities at the camp in the Harz Mountains, the common theater group Spielschar and regular visits to the cinema. Participation in the latter could be compulsory for propaganda films . During the war, the Hitler Youth was used to collect funds for the winter relief organization.

Public holidays were celebrated together with all young people from the Untereichsfeld at a large meeting in Duderstadt.

By far not all young people identified with the two organizations. So also some Pimpfe from Tiftlingerode. A large parade in front of the Duderstadt town hall was planned on a Sunday morning at the same time as the service. The market street was marched up and down and the nearby upper and lower church was circled. The aim was to disturb the service with the loud drums. The Pimpfe, who went at the very back of the march, sneaked away as they circled a church in order to enter it and take part in the service. This case came out in retrospect and had no known consequences.

According to Mayor Dornieden, the relationship between him and the HJ was strained because of the "fanatical and arrogant leadership" of the HJ leadership in Göttingen (which was subject to the Duderstädter ban). This went so far that the mayor was reluctant to approve subsidies for youth work, charged the Hitler Youth with telephone costs and refused requests for rooms.

The formation of the Hitler Youth (in Ober-Eichsfeld)

The Hitler Youth, also known as the “HJ”, emerged parallel to the NSDAP's propaganda machine. Specifically related to the Eichsfeld, the National Socialists began with the first instructions in the early 1920s. In 1922, the first National Socialist local group was founded in Heiligenstadt. She maintained close contacts with the Göttingen National Socialists and their connections to the Gau Südhannover; Its members came mainly from the immediate vicinity of the district town, i.e. from Uder and Birkenfelde . In 1925, after Adolf Hitler's dismissal in 1924, the NSDAP was re-established on February 27. In 1928, the local National Socialist grouping in Heiligenstadt had to be temporarily shut down, as the Nazi ascent stagnated due to the prevailing resistance of the Weimar Republic .

Nothing is reported in the local press releases about the youth departments and leisure clubs during this transition period. In 1929 the area fell as a result of an adjustment of the constituencies to the NSDAP district of the National Socialists Thuringia. Some exceptions were attributed to the Gau Kurhessen ( Kella , Dietzenrode , Lindewerra , Neuhessen, Wahlhausen and Werleshausen [until 1934]). In 1930 the first local chapter of the town of Dingelstädt was founded. As a result, party speakers with propaganda tools increasingly moved through the Eichsfeld to proclaim the NSDAP. However, the youthful leads of the National Socialists were ignored by the masses, not accepted by the Church and badly attacked by the Center Party and the Left Faction.

Nevertheless, in 1930 the National Socialists succeeded in establishing further youth groups in the villages of Rüdigershagen , Heiligenstadt, Leinefelde and Worbis. The last three in particular later proved to be extremely important in the distribution of the youth departments. In contrast to 1922, the organizational matters of the individual local groups were systematically advanced. In the first half of 1931, Eduard Beckmann and five party comrades built up the already existing youth groups to form the first official Hitler Youth of Eichsfeld. This included the districts of Heiligenstadt and Leinefelde-Worbis. By the year the NSDAP came to power in 1933, it achieved the status of a following and comprised around 150 members.

The district of Leinefelde-Worbis is one of the oldest "HJ" bases in Eichsfeld, while the Hitler Youth in Heiligenstadt was one of the largest and most active posts in the region. The Hitler Youth of Eichsfeld was only noticed in local press releases after they came to power in 1933, when the Uder group took part in a local NSDAP rally as part of the Potsdam Day ( March 23, 1933 ). The torchlight parades in the individual villages aroused the interest of some young people, for example in Geismar . So it says:

“ Was that a joy for our school youth. Most of the children had never seen a torchlight procession. "

After performances by followers leader Beckmann in May 1933 at a specially organized campaign village Hitler youth groups were set up increasingly in Geisleden , Günterode , Heyerode , Hildebrandshausen , Hilkerode , Hohengandern , Lengenfeld unterm Stein , Lutter , Siemerode , Silberhausen , Struth , Teistungen , Thalwenden , Wingerode and ferrule . Until 1933, the Hitler Youth was mostly local, which is why the “school youth with their teacher” appeared at numerous Nazi celebrations. At that time, the Hitler Youth met with disinterest and religiously motivated suspicion, which probably kept numerous young people away.

The expansion of the Ober-Eichsfeld Hitler Youth

On May 29, 1933, the Eichsfeld Hitler Youth marched in Leinefelde. In addition to a greeting by Günther Blum , local group leader Beckmann was appointed sub-ban leader of the region on that day. As part of a reorganization, the National Socialist Students' Union (NSS), which was headed by Heinz Schilderoth, was integrated into the Hitler Youth in 1933 . At the same time, there was a stronger gender segregation and age grading, as well as the implementation of the leader principle and the motto “Youth should be led by youth”. Another characteristic of the rigorous preparation for the National Socialist ideology is the link with the other Nazi organizations, mainly the Sturmabteilung and the Nazi women's groups. In August 1933, Unterbannführer Meyer organized an advertising campaign in the Worbis / Leinefelde area, with the aim of increasing the number of members to be documented, in order to present them before the district party conference (October 8, 1933) on September 1, 1933. For this purpose, Meyer visited the localities in the vicinity: Beuren , Bektiven, Bischofferode , Breitenholz , Breitenworbis , Deuna , Ferna , Großbartloff , Holungen , Hundeshagen , Jützenbach , Kalteneber , Kirchworbis , Kreuzebra , Lenterode , Neuendorf , Niederorschel , Uder, Westhausen and Worbis . On the eve of the district party conference, it was reported to the superior chief bannister Kurt Staps that the banned now had 3,500 members. Therefore, the Eichsfeld sub-ban was raised to "Bann 222 (Eichsfeld)" in October 1933. The supra-local HJ structures were reorganized: Beckmann was raised to the position of paid Bannführer, and new followers and subordinates were given appropriate management personnel who had to be trained in the school center of today's district capital Heiligenstadt. Heiligenstadt and Dingelstädt with their surrounding villages formed the sub-span I / 222, while the areas around the Hanstein, the Gobert and Bischofsstein represented the sub-span II / 222. The locations of the district of Worbis / Leinefelde formed the last sub-section III / 222. In December 1933, the new office was opened at Schlaggasse 1 in Heiligenstadt. This was relocated to Poststrasse 8 in 1935 before it was found at Leinegasse 12 in 1936. The Eichsfelder Bann 222 now together with the bans 221 ( Mühlhausen / Thuringia), 223 ( Sondershausen / Südharz) and 95 ( Gotha ) formed the Oberbann III of Gau Thuringia. The associations of the young peoples were given proper names, which often corresponded to the Nazi personality cult . The Dingelstädter young people were called "Hussars", the Wilbichs were called " Schlageter 4 ", the Niederorscheler Jungvolk was called " Gneisenau ". In addition, monuments and landmarks of the region were increasingly taken over. This was always signaled by raising the flag in the wind. In 1934 Bann 222 experienced a closer connection to the district administration. At the same time, Eduard Beckmann, who had embezzled funds from the Hitler Youth, was stripped of all his offices, expelled from the party and replaced by Richard Meyer. Also at the BDM Untergau, the local commissioning of the city of Heiligenstadt and much more. there were changes in leadership. From January 1935, the HJ strengths of the places are known. To date, a total of 1,345 boys and 1,069 girls have belonged to the Hitler Youth Worbis. This corresponds to a percentage of young people of 28%. After many children and young people continued to belong to the Catholic youth associations, in the spring of 1935 more and more measures were taken against Catholic influences.

The changes in the ban did not end in 1935 either. District leader Haselwander, who had only taken over in January 1935, took over the management under Bann 222 from February 1, 1935. A series of advertising evenings attempted to prepare the young people for later life in the NSDAP and the roles it entailed. These evenings also served as a manifestation of power. However, the fight for children and young people fought by the church and state showed its effects. Only with the help of state power and legislation could the church gradually be brought to a halt. In 1936 the Hitler Youth in Eichsfeld had about a third of the children and young people under their spell. The ban was financed with the help of membership fees and youth care funds from the district. When some site leaders found themselves increasingly overwhelmed with the management of the increasing membership fees, their own money managers, such as B. installed the new money manager Josef Widhalm. The "physical selection" also included the Eichsfeld in 1936, and so sporting achievements and knowledge tests were increasingly held with the young people. Between 1937 and 1939 the Reich Youth Leadership reached the size of a Reich Ministry in terms of personnel and budget. On paper, the year 1937 was seen as the consolidation of the National Socialist youth structures in Eichsfeld. However, many of them are more likely to be understood as "file-holders". Rather, there was still a large number of “unorganized youth.” The opening of the “Herbert-Haselwander-Heim” school near Heiligenstadt on October 10, 1937 was the most important annual event in the Obereichsfeld. Beckmann was already an advocate of a specially built HJ school. In 1938, new buildings for Hitler Youth homes were planned in many other villages. Three cornerstones were laid under Bann 222: in Holungen, Kella and Zwinge. However, the war seems to have prevented the construction work. 1939 also meant a turning point for the Eichsfeld HJ. On March 25, 1939, compulsory youth service was introduced by law in the Hitler Youth. This led to a significant increase in membership. Across Germany, it was around 98% of young people, which would correspond to around 17,000 upper-level fields. In the course of the war there were frequent changes in the leadership of the ban. During the war, efforts were made to maintain normal everyday life, but everywhere in Germany children and young people had to take on more and more tasks and military service, especially in the hospital, government and fire services. At the same time, they were more and more prepared for military service. The Hitler Youth was supposed to serve as the last contingent in the “ Volkssturm ”. At the end of the war, more and more Hitler youths were deployed as flak helpers , in the Reich Labor Service and in tank divisions, including in Eichsfeld. In September 1944, 99% of the Eichsfeld Hitler Youths born in 1928 registered for the Wehrmacht. The youths of the Eichsfeld HJ only took part indirectly in the direct fighting, for example in the battles around Struth . Certainly there were exceptions in the everyday life of the war itself. The April days of 1945 and the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht that followed ended with the Hitler Youth.

Local activities of the Ober-Eichsfeld Hitler Youth

First of all: in the following sub-item, the everyday and daily duty of the Eichsfeld Hitler Youth is not detailed, as the process is very similar to the typical everyday life of the Hitler Youth. Rather, the following is intended to provide a brief insight into individual local activities.

The young people in , for example . Bodenrode formed a marching band with five drums and ten pipes. The Hitler Youth from Teistungen even had their own chapel in the village. Fanfares and drums were part of the standard program. In Heiligenstadt, the so-called "HJ stage" was created, a separate theater working group of the Hitler Youth. The nearby villages also put on their first plays at the turn of the year 1933/34. Later theatrical performances in the broadest sense were forbidden, instead round dance, wandering songs, marching songs, speaking choirs and instrumental performances were to be celebrated in order to represent strength, solidarity and guild. In any case, public performances must first be reported to the ban management for approval.

In November 1933, the Hitler Youth was an asset in the propaganda of the NSDAP. In the run-up to the referendum on Germany's exit from the League of Nations , the young people of the Hitler Youth had to distribute leaflets and pamphlets. With chants and a. they moved through the streets in Heiligenstadt, Berlingerode and Niederorschel. In the afternoons they did the "smuggling service" and brought residents who had not yet voted to the polling station.

In August 1933 the local Hitler youth took over the youth hostels in Heiligenstadt and Leinefelde. At the same time, the Dingelstadt Hitler Youth founded a "Horst Wessel Home."

Reich training camp of the Hitler Youth

From 1940, planning began for a Reich training camp for the Hitler Youth near Heiligenstadt below the Elisabethhöhe , not far from the neighboring ban school. The camp opened in 1943 and could accommodate up to 480 boys in 14 barracks. Here not only German boys from all over the Reich were re-educated, but also boys from other countries who were being prepared for service in the SS. In 1944, several stations of the Cross at the Elisabethhöhe were probably destroyed by boys from this camp.

Forced Labor and Armaments Areas

Forced labor (in the sub-area)

The use of civilian workers and prisoners of war was caused by the labor shortage in agriculture. The Duderstadt prisoner of war command was the "Arbeitsommando 637". The first prisoners of war came to Duderstadt in November 1939.

According to the regulations on the treatment of forced laborers, they were regarded as subhuman and should be treated accordingly. For example, they were not allowed to attend church services. In addition, they shouldn't sit at the same table as the Germans to eat. However, compliance with these provisions left a lot to be desired for the Nazi regime in the Unterreichsfeld: In Gieboldehausen there were special services for the Poles and the general canon of contemporary witnesses confirms that most Poles sat at the family table for dinner. In this case, however, a so-called “Polish table” was still available, to which the workers could quickly “move” in the event of an inspection.

Since the food rations for the foreign workers were sometimes very low, Hilkeröder regularly took food with them for the Italians living there.

Due to the great tolerance of the sub-areas towards foreigners, hardly any cases are known in which they were treated badly or inhumanely. An exception, however, is the case of Janek Cizdziel, who worked on the Himmigerode estate. Himmigerode is one kilometer behind the Seulinger Forest and thus one kilometer behind the border with Eichsfeld. Nevertheless, this case is listed here, because Cizdziel regularly came through the forest to Seulingen to go shopping and was buried in the Seulingen cemetery after his death. The case of Janek Cizdziel is particularly present because the severe mistreatment of the 16-year-old Pole, who worked on the estate with his mother and siblings, led to several lawsuits. The abusive landowner had Cizdziel and all the other Poles who had testified against him taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in revenge . This survived Cizdziel and returned to the neighboring Himmigerodes estate, since his siblings had stayed there. Shortly after his return, when the war in the Untereichsfeld was over, he was shot in the field corridor in April 1945. At that time it was already clear to the family who the shooter was, but the landowner could never be prosecuted in court.

Between 1939 and 1945, a total of 107 deaths of forced laborers were documented in the subfield. These included six suicides and one execution. The execution was carried out in the labor camp in Rhumspringe .

The Schickert-Werk in Rhumspringe and the Polte-Werke in Duderstadt were among the two large industries that only produced for the war and mainly had slave labor in the Duderstadt district . In Rhumspringe, hydrogen peroxide was produced for the start and operation of the V2 , and ammunition was produced in Duderstadt

External command of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Duderstadt

The Polte factory was located on the Euzenberg in Duderstadt. More than 2000 people, including not only Germans, were employed around the clock from 1942 onwards. Coming from Auschwitz via Bergen-Belsen , 755 Hungarian Jewish women arrived at the Polte factory in Duderstadt on November 8, 1944. The only requirement the women had to meet was the ability to work. Accordingly, they should not be too old or too young, so that the average age was 26 years. The work in the camp was hard and exhausting, but was not classified as hard work, which is why the workers received no food allowances and had to cope with the food minimum. The food rations in the Duderstadt subcamp were also very small, which is why hunger was a constant companion. The women described the treatment of the SS guards as strict but good, in contrast to the concentration camp guards . None of the former workers had a good word for them.

The prisoners, who were used to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, found that they were housed “properly” and “well” in Duderstadt by comparison. Nonetheless, violations of the concentration camp rules were punished, for example, with kneeling in the snow, deprivation of food, blows and renewed shaving of the head. There were also death threats, but this was never taken to the extreme. This means that relatively few deaths are recorded in the Buchenwald subcamp with four deceased. Although not an extermination camp like Auschwitz, it was nevertheless a concentration camp in which, as a rule, people were killed “slowly” and “creeping”. Shortly before the Americans occupied Duderstadt, the concentration camp was cleared between April 5 and 7, 1945. All inmates were brought to Theresienstadt .

Other satellite camps were located in Niederorschel (Buchenwald concentration camp) and a branch of the Kleinbodungen satellite camp in Bischofferode .

Armaments areas (in the upper area)

In the northern Thuringian region, i.e. the Obereichsfeld and Nordhausen, relatively few companies had been entrusted with armaments contracts by the late summer of 1943. In most cases, only smaller craft businesses delivered subcontracts for the armaments industry. The settlement of the V2 and the production in the tunnel system in Kohnstein , however, ushered in a new era and is considered the initial spark for the construction of further underground tunnel systems. A few months before the end of the war, the regions around Heiligenstadt, Worbis and Nordhausen were to be built up to become the last armament bastion of the National Socialists. Labor camps were set up specifically for this purpose. So also in the warehouse in Mittelbau-Dora . However, the final planning of the last armaments bastion could never be fully implemented.

Army ammunition facility Bernterode (shaft)

In 1936, the construction of an ammunition factory began in Bernterode , more precisely in the Schmalenbachtal. In 1938 production could finally start. Cartridges as well as light and heavy ammunition for the field howitzer with powder bags were mainly produced. In addition, the employed women provided cartridges for the 8.8 cm flak with prefabricated explosives. The finished cargoes were delivered to the site of the army ammunition facility with the help of a small train and stored there underground. From autumn 1939 underground ammunition workhouses were even built in Bernterode. Reports from the British Control Commission show that these were simple rooms that were beaten in salt. There were close contacts between the ammunition store and the Duderstädter Polte-Werk Munitionslager, which is why many batches of ammunition from Duderstadt were stored in Bernterode by order of the Reich Aviation Ministry. When the economy is booming, around 2,500 people work in the ammunition depot in Bernterode, distributed in shifts. From 1943 onwards, 200 French people , later forced laborers from the Soviet Union and 50 Italian military internees who had to do the heaviest forced labor, were housed here. As the war progressed, more and more women had to take on men's work in the plant, and towards the end of the war Polish women were also employed. Regardless of the physical handicaps of the employees, production in this plant continued until the end of the war.

Around March 16, 1945, the coffins of Paul von Hindenburg and his wife Gertrud as well as the kings Friedrich Wilhelm I and Friedrich II of Prussia were relocated to the shaft, as well as the flags and standards of the German army from 1914–1918, the files of Foreign Office, the Kassel land registry, pictures from Prussian state museums , the library of Sanssouci , the Prussian crown jewels , valuable porcelain and 271 paintings. A wall was also built in front of these “treasures”. On April 27, 1945, the 1st US Army discovered the underground tunnel in Bernterode. At the beginning of May, the found art treasures, relics and grave goods began to be recovered before they were distributed in September and October of the same year. The coffins were eg. In the Church of St. Elizabeth of Marburg delivered and buried there. Later the coffins of the kings were exhumed and transported to the ancestral castle of the Hohenzollern in Bisingen.

On July 4, 1945, shortly after the withdrawal of the American troops, several explosions on the former ammunition site in Bernterode caused damage of two million Reichsmarks. The remaining ammunition stocks were relocated in late summer 1946. In addition, after the end of the war, the buildings in the production area were blown up and left to nature. You can still see numerous ruins there today.

Dingelstädter machine works

The Schellhaas & Co. knitwear factory produced vests, trousers and stockings for the Wehrmacht . The economic turnaround of the NSDAP also helped the knitwear factory to a small boom in 1934. Annual sales could be increased by up to 1 million Reichsmarks compared to 1933 (1.8 million Reichsmarks). The number of workers had to be increased accordingly. From 1941 the company also repaired torn tunics. Documents from the “Office for the Protection of Public Property ” show that Schellhaas & Co. was able to maintain production even after the end of the war.

There were also suppliers in Dingelstädt for Siemens & Halske in Mühlhausen. Georg Meyer's company manufactured galvanizing tubs, for example. Another company produced suction tubes for electrochemistry (Georg Schäfer).

WiFo Heiligenstadt

From 1937 an army tank farm for fuel essential for the war was built near Heiligenstadt , disguised as an economic research company ( WiFo Heiligau for short ). Around 200 to 300 line-loyal employees worked here under strict secrecy. In the spring of 1945, the facility was destroyed by bombing. The WiFo management decided to self-liquidate in 1951, so that the company managed under this name was finally dissolved by 1969.

Production sites of the last hour

After allied bombing attacks towards the end of the war, various armaments factories were supposed to relocate and thus form the Eichsfeld into the last armaments bastion of the Third Reich.

Dingelstädt

In October 1943, the Henschel company rented the factory space of the disused Neumann cigar factory in Dingelstädt. Tools for the aircraft and tank industries were manufactured in Dingelstädt, and foreign workers were housed in the "Drei Linden" camp. In autumn 1943, the Schellhaas & Co. knitwear factory had to vacate part of its factory premises in order to manufacture the Henschel factory. From then on, Henschel manufactured aircraft engines there.

Leinefelde

At the end of 1944, the Henschel company was assigned additional areas in Eichsfeld. In the railway tunnels in Leinefelde, crank and gear boxes for aircraft engines were explicitly to be manufactured. However, until the end of the war in 1945, production could no longer be started.

Lower Orschel

In the village of Niederorschel, a branch of Junkers was opened in autumn 1944 under the code name "Langenwerke AG", which was also responsible for operations in the Langensalza concentration camp . On September 6, 1944, an advance command of 100 political male prisoners from the Buchenwald concentration camp, which was intended to set up the camp, reached Niederorschel. “The weaving section of the Mechanische Weberei AG was converted into a satellite camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. This was big enough to accommodate several hundred prisoners in three-story beds. An electrically charged barbed wire fence turned the area into a prison. ”Three other houses were occupied by SS personnel to ensure that the inmates were completely monitored. On October 30, 1944, another 282 prisoners reached Niederorschel. In January 1945 the number of prisoners rose to 674. The conditions in Niederorschel were described by the former prisoners, unlike in Auschwitz, as a possibility of survival.

The prisoners of the Niederorschel external command, as it was later called, had to manufacture wings and chassis for Junkers aircraft. Production took place in the confiscated factory buildings of the Hermann Becher plywood factory. In the spring of 1945, the prisoners had to do other work in Niederorschel due to insufficient capacity utilization of the factory. On April 1 and 2, 1945, the Niederorschel external command was evacuated to Buchenwald via Berlstedt. The inmates had to walk this route. After the end of the war, the former Niederorschel satellite camp was converted into a kind of internment camp, in which German prisoners of war, NSDAP party members, soldiers and young people of the Hitler Youth were interned.

In the late summer of 1945, the Niederorschel camp was finally evacuated.

Job creation measures (in the sub-area)

In the district of Duderstadt, unemployment was far above the average for the empire, as industry was scarce here. The reason for this was, explained by a contemporary, that the sub-area was geographically unfavorable: It was far away from the raw material and sales areas. Due to the mostly mountainous soil, this was also not very productive.

Due to the large number of unemployed, closed labor camps were set up in the Untereichsfeld in Seeburg, Breitenberg and Gieboldehausen. These were used to create jobs and were intended for young people to do voluntary work . Lectures on various topics were often given to camp inmates with the intention of spreading National Socialist ideas. It was also intended to prevent other political currents from spreading.

Participation was not compulsory, but all refusing under 25-year-olds were given a support ban, as a result of which they no longer received any money. Despite these measures, the response to the voluntary work remained low, but the communities were relieved by the lower support payments. The financial pressure of the people therefore did not affect the rejection of the Unetreichsfelder against the National Socialist measures.

According to their party members, the youth's resistance to National Socialist institutions was systematically instilled in the Catholic associations.

Supply in the lower field during the war

Even in times of need, the supply situation in the subfield was at least such that there was not much starvation (except in the labor camps, which were given the food), as many in the region were self-sufficient. The residents of the district helped each other by exchanging food, grocery stamps and vouchers. Thanks to the solidarity in the villages, the delivery regulations were also curtailed. The meat inspectors had to approve the slaughter of a pig and demand the prescribed amount (1/4 of the pig could be withheld per person in the household). In order to be able to measure this, the pigs had to be weighed before slaughter. It was an open secret in the villages that a lightweight pig, ironically speaking, could have walked the way from the farm to the scales and back again on its own, because it had often come to weigh in on behalf of its heavy conspecifics. But not only the slaughter of pigs other than the weighed was normal, more pigs were often slaughtered than was actually allowed. However, this required much more effort, as the pigs also had to be hidden during the regular animal counts.

However, circumventing the regulations was only possible because the meat inspectors were residents of the villages themselves and did not act to the detriment of their neighbors.

Church and State

The relationship between church and state (in the sub-field)

Until March 1933, everyday life in the Untereichsfeld was shaped by church associations. At first there was a coexistence of church and state. On May 1, 1933, “ National Labor Day ”, a joint service was held. On other days, too, men of the assault division in their uniforms occasionally took part in the service.

Local representatives of the NSDAP did not dare to openly take action against the church through bans. All church events were carried out in this way; they even had a high response due to their demonstrative character. Later the church associations in Hilkerode were banned from public life, for example the journeyman's association.

The participation in the service in Mingerode was almost 100%, as Bernward Neisen wrote in the report in the church paper for the Diocese of Hildesheim in 1935: “800 residents and only one was missing! And the leader of your movement said the other day that Christianity is an episode that is now coming to an end! "

The conflict between the Church and the NSDAP (in the Obereichsfeld)

The Eichsfeld has been known as Marienland for centuries. Due to the strong faith, the Catholic Eichsfeld was considered almost immune to the lure of the Third Reich. An example of this is the Reichskristallnacht , in which the Eichsfeld hardly or not at all participated. This was partly due to the small number of Jewish citizens, but also to the resistance of the Catholics themselves.

On March 23, 1933, Adolf Hitler declared: "The national government sees the two Christian denominations as the most important factors in the preservation of nationality."

The Catholic Church and the New Era (in the Obereichsfeld)

The National Socialists met an established Catholic church in Eichsfeld. The Eichsfeld had an integrated structure of organizations, customs and local parishes across the board. Through the involvement of the clergy in schools and kindergartens, the youth were involved in the faith at an early stage and were increasingly enthusiastic about the profession of pastor. The NSDAP found it extremely difficult to break the Catholic networks within the population. Until the end of the Third Reich in 1945, it could not completely eradicate the prevailing basic beliefs. Attacks on the church and clergy met with unmistakable aversion and dislike of the National Socialists and their leaders such as Mayor Müller and District Leader Vogt. There is talk of constant guerrilla warfare between church and state, for example about the approval of Christian processions, about the right to exercise religion freely for members of the Hitler Youth and the NSDAP, about the right to religious instruction, etc. So in 1933 the Konrad-Martin- The cross was inaugurated and the Dünkreuz was built near Deuna in 1934/35 after initial disabilities. The Eichsfelder were bound within a fixed framework of the church content. The church always symbolizes and symbolizes a fixed constant in external and internal existence.

The greatest battle, however, was fought for the youth of the time.

Conflicts between the Hitler Youth and the Church (in the Obereichsfeld)

At the time of the Third Reich, the Hitler Youth offered an attractive range of emancipatory elements. A separate group identity could be defined through youth culture and puberty, which systematically promoted the demarcation from adults and the institution of the church.

As everywhere in the former German Empire , the Hitler Youth strove for sole hegemonic status in the field of youth in Eichsfeld . This was simplified by the prevailing harmonization of justice and administration. Nevertheless, it was the Catholic Church that rose to become the most important opponent in the highly Catholic Eichsfeld.

Unterbannführer Beckmann announced in Lutter in 1933:

"[...] to openly confess to Adolf Hitler's movement, it is not too late, otherwise it could be that those who do not intervene today will be eliminated for the future."

A swipe that should not be despised in the “direction of Rome.” A real contest for the favor of the children and young people of the Third Reich began. The summer solstice in 1933 provided the first occasion for a public parade. All youth clubs and organizations were to take part in the competitions under the flag of the Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth, as well as many other youth organizations, took part in the competitions in many places. From some situation reports of the Schutzstaffel at the turn of the year 1933/34 it emerges that there was a significant wave of accession to the Hitler Youth on the Eichsfeld. The seemingly charismatic attraction of young, dynamic, combative and sporty youth organizations and groups seems to have strongly stimulated the youth at the time. In general, from autumn 1933 to April 1934 one can see an increasing enthusiasm in the population about National Socialism. This wave of enthusiasm was also reflected in the adults.

In fact, this wave of enthusiasm should not be generalized, as it cannot be transferred to all locations. The tendency was mainly the evangelical-minded local members who seemed to inspire more easily, but there were also some catholic-minded people who fell victim to National Socialism relatively quickly in its rise, for example Breitenworbis, Küllstedt , Teistungen and Uder. At the same time, however, there was a majority disinterest and distancing from National Socialism. This is also the case in Mackenrode, Wiesenfeld and Deuna. From Deuna it says in 1933:

“It seems as if the parents in Deuna deliberately keep their children away from our youth organization, even if they take the opportunity to emphasize that they too are 'national'. This ill-considered behavior on the part of the parents can perhaps take revenge on the adolescents one day. "

The same applied to the denominational Fretterode . Most parents' suspicion of the Hitler Youth was based largely on religious principles. As early as 1933, many families saw the Hitler Youth's intentions for the sole right to an education as absurd. Unterbannführer Beckmann announced to all Hitler Youth:

“Tell your parents that there is no reason on the occasion of the church question, because Professor Müller (resident in Heiligenstadt) made himself available to us in the most willing manner to support us on these days [including a Sunday] for the spiritual well-being of all of our Hitler Youth to care."

The parents were critical of this movement and speak of a threat to the “salvation of the soul” of the children of the Catholic tradition. In this regard, concerns about the National Socialist youth activities arose. In addition to the religious concerns, there was also a state of fear when the idea of ​​a youth camp germinated. The fears were increasingly directed against the leisure activities of the Hitler Youth. Since excessive sporting activities, sleep deprivation (due to flag roll calls) and the prevailing climatic conditions would increasingly affect the children and young people. A situation report by the Gestapo from February 1934 explains:

“Within the Hitler Youth, the parents complain about prolonged service. The boys often don't come home until around 11 p.m. and are then worn out while attending school the next morning. "

The trainers complained the same about employed apprentices. The church itself took notice of the burgeoning culture war as quickly as possible and already announced in June 1933 that it [had to] accept the new government, but that it was demanding the right to co-education. The situation of the conflicting parties became increasingly more concrete in 1934. Since the Eichsfeld Hitler Youth found themselves in the field of tension, as the majority of their members continued to actively pursue the Catholic faith and at the same time attended the Hitler Youth. On the occasion of the Führer conference on February 4, 1934, Area Leader Blum announced that he knew Eichsfeld as a particularly difficult area for the Hitler Youth.

In the same breath, Blum rejected the accusation that the Hitler Youth were “godless” and even claimed that “Christianity was deeply rooted in the Hitler Youth.” At the same time, he wanted all youth associations, organizations and - by June 1, 1934 annex associations of the Hitler Youth To date, the Eichsfeld youth has largely stayed away from the national-socialist endeavors.

At the ceremony on March 11, 1934 on the market square in Heiligenstadt, the non-Catholic youth associations, such as the gymnastics and swimming club and the Protestant youth associations, were transferred to the Hitler Youth, not without access to media. Beckmann, who has meanwhile been promoted to a paid Bannführer, declared several times that one would not "rest until the whole Eichsfeld youth is in the Hitler Youth." In March 1934, the Bann 223 (Südharz-Kyffhäuser) announced that now only the Hitler Youth were in the Youth associations are present. Then the main focus was on the areas of Eisenach-Gotha and the Eichsfeld. Blum described the Eichsfeld as the last problem region in Thuringia, because the Hitler Youth could not gain a foothold. Hardly any other social field was as contested as the youth organization in Eichsfeld. The mayor of Dingelstadt (NSDAP) described the problem as follows:

"The future belongs to those who have young people."

In May 1935 a kind of propaganda wave began with the aim of converting the youth to the Hitler Youth. For the clergy, meanwhile, the uniform and the behavior of the Hitler Youth were considered grotesque. In Kirchgandern and Geismar right-wing parishioners were threatened with exclusion from church services if they entered the church in their Hitler Youth uniform.

The forces loyal to the church organized religious evenings in order to turn the children of the Hitler Youth back to their faith and to encourage them to leave. But even the party members stood by the church when in doubt. In 1935, the Silberhausen local group office manager Huppach warned: "To remain loyal to the church." In 1935, Küllstedt reported that the number of young girls had fallen again and that the Hitler Youth was increasingly losing power in the village. The other counter-reactions of the Eichsfeld Church against the National Socialist youth philosophy are remarkable. The church literally infiltrated the Hitler Youth. Important information was only sent by courier, as it was feared that the phone would be bugged.

In the end, the state restricted the Catholic Church with the help of the "Police Regulations Against Confessional Youth Associations" of July 23, 1935, in which the Catholic youth associations undertook all activities outside of the religious framework, e.g. B. sports activities have been prohibited. Thus the effect of the Catholic Church on the parishes and churches themselves was curbed.

Nevertheless, the appearance of the Catholic Church towards the Hitler Youth is a significant example of the strong faith in Eichsfeld. After high school students from Heiligenstadt no longer took part in the Palm Sunday procession as grave knights from 1935 onwards, eight young men, including local Hitler Youth leaders, took active part in the procession again in 1943. In the following days they had to justify themselves to the NSDAP district leader and the HJ leadership and were taken to a HJ prison camp.

Resistance (in the lower range)

The sub-fields communicated their resistance to National Socialism in various ways. On May 1, 1933, the Hitler oak that had been planted ten days earlier in Duderstadt on Hitler's birthday was demolished. This was accused of individual communists who were subsequently arrested.

In Desingerode, a farmer who was close to the center refused to donate to the winter aid organization. As a result, he was sentenced in the newspaper and asked residents to isolate him in the village. The farmer couldn't withstand this, which is why he later donated to the winter aid organization. This type of resistance was by no means an isolated case in the sub-area.

Schoolchildren also resisted National Socialism by not bowing to the will of an assistant teacher from Brochthausen. She had the crucifix hung next to the picture of Hitler in the classroom and instead of the usual prayer sang a national song before class began. Some children prayed anyway, or started singing Marian songs.

Pastor Hartmann was supposed to be arrested in Rhumspringe because he enjoyed too great a reputation in the community, especially among the youth, for the taste of the party. So the Secret State Police searched for reasons to make the pastor's arrest "legal". When he was finally taken out of religious education by the Gestapo for interrogation, the village became troubled. Word got around so quickly that within a few minutes between 200 and 300 residents, some of whom were armed, stood in front of the Gestapo. They threatened to overturn the car if they were to climb into it with the pastor. Due to the threatening situation, the pastor was not arrested. This resistance, however, was not without consequences. The next day the Gestapo came back in significantly larger formation to arrest the pastor and some men and women.

The disregard and ignorance of National Socialist literature such as “Der Stürmer” in Duderstadt showed no direct resistance, but nonetheless aversion to National Socialism, as none of the residents wanted to expose themselves to suspicion of sympathy. Outwardly, a 100 percent approval of the sub-fields for National Socialism was propagated, there was no mention of reservations about the National Socialists.

On April 6, 1945, the bridges in Gieboldehausen were prepared for demolition to make it difficult for the Americans to advance. Here there were clashes with the residents because they wanted to prevent the blasting. Some managed to neutralize the explosive charge on the Rhume Bridge by throwing it into the water. However, this was the only location where the plan of resistance at the end of the war succeeded.

End of the war in 1945

In view of the impending defeat of Germany, the residents of Tiftlingerode were forced to provide horse-drawn carriages on March 27, 1945 so that the German troops could transport their luggage and weapons to the Harz Mountains. In some places in the lower field anti-tank barriers were set up to prevent the Americans from advancing quickly. When the Seulingen mayor refused to put up these barriers because he did not see the point in preventing the Americans from marching in, he was announced the death penalty. The acting organs of the party failed to carry out this threat because the Americans intervened.

On April 8, 1945, the staff department of the German Wehrmacht left Desingerode. Before that, the members made sure that all incriminating files were burned. The inhabitants of the various villages also destroyed everything that was reminiscent of the Nazi regime in any way. These included swastika flags, party badges and uniforms.

In the course of April 9, 1945, the Americans moved closer, however not as expected via Seulingen to Desingerode, but via Himmigerode through the forest. In this way they could not see the white flag that the Desingeröder had placed on the church tower, pointing to Seulingen, to show the Americans that they would not resist. Furthermore, the Americans from the nearby Werxhausen Forest were shot at by the withdrawing SS troops, which is why they began to bombard Desingerode until two residents approached the foreign troops with a white flag. Thus Desingerode was the first parish in the Lower Field to fall into the hands of the American troops.

The lower field passed to the Americans on April 9th ​​without a fight. They imposed curfews overnight. The sentiment among the sub-fields about the American occupation was mixed. Some were very critical of it, others were happy about the strangers' chocolate and still others offered the Americans liquor and cigarettes.

As a result of the denazification that followed, the district leader, the mayor of Duderstadt, some local group leaders, the district chairman of the German Labor Front and the Sturmabteilungsobersturmführer were interned.

School, clubs and organizations (in the sub-area)

In the course of 1933 Hilkerode also received the “ Volksempfänger ”, so that the pupils in the school could listen to it at large events.

From 1941, under the guidance of the teacher at the school in Tiftlingerode, silkworm breeding began to deliver the cocoons to the Duderstadt collection point. Parachutes were made on it.

In the last few weeks before the American invasion, there were no more lessons in the school in Tiftlingerode, as these were occupied by German troops.

In Hilkerode and other villages in the Untereichsfeld, sports clubs belonging to the German youth force were banned. Everything should be brought into line in order to be able to supervise a unit better. The clubs each had to provide liaison officers to the NSDAP.

The following organizations existed in Duderstadt: Local group , Sturmabteilung, Hitlerjugend, Bund Deutscher Mädel, National Socialist People's Welfare , Reichs Luftschutzbund , German Labor Front, Strength through Joy , Association for Germans Abroad, National Socialist War Victims Care , National Socialist Judges Association.

Processing of history (in the sub-field)

For many years the time of National Socialism was pushed aside in the lower area. Accordingly, there was no processing of the story. In the village chronicles that were written before 1992 there is nothing from the time of National Socialism. A rethink only started in 1992, relatively late, with the work by HH Ebeling and HR Fricke “Duderstadt 29-49. Studies on the history of the city in the age of the third empire. From the end of the Weimar Republic to the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany ”. Subsequently, the time of National Socialism was also discussed in more detail in the new chronicles.

Until now, the point of view was that National Socialism had not found its way into the Untereichsfeld due to the strict Catholic faith. The processing by Ebeling and Fricke and later by G. Hütt refuted the thesis. National Socialism was far from being as pronounced in the Untereichsfeld as in other parts of Germany. It spread rather slowly and was not very well received by the residents, as not everyone identified with the ideology of National Socialism. This was certainly due to the local residents' deep solidarity with Catholicism.

literature

  • Heinz Siebert: The Eichsfeld under the swastika. A documentation. Self-published by Paderborn-Wewer 1982, 121 pages
  • Götz Hütt: A small German town after National Socialism. On the history and post-history of the Nazi era in Duderstadt and in Untereichsfeld. Self-published by Norderstedt 2017
  • Petra Behrens: Regional Identity and Regional Culture in Democracy and Dictatorship. Home propaganda, regional cultural activities and the construction of the Eichsfeld region between 1918 and 1961. Nomos publishing house 2012
  • Dietmar Klenke: Survival techniques of Eichsfeld Catholicism under the German dictatorships. Identity creation or self-abandonment? In: Solidarity community and fragmented society: parties, milieus and associations in comparison. Edited by Tobias Dürr, Franz Walter, Verlag Leske + Budrich Opladen 1999, pp. 89 to 110
  • Bertfried Stadermann: Heiligenstadt 1933 to 1945. Pictures from a small town in Central Germany between adaptation and refusal. Publishing house Cordier Heiligenstadt 2005
  • Frank Baranowski: Secret armaments projects in southern Lower Saxony and Thuringia during the Nazi era. Verlag Mecke Duderstadt 1995
  • Rolf Barthel: Against forgetting. Fascist crimes on the Eichsfeld and in Mühlhausen. ed. v. Thuringian Forum for Education and Science eV, Jena oJ 2004
  • Götz Hütt: The external command of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Duderstadt. Hungarian Jewish women in the Polte armaments factory. Series of publications by the Duderstadt history workshop, Norderstedt 2005.
  • Franz Waldhelm: Jewish and Church Policy in the Third Reich. Interdependence from the perspective of the Eichsfeld. In: Eichsfelder Heimatstimmen, No. 9, Mecke Druck und Verlag, Duderstadt September 1988, pp. 439–443
  • Paulmann: The various paths taken since 1933 to overcome unemployment with special consideration of the Duderstadt district. In: Unser Eichsfeld 1941, issue 1. Verlag Alfons Mecke, Duderstadt 1941, pp. 2–20.
  • Matthias Degenhardt: "... personally committed to loyalty by the Führer" On the origin and history of the Sturmabteilung (SA) in Eichsfeld. In: Eichsfeld-Jahrbuch , ISSN  1610-6741 , vol. 26. (2018), pp. 301–348.
  • Rolf Barthel: From the fight against fascism on the Eichsfeld (1933-1945). In: Eichsfelder Heimathefte. Heiligenstadt 1978 issue 4
  • Rolf Berthel: To the destruction of "life unworthy of life" during the time of fascism on the Eichsfeld and in Mühlhausen. In: Eichsfelder Heimathefte. 1999 issue 1, p. 65

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sparkasse Duderstadt (ed.): Hans-Heinrich Ebeling, Maria Hauff (edit.): Duderstadt and the Untereichsfeld, lexicon of a landscape in southern Lower Saxony. Mecke Druck, Duderstadt 1996, ISBN 3-923453-85-X , pp. 287-290.
  2. ↑ Wagner, Dieter. Referendums and referendums in the city and district of Duderstadt 1924–1934 in: Eichsfelder Heimatzeitschrift. Issue 10, October 2008, pp. 371–374.
  3. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949 . 1992, p. 190
  4. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. Studies on the history of the city in the age of the third empire. From the end of the Weimar Republic to the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany. Mecke Printing and Publishing, Duderstadt 1992.
  5. ↑ Merten: The lower and upper field. 1968, p. 41.
  6. ^ Meinhardt: Chronicle of the communities Ebergötzen and Holzerode. 1991. p. 226.
  7. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. 1992, p. 195.
  8. ↑ Meinhardt, Günther. National Socialist everyday life in Eichsfeld in: Eichsfelder Heimatstimmen, Heft, January 1, 1984, pp. 8-10.
  9. ↑ Fricke: Bilshausen from the 17th century to the present. 2016, pp. 182–188.
  10. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. 1992, pp. 93-97.
  11. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode. 1999, p. 322.
  12. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. 1992, p. 198.
  13. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. 1992, p. 208.
  14. ^ Association for Eichsfeldische Heimatkunde - Heimatverein Goldene Mark (Untereichsfeld). Eichsfeld yearbook. (Ed.); Mathias Degenhardt & Anne Hey. The takeover of power in the Heiligenstadt town hall in 1933. Mecke Druck, Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-103-0 , p. 345.
  15. ^ Friese: Heimatgeschichtliche Collector Sheet . Issue 2, 1991. pp. 7-9.
  16. ↑ Eichsfelder Tagesblatt from March 15, 1932.
  17. ↑ Heiligenstadt City Archives (StadtA HIG): I, No. 26.12. Minutes of the city council assembly and municipal council meetings 1929–1950.
  18. ^ Degenhardt, Hey: The takeover of power in the Heiligenstadt town hall 1933. Mecke Druck, Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-103-0 , p. 346f.
  19. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode. 1999, p. 361.
  20. ^ Hütt: History of the modern Jewish community in Duderstadt. 2012, p. 110 f.
  21. ↑ Südhannoversche Volkszeitung on April 1, 1933
  22. ↑ Schäfer-Richter: The Jewish population in Duderstadt in the time of National Socialism 1992, p. 258
  23. ↑ a b c Duderstadt / Eichsfeld (Lower Saxony)
  24. ↑ a b Eichsfelder Morgenpost on August 22, 1935
  25. ↑ a b c Göttingen district archive: LA Dud No. 549
  26. ^ Hütt: History of the modern Jewish community in Duderstadt. 2012, p. 114
  27. ^ Hütt: History of the modern Jewish community in Duderstadt. 2012, p. 124
  28. ^ Hütt: History of the modern Jewish community in Duderstadt. 2012, p. 113f.
  29. ^ Hütt: History of the modern Jewish community in Duderstadt. 2012, p. 115.
  30. ^ Hütt: History of the modern Jewish community in Duderstadt. 2012, pp. 117–119
  31. ↑ Schäfer-Richter: The Jewish population in Duderstadt in the time of National Socialism. 1992, pp. 253-255
  32. ^ Hütt: History of the modern Jewish community in Duderstadt . 2012, p. 129
  33. ^ A b c d Hütt: The external command of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Duderstadt. 2005, p. 7.
  34. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode. 1999, p. 345.
  35. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. 1992, pp. 183f.
  36. ↑ Diedrich: Tiftlingerode . 2004, p. 608.
  37. ↑ Dornieden, Activity Report I, p. 54f.
  38. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949 . 1992, p. 185.
  39. ^ A b Association for Eichsfeldische Heimatkunde - Heimatverein Goldene Mark (Untereichsfeld). Eichsfeld yearbook. (Ed.); Mathias Degenhardt. The structure of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld, comments on the NS youth organization based on press sources . Mecke Druck, Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , pp. 223-224.
  40. ↑ Buddru: Total education for total war, Hitler Youth and National Socialist youth policy . Munich 2003, ISBN 978-3-598-11615-5 , p. 13.
  41. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on March 25, 1933.
  42. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt of May 4, 1933 (Flinsberg, Rohrberg, Bernterode near Heiligenstadt).
  43. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 225.
  44. ↑ a b Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 231.
  45. ↑ a b c Permanent exhibition Buchenwald Concentration Camp - Niederorschel External Command. Administrative association Eichsfelder Kessel. Accessed June 6, 2018.
  46. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 241.
  47. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 245.
  48. ↑ a b Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , pp. 259-260.
  49. ↑ Daily newspaper of June 25, 1939. City Archives Heiligenstadt.
  50. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 262.
  51. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on November 3, 1933, December 18, 1933, January 27, 1934, 5.2. 1934, March 16, 1934, June 13, 1934.
  52. ↑ Jürgen Backhaus, Georg Klingebiel: Heimatforscher: Near Heiligenstadt there was a Nazi training camp. In: TLZ from August 14, 2012
  53. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949 . 1992, p. 269.
  54. ↑ Wehking, Rexhausen: The Chronicle of the Spot Gieboldehausen 1003-2003. 2003, p. 116.
  55. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode . 1999, p. 362.
  56. ↑ Siedbürger: Forced Labor in the Göttingen District 1939–1945 . 2005, p. 497.
  57. ↑ Siedbürger: Forced Labor in the Göttingen District 1939–1945 . 2005, p. 454.
  58. ↑ Siedbürger: Forced Labor in the Göttingen District 1939–1945 . 2005, pp. 550-571.
  59. ↑ Wagner: aircraft attacks and -abstürze and emergency landings around Duderstadt. Issue 5, Duderstadt May 2000, pp. 177-180. Mecke printing and publishing.
  60. ^ Pischke: From Auschwitz to Duderstadt - Forced Labor at the Polte Works. 1992, p. 285.
  61. ^ Hütt: The external command of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Duderstadt. 2005, p. 44.
  62. ↑ a b Pischke: From Auschwitz to Duderstadt - Forced Labor at the Polte Works . 1992, p. 291.
  63. ^ Hütt: The external command of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Duderstadt . 2005, p. 59.
  64. ^ Hütt: The external command of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Duderstadt . 2005, p. 72.
  65. ^ Hütt: The external command of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Duderstadt . 2005, p. 106.
  66. ^ Baranowski: Armaments projects, In the region of Nordhausen, Worbis and Heiligenstadt during the Nazi era . Mecke Druck Verlag. Duderstadt 1998, ISBN 3-932752-13-9 . P. 9f.
  67. ^ Baranowski: Armaments projects, In the region of Nordhausen, Worbis and Heiligenstadt during the Nazi era . P. 34.
  68. ^ A b c Baranowski: Armaments projects, In the region of Nordhausen, Worbis and Heiligenstadt during the Nazi era . Pp. 35-36.
  69. ↑ Thuringian Association of the Persecuted of the Nazi Regime - Association of Antifascists and Study Group of German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Local history guide to sites of resistance and persecution 1933–1945. Series: Heimatgeschichtliche Wegweiser Volume 8 Thuringia. Erfurt 2003, ISBN 3-88864-343-0 , p. 29.
  70. ^ Baranowski: Armaments projects, In the region of Nordhausen, Worbis and Heiligenstadt during the Nazi era . P. 66f.
  71. ^ Baranowski: Armaments projects, In the region of Nordhausen, Worbis and Heiligenstadt during the Nazi era . P. 70.
  72. ^ A b c Baranowski: Armaments projects, In the region of Nordhausen, Worbis and Heiligenstadt during the Nazi era . P. 74f.
  73. ^ Baranowski: Armaments projects, In the region of Nordhausen, Worbis and Heiligenstadt during the Nazi era . P. 76.
  74. ↑ Paulmann: The various paths trodden since 1933 to overcome unemployment with special consideration of the Duderstadt district in: Unser Eichsfeld 1941. Issue 1. Verlag Alfons Mecke Duderstadt. Pp. 2-20.
  75. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. 1992, p. 107.
  76. ↑ a b c Wehking, Rexhausen: The Chronicle of the Spot Gieboldehausen 1003-2003 . 2003, p. 108.
  77. ↑ Paulmann: The various paths trodden since 1933 to overcome unemployment with special consideration of the Duderstadt district in: Unser Eichsfeld 1941. Issue 1. Verlag Alfons Mecke Duderstadt. P. 14.
  78. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949. 1992, p. 190.
  79. ↑ Eichsfelder Morgenpost on August 31, 1933.
  80. ↑ Fricke: Bilshausen from the 17th century to the present. 2016, p. 71.
  81. ↑ Müller: Mingerode a village in the Lower Field. 2003, p. 346.
  82. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode . 1999, p. 322.
  83. ↑ Diedrich. The village of Hilkerode . 1999, p. 346.
  84. ↑ Diedrich. The village of Hilkerode . 1999, p. 353.
  85. ↑ Müller: Mingerode a village in the Lower Field. 2003, p. 371.
  86. ↑ http://www.gavagai.de/krieg/HHD321R.htm . Accessed: January 26, 2019.
  87. ↑ a b Stadermann, Backhaus: Heiligenstadt 1933–1945, pictures from a small town in Central Germany between adaptation and refusal . FW Cordier Verlag. Heiligenstadt 2005. p. 61.
  88. ↑ Stadermann, Backhaus: Heiligenstadt 1933–1945, pictures from a small town in Central Germany between adaptation and refusal . FW Cordier Verlag. Heiligenstadt 2005. p. 64.
  89. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on June 9, 1933.
  90. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 234.
  91. ^ Müller: Mackenrode im Eichsfeld, contributions to the village history. Duderstadt 2011. ISBN 978-3-86944-035-4 , pp. 56-58.
  92. ↑ a b Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 235.
  93. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on July 31, 1935.
  94. ^ Rupee / Sperk. Management report . (Note 5), p. 59.
  95. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on June 24, 1933.
  96. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 236.
  97. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on November 23, 1933, March 12, 1934, March 14, 1934.
  98. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 237.
  99. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on June 18, 1934.
  100. ↑ Eichsfelder Tageblatt on May 31, 1935.
  101. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , pp. 238f.
  102. ^ Degenhardt: The construction of the Hitler Youth from 1933 to 1936 in Eichsfeld . Duderstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-86944-168-9 , p. 240.
  103. ↑ Heinz Siebert: The Eichsfeld under the swastika. A documentation. Self-published by Paderborn-Wewer 1982, pp. 93-101
  104. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949 . 1992, p. 203.
  105. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949 . 1992, p. 209.
  106. ^ Ebeling, Fricke: Duderstadt 1929–1949 . 1992, p. 222.
  107. ↑ Spieß, Ewald. A village stands behind its pastor. A contribution to the 750th anniversary of the village of Rhumspringe in: Eichsfelder monthly magazine, Duderstadt 2000, pp. 267–75.
  108. ^ Waldhelm: Jewish and Church Policy in the Third Reich. Interdependence from the Eichsfeld perspective, in: Eichsfelder Heimatstimmen Heft 9, Duderstadt September 1988, pp. 439–443.
  109. ↑ Wehking, Rexhausen: The Chronicle of the Spot Gieboldehausen 1003-2003 . 2003, p. 203.
  110. ↑ Diedrich: Tiftlingerode . 2004, p. 612.
  111. ↑ Schulzig: The events of April 9, 1945 in Desingerode in: Eichsfelder Heimatstimmen Heft 4, April 2000. P. 136/137.
  112. ↑ Diedrich: Tiftlingerode . 2004, p. 612.
  113. ↑ Schulzig: The events of April 9, 1945 in Desingerode in: Eichsfelder Heimatstimmen Heft 4, April 2000. P. 136/137.
  114. ↑ Wagner: End of the war in the Lower Field. May 2005, pp. 166-171.
  115. ↑ Diedrich: Tiftlingerode . 2004, p. 614.
  116. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode. 1999, p. 352.
  117. ↑ Diedrich: Tiftlingerode . 2004, p. 609.
  118. ↑ Diedrich: Tiftlingerode . 2004, p. 611.
  119. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode. 1999, p. 326.
  120. ↑ Diedrich: The village of Hilkerode. 1999, p. 353.
  121. ↑ Fricke: Bilshausen from the 17th century to the present. 2016, pp. 182–188.

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