Paul Mauk
Paul Gottfried Ernst Mauk (born July 19, 1900 in Waldkirch / Breisgau ; † June 7, 1915 ) was the youngest German war volunteer who died in the First World War . It fell on the Lorettohöhe / Northern France near Arras .
live and die
Paul Mauk was born on July 19, 1900, the sixth of eight children. His father Karl came from Swabia and was an accountant at Gütermann in Gutach / Elztal . His mother Friederike, b. Poppen, came from Friesland. After three years of elementary school in Waldkirch, Paul Mauk attended the secondary school of the Waldkirch boarding school as an external student. In 1911 the family moved to Freiburg / Breisgau , where Paul, together with his one year older brother Walther, attended the Realgymnasium Freiburg, he wanted to become a doctor. His favorite book was Felix Dahn's historical novel A Battle for Rome .
When the war broke out in August 1914, the brothers volunteered and both received the certificate "War-usable for all weapons". Paul was above average for his age, so the 14-year-old Obertian could become a soldier. The brothers began their service on October 1st in Recruiting Depot IX in Freiburg. In the company to which Paul was assigned, he was considered the best shooter.
An attempt by a superior to keep the two brothers at home by assigning them to a horn player training course failed because of the opposition of the brothers, who "very energetically" insisted on their volunteer work. On March 1, 1915, the brothers were assigned to the 5th Baden Infantry Regiment No. 113, 4th Company, into which their two older brothers, Karl and Fritz, had already moved. On May 9, 1915, the French troops began a major attack that became the three-month Loretto Battle . Paul was wounded in the head by a shrapnel. After eight days he secretly left the field hospital and went back to his 4th company. On May 28th, the Inf.Rgt. 113 parts of the Inf.Rgt. 112, which was under strong fire. On the evening of June 6th, Paul Mauk was seriously wounded by a grenade. He died on the morning of June 7, 1915, not yet 15 years old, his brother Walther was with him. Paul Mauk was buried in the Lens Military Cemetery.
literature
- Ernst Jünger , Ed .: Die Unvergessenen , Moser-Verlag, Munich 1928, pp. 251-259
- Fritz Mauk : Paul Mauk (1900-1915) - socialized for the war? A study , in: Journal of the Breisgau-Geschichtsverein, 137th year book, Freiburg 2018, ISSN 1434-2766, pp. 121-133
Web links
- Wolfram Wette , How the Nazis misused the name of a Waldkirch child soldier , in: Badische Zeitung August 12, 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ernst Jünger , Ed .: Die Unvergessenen , Munich 1928, p. 252.
- ↑ Ernst Jünger , Ed .: Die Unvergessenen , Munich 1928, p. 253
- ↑ Ernst Jünger , Ed .: Die Unvergessenen , Munich 1928, p. 254
- ↑ Ernst Jünger , Ed .: Die Unvergessenen , Munich 1928, pp. 257-258.
- ^ Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (VDK) with a photo of the grave of Paul Mauk
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mauk, Paul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mauk, Paul Gottfried Ernst (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | youngest war volunteer in the First World War |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 19, 1900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Waldkirch |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 7, 1915 |
| Place of death | Loretto Battle |