German Resistance Study Group 1933–1945

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The German Resistance Study Group 1933–1945 and the documentation archive belonging to it are dedicated to the perception, research and preservation of documents relating to the resistance against National Socialism . The study group is a non-profit association. He receives financial support through membership fees, donations and the support of the city of Frankfurt am Main .

history

The study group for the research and communication of the history of the German resistance 1933–1945 was founded in February 1967 in Frankfurt am Main. The occasion was the one-sided presentation of the German resistance after the Second World War . The resistance here was merely reduced to the military one. Several scientists, educators, survivors and victims of National Socialist rule and former active members of the resistance wanted the resistance of the workers' movement , communists and socialists, to be more clearly appreciated in public. The German resistance received hardly any attention. The founding members were Wolfgang Abendroth , Wolfgang Fabian, Heinz-Joachim Heydorn , Wolfgang Klafki , Arno Klönne , Edgar Weick , Oskar Müller , Martin Niemöller , Max Oppenheimer , Joseph Cornelius Rossaint , Robert Scholl and Günter Weisenborn . In the early years of the study group, work focused on the resistance from the labor movement, which had received little research and attention in the years after the Second World War.

In 1971 the first touring exhibition with the theme “Antifascist Resistance 1933–1945” was opened in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt . Building on the findings of the early years, however, the work today is also devoted to groups that are just as neglected, such as B. the resistance of women, Jews or Jehovah's Witnesses. Another important thematic focus is the research of regional and local historical resistance. From 1980 the research project “Local History Signposts to Places of Resistance and Persecution 1933–1945” began.

By evaluating sources and examining bequests, new perspectives on the resistance against National Socialism continue to emerge and complement the research that has already been published. In addition to the exhibitions conceived by the study group and the publication of the magazine “information”, the processing of these legacies and sources is an important task. The documents - letters, written legacies, books, photographs or sound recordings - are preserved in the documentation archive.

Focus of research and documentation activities

Documentation archive

In 1977 the documentation archive of the German resistance was founded at Rossertstrasse 9 in Frankfurt am Main. The collection of books and documents in the library and archive, which has been continuously expanded since its foundation, comprises around 40,000 documents and media. The documentation archive offers a contact point for scientists, schoolchildren, students and those interested in contemporary history. The thematic focus of the archive is on anti-fascist resistance, Nazi persecution, the camp system and the various groups of victims of the Nazi regime.

The compensation files make a contribution to research into the Nazi era. The Studienkreis has 985 of these compensation files from the state of Hesse. These contain compensation procedures from the years 1949–1972 and provide information about the history or persecution of individuals and their claims for compensation after the war. Another special feature is the almost completely preserved file of the Southern German Medical and Sanitary Aid of the Centrale Suisse Sanitaire (CSS). Politically, religiously or racially persecuted by the Nazi regime and their relatives were looked after by this organization after 1945.

The documentation archive has a number of objects from resistance and persecution. For example, handicrafts from the Moringen, Lichtenburg and Ravensbrück concentration camps as well as the Waldheim prison and other detention centers can be found. ID cards, concentration camp clothing and so-called “ Jewish stars ” are also in the archive's collection.

Legacies of people connected to the resistance can be found in the documentation archive. The media library contains photos, audio documents, videos, DVDs and CDs on the Nazi era in general and on the resistance. The image archive belonging to the documentation archive comprises around 6,000 image documents. These include portraits of resistance fighters, memorials for the victims of National Socialism and photos of Nazi criminals. The image archive also contains a collection of images from the Auschwitz concentration camp .

The sound archive includes some interviews and eyewitness reports, mainly from the area of ​​political resistance. A number of fundamental writings in Nazi literature are part of the documentation archive.

Library and archive

The association's library contains works, documents and media on the following topics:

  • Empire and Weimar Republic - Prehistory of German Fascism (1871–1933)
  • German fascism (1933–1945)
  • Antifascist Resistance (1933-1945)
  • Resistance and persecution in literature, the performing arts, theater, and film
  • Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
  • Federal Republic of Germany
  • Fascism and Resistance in Classes and Political Education
  • Reference works, archive and library catalogs and bibliographies

The library system can be used to search the library's holdings online.

The archive contains documents on the following topics:

  • Documents of the anti-fascist resistance (leaflets, newspapers, camouflage letters, sticky and scatter notes, posters, programs, appeals, poems, drawings, reports, memories, interviews)
  • Documents of the persecution (protective custody orders, indictments, judgments, trial files, Gestap reports, deportation lists, Nazi laws and orders)
  • Documents after 1945 (court proceedings, grave lists, documents from camp communities and for the establishment of memorials and compensation files)
  • Objects from resistance and persecution (handicrafts from the women's concentration camps in Moringen, Lichtenburg and Ravensbrück, the Waldheim prison and other places of detention, ID cards, concentration camp suits, Jewish stars)
  • Photos (women and men of the German resistance; anti-fascist actions and places of resistance; concentration camps and prisons; prisoner of war and forced labor camps; cemeteries and memorials; Auschwitz picture archive)
  • Videos (film reports, interviews with survivors)
  • Audio cassettes (interviews with survivors; partly transcribed)

Exhibitions

The Studienkreis exhibitions provide a medium for conveying the history of resistance. The first exhibition - “Antifascist Resistance 1933–1945” - was opened in 1971 in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt and presented to the public. Since 1971, the study group has brought traveling exhibitions with changing topics into circulation. B. 1972 the exhibition “Athletes in the Resistance”, 1984 “Sisters, don't forget us. Women in the Concentration Camp ”, 1985“ Swastikas over trade union houses ”, 1988“ Children in the concentration camp - Theresienstadt ”. The traveling exhibitions currently exist:

"Information" magazine

The German Resistance Study Group has been publishing the biannual magazine "informationen" since 1976. The journal, which was conceived as an information sheet for the work of the documentation archive, has developed over the years into a scientific publication with changing thematic focuses. The principles of the journal are the keywords "Research - Remember - Mediate", which determine the entire work of the study group.

The biographical articles on the life and work of resistance fighters are a regular part of the “information”. In addition to questions of remembrance culture, the magazine also contains articles on conveying history and current museums or memorials. Extensive book reviews and the presentation of publications, after discussions of films and new media, also characterize the “information”. Since the end of 2010, the magazine has included a supplement for teachers, the “Materials for Historical and Political Education”.

"Memorial Sites Europe 1939–1945"

The online portal of the study group's memorial sites provides information on memorial sites in those European countries that were occupied by German troops during World War II. The information, maps, photos, short biographies and key words serve to draw attention to places that recall German war and occupation crimes, camps and deportations, and also the resistance to the German occupation and its overcoming in 1945. So far, over 2100 memorial sites in France , Greece , Italy and Lithuania have been shown (as of July 2017).

Project days

During the project days, students can find out more about the social and political breadth of the resistance against National Socialism. The examination and preoccupation with the biographies of resistance fighters as exemplary life stories enables the opportunity to understand life and work in the resistance. Furthermore, the participants can get to know the working methods within the documentation archive.

Conversations with survivors

The study group arranges contacts with contemporary witnesses who are available for discussion events, journalistic contributions or research for scientific work.

Lectures / seminars / conferences

The German Resistance Study Group 1933–1945 also offers lectures, readings, conferences or seminars at irregular intervals, or makes them available for such speakers.

Historical city tours

On request, the study group offers a historical city tour for those interested. The locations of the Frankfurt resistance and persecution are highlighted here.

Internships

The study group offers students from all humanities disciplines the opportunity to do an internship in the institution. This gives the interns the opportunity to get to know the working methods in the documentation archive and library and to participate practically in the work.

Publications

The German Resistance Study Group 1933–1945 published several works on the subject areas: Local history guides

  • Hessen I (Darmstadt District)
  • Hessen II (administrative districts Gießen and Kassel)
  • Baden-Württemberg I (districts of Karlsruhe and Stuttgart)
  • Baden-Württemberg II (administrative districts Freiburg and Tübingen)
  • Bremen (City of Bremen, Bremen-North, Bremerhaven)
  • Thuringia
  • Lower Saxony
  • Schleswig-Holstein
  • Saarland

Further publications of the study group in detail:

  • Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Long live freedom! Young people against National Socialism. Exhibition catalog. Frankfurt / Main 2011.
  • Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp - drawings, poems, texts. Exhibition catalog. Frankfurt / Main 2010.
  • German Resistance Study Group 1933–1945 (Ed.): Frankfurt am Main - Women of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp - Traces of life of persecuted women. Frankfurt / Main 2009.
  • Hautval, Adelaide: Medicine Against Humanity. The refusal of a doctor deported to Auschwitz to take part in medical experiments. Berlin 2008.
  • Study group German resistance 1933-1945 (Ed.): Resistance against National Socialism. Prospects of mediation. Frankfurt / Main 2007.
  • Freyberg, Jutta v./Krause-Schmitt, Ursula: Moringen - Lichtenburg - Ravensbrück. Women in the concentration camp 1933–1945. Reading book for the exhibition. Frankfurt / Main 1997.
  • Freyberg, Jutta v./Bromberger, Barbara / Mausbach, Hans: “We had other dreams”. Children and young people under the Nazi dictatorship. Frankfurt / Main 1995.
  • DGB-Bildungswerk Hessen / Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Hessian trade unionists in the resistance 1933–1945. Arranged: Axel Ulrich. Giessen 1983.
  • Altmann, Peter / Brüdigam, Heinz / Mausbach-Bromberger, Barbara / Oppenheimer, Max: The German anti-fascist resistance 1933–1945 in pictures and documents. Frankfurt / Main 1975.
  • Weick, Edgar (Ed.): German Resistance 1933–1945. Aspects of research and presentation in textbooks. Heidelberg 1967.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 3.
  2. ↑ a b c cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 4.
  3. ↑ cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 4f.
  4. ↑ cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 5.
  5. ↑ a b c cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 6.
  6. ↑ http://studienkreis- Resistance-1933-45.de/biblioth.html
  7. ↑ http://studienkreis- resistance-1933-45.de/archiv.html
  8. ↑ cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 8.
  9. ↑ cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 9.
  10. ↑ About us at gedenkorte-europa.eu, the homepage of Gedenkorte Europa 1939–1945
  11. ↑ a b c d e cf. Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 7.
  12. ↑ Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 10.
  13. ↑ Study Group German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Research. Recall. Convey. Brochure. P. 11.
  14. ↑ http://www.frankfurter-info.org/news/michel-vanderborght-preis-fuer-den-studienkreis-deutscher- Resistance- 1933-1945
  15. ↑ http://www.frankfurter-info.org/news/archiv-preis-fuer-den-studienkreis