Vierergruppe (German Resistance)
Encyclopedia
A Vierergruppe was a small German resistance
group that fought the National Socialists. There were three "groups of four" working simultaneously and independently of each other in Hamburg
, Munich
and Vienna
.
Each of the groups consisted of four young males aged 16 to 18 and each group was led by someone whose precociousness set him apart.
The groups had no political agenda, no background in party politics and moved in a religious environment. All twelve young men came from predominantly Christian
, lower and lower middle class families. All were influenced by having heard foreign radio broadcasts, which affected their actions. All of them used leaflets and wall slogans to agitate against the war, against the regime of Adolf Hitler
and the Nazis, and all came to the conclusion that the war Germany was leading, then two years old, could not be won. They all hoped for an Allied invasion and victory and the resulting liberation from the domination of the Nazi regime.
, a 16-year old Mormon
. He and his friends listened to "enemy radio" broadcasts of the BBC
and then transcribed the news reports as leaflets, which they then disseminated. Hübener and his friends Karl-Heinz Schnibbe
, age 17, and Rudolf Wobbe, age 16, also Mormons and a co-worker, Gerhard Düwer made their own dissident documents and satirical verses and began distributing the leaflets in working class neighborhoods in August 1941. The 60 leaflets, containing three to five pages each, were prepared on a church typewriter and left in telephone booths, mailboxes and the lobbies of buildings.
At the end of January 1942, Hübener and Düwer asked an acquaintace to translate their leaflets into French and were observed and afterward denounced. Hübener, Schnibbe and Wobbe were arrested by the Gestapo
on February 5, 1942. Schnibbe and Wobbe were arrested a few days later. They were tried on August 11, 1942 before the Nazi People's Court. Hübener took full responsibility for the group, its actions and the fliers. He was sentenced to death for conspiracy to commit high treason
and for aiding and abetting the enemy, his three co-defendants were condemned to prison terms of 4–10 years and spent the rest of the war in prison. Hübener was executed at the age of 17 on October 27, 1942 at Plötzensee Prison
in Berlin
.
, who was raised in a religious Catholic environment, regularly listened to German language broadcasts of "enemy radio" stations, such as the BBC
and Radio Vatican with his friends, Hans Haberl, Daniel von Recklinghausen and a fourth, only peripherally involved. After the BBC called for the V for Victory sign of the Allies
to be spread about, they decided to do their part. Klingenbeck and von Recklinghausen painted the "V sign" on some 40 buildings in Munich. They were planning to produce leaflets and even to build a pirate radio transmitter, but before they were able to carry these plans out, Klingenbeck, Haberl and von Recklinghausen were arrested in January 1942. Klingenbeck had blabbed about what they had done and was denounced.
On September 24, 1942, Klingenbeck, Haberl and von Recklinghausen were sentenced to death, the fourth member of the group was sentenced to 8 years at hard labor in a zuchthaus. The following August, Haberl and von Recklinghausen had their sentences reduced to 8 years in a zuchthaus. Klingenbeck was executed on August 5, 1943 in Munich at Stadelheim Prison
.
with reports from the BBC. Three of his classmates, Ludwig Igalffy, Friedrich Fexer and Anton Brunner, helped him produce and disseminate the leaflets. Brunner had already been arrested by the Nazis in May 1938, and had spent his 16th birthday on May 29, 1938 in prison.
Landgraf was arrested at the entrance of his school, in possession of anti-nazi leaflets. Igalffy and Fexer were arrested on January 19, 1942 and the Gestapo
arrested Brunner the next day. Landgraf and Brunner were convicted and sentenced to death on August 28, 1942 by the Nazi "People's Court". The other two were sentenced to eight and six years in prison. Brunner's sentence was reduced on March 15, 1943. Landgraf's sentence was reduced to seven years in prison after spending 406 days on death row.
in Taufkirchen
is also named for him.
Hübener and the Hamburg group have been the subject of several books and dramatic works, including the 1969 book by Günther Grass, called "Örtlich betäubt" ("Local Anasthetic"), about Hamburg group. A documentary called "Truth & Conviction," was released in 2002 about Hübener and his friends. It was written and directed by Rick McFarland and Matt Whitaker and sponsored by Brigham Young University
. A movie, "Truth & Treason" starring Haley Joel Osment
and Max von Sydow
, due to be released in 2011, is being produced by the makers of the documentary.
In 2004, a traveling exhibit, "Widerstandsgruppe Landgraf" (Landgraf Resistance Group), was organized under the auspices of Vienna's Landstrasse Museum, in cooperation with JUNA, an independent research group dedicated to documenting history from eye witnesses, especially that of youth during the Third Reich, both their involvement in and resistance to Nazism
. The opening of the exhibit was attended by two surviving members of the Vierergruppe Vienna, Josef Landgraf and Ludwig Igalffy.
On October 26, 2007, a commemorative plaque dedicated to Anton Brunner, who later became a priest, was unveiled in the Emmersdorf suburb of Melk
, Austria
.
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
group that fought the National Socialists. There were three "groups of four" working simultaneously and independently of each other in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Each of the groups consisted of four young males aged 16 to 18 and each group was led by someone whose precociousness set him apart.
The groups had no political agenda, no background in party politics and moved in a religious environment. All twelve young men came from predominantly Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, lower and lower middle class families. All were influenced by having heard foreign radio broadcasts, which affected their actions. All of them used leaflets and wall slogans to agitate against the war, against the regime of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the Nazis, and all came to the conclusion that the war Germany was leading, then two years old, could not be won. They all hoped for an Allied invasion and victory and the resulting liberation from the domination of the Nazi regime.
Vierergruppe Hamburg
The Hamburg group centered around Helmuth HübenerHelmuth Hübener
Helmuth Guddat Kunkel Hübener was the youngest opponent of the Third Reich to be sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof and executed.-Life:...
, a 16-year old Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
. He and his friends listened to "enemy radio" broadcasts of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and then transcribed the news reports as leaflets, which they then disseminated. Hübener and his friends Karl-Heinz Schnibbe
Karl-Heinz Schnibbe
Karl-Heinz Schnibbe was a former World War II resistance group member who, as a 17-year-old growing up in Nazi Germany in 1941, was an accomplice in a plan by three German teenagers, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , to distribute information to the citizens of Germany...
, age 17, and Rudolf Wobbe, age 16, also Mormons and a co-worker, Gerhard Düwer made their own dissident documents and satirical verses and began distributing the leaflets in working class neighborhoods in August 1941. The 60 leaflets, containing three to five pages each, were prepared on a church typewriter and left in telephone booths, mailboxes and the lobbies of buildings.
At the end of January 1942, Hübener and Düwer asked an acquaintace to translate their leaflets into French and were observed and afterward denounced. Hübener, Schnibbe and Wobbe were arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
on February 5, 1942. Schnibbe and Wobbe were arrested a few days later. They were tried on August 11, 1942 before the Nazi People's Court. Hübener took full responsibility for the group, its actions and the fliers. He was sentenced to death for conspiracy to commit high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
and for aiding and abetting the enemy, his three co-defendants were condemned to prison terms of 4–10 years and spent the rest of the war in prison. Hübener was executed at the age of 17 on October 27, 1942 at Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Vierergruppe Munich
Munich resident Walter KlingenbeckWalter Klingenbeck
Walter Klingenbeck was a German resistance fighter in the time of the Third Reich....
, who was raised in a religious Catholic environment, regularly listened to German language broadcasts of "enemy radio" stations, such as the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Radio Vatican with his friends, Hans Haberl, Daniel von Recklinghausen and a fourth, only peripherally involved. After the BBC called for the V for Victory sign of the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
to be spread about, they decided to do their part. Klingenbeck and von Recklinghausen painted the "V sign" on some 40 buildings in Munich. They were planning to produce leaflets and even to build a pirate radio transmitter, but before they were able to carry these plans out, Klingenbeck, Haberl and von Recklinghausen were arrested in January 1942. Klingenbeck had blabbed about what they had done and was denounced.
On September 24, 1942, Klingenbeck, Haberl and von Recklinghausen were sentenced to death, the fourth member of the group was sentenced to 8 years at hard labor in a zuchthaus. The following August, Haberl and von Recklinghausen had their sentences reduced to 8 years in a zuchthaus. Klingenbeck was executed on August 5, 1943 in Munich at Stadelheim Prison
Stadelheim Prison
Stadelheim Prison, in Munich's Giesing district, is one of the largest prisons in Germany.Founded in 1894 it was the site of many executions, particularly by guillotine during the Nazi period.-Notable inmates:...
.
Vierergruppe Vienna
Josef Landgraf, a high school student in Vienna, listened to banned radio stations and in autumn of 1941, began to create leaflets from what they heard. He was denounced three weeks later, but in that time, had already produced 70 leaflets and an equal number of stickers. The leaflets discussed the anti-religious activities of the Nazi Party and a critical comparison of Nazi propagandaNazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
with reports from the BBC. Three of his classmates, Ludwig Igalffy, Friedrich Fexer and Anton Brunner, helped him produce and disseminate the leaflets. Brunner had already been arrested by the Nazis in May 1938, and had spent his 16th birthday on May 29, 1938 in prison.
Landgraf was arrested at the entrance of his school, in possession of anti-nazi leaflets. Igalffy and Fexer were arrested on January 19, 1942 and the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
arrested Brunner the next day. Landgraf and Brunner were convicted and sentenced to death on August 28, 1942 by the Nazi "People's Court". The other two were sentenced to eight and six years in prison. Brunner's sentence was reduced on March 15, 1943. Landgraf's sentence was reduced to seven years in prison after spending 406 days on death row.
Legacy
In 1998, a lane in the center of Munich, previously unnamed, was named after Klingenbeck. A realschuleRealschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
in Taufkirchen
Taufkirchen
- Germany :* Taufkirchen * Taufkirchen * Taufkirchen , a town in the district of Mühldorf* Taufkirchen...
is also named for him.
Hübener and the Hamburg group have been the subject of several books and dramatic works, including the 1969 book by Günther Grass, called "Örtlich betäubt" ("Local Anasthetic"), about Hamburg group. A documentary called "Truth & Conviction," was released in 2002 about Hübener and his friends. It was written and directed by Rick McFarland and Matt Whitaker and sponsored by Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
. A movie, "Truth & Treason" starring Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment is an American actor. After a series of roles in television and film during the 1990s, including a small part in Forrest Gump playing Tom Hanks' title character’s son, Osment rose to fame with his performance as Cole Sear in M...
and Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
, due to be released in 2011, is being produced by the makers of the documentary.
In 2004, a traveling exhibit, "Widerstandsgruppe Landgraf" (Landgraf Resistance Group), was organized under the auspices of Vienna's Landstrasse Museum, in cooperation with JUNA, an independent research group dedicated to documenting history from eye witnesses, especially that of youth during the Third Reich, both their involvement in and resistance to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. The opening of the exhibit was attended by two surviving members of the Vierergruppe Vienna, Josef Landgraf and Ludwig Igalffy.
On October 26, 2007, a commemorative plaque dedicated to Anton Brunner, who later became a priest, was unveiled in the Emmersdorf suburb of Melk
Melk
Melk is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,222 ....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Additional sources
- Jürgen Zarusky: ...nur eine Wachstumskrankheit? Jugendwiderstand in Hamburg und München. In: Dachauer Hefte 7 (1991),
- Freisinger, Tina: Widerstand gegen das Dritte Reich am Beispiel Münchner Jugendlicher : Walter Klingenbeck. - München-Pullach : s.n., 2000
- Gleißner, Ruth-Maria: Der Hitler soll das Maul nicht so voll nehmen : das kurze Leben des Walter Klingenbeck. - München : Bayer. Rundfunk, 2004
Further reading
- Günter Grass, Local anasthetic. Translated by Ralph Manheim. Harcourt, Brace & World, New York (1970) LCCN: 78100501
- Brief biography of Walter Klingenbeck Walter Klingenbeck Realschule website
- Movie tribute site. Official website for the movie, "Truth and Treason". Retrieved April 19, 2010
External links
- Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstands Official website of the Document Archive of the Austrian Resistance. Retrieved April 19, 2010