Erich Knauf
Encyclopedia
Erich Knauf was a German journalist, writer, and songwriter. He was executed for making jokes about the Nazi
regime.
, Saxony
, the son of a tailor
and party secretary of the Social Democratic Party
. The family later moved to Gera
, where he learned the typesetting
trade. After the First World War, Knauf went to university, studying history, political economy and culture.
He was a close friend of Erich Kästner
and Erich Ohser (pen name, e. o. plauen) and together, they became known as "the three Erichs from Saxony". An erotic poem by Kästner, with a frivolous illustration by Ohser, became a scandal, forcing all three to leave Saxony, whereupon Knauf moved to Berlin
.
Knauf was a member of the Independent Social Democratic Party
, an editor of the newspaper, "Plauener Volkszeitung".
In Berlin, Knauf began directing the Büchergilde Gutenberg (Gutenberg Book Guild) in 1928. In 1930, Knauf published a semi-autobiographical novel, Ça ira ("It will" in French) about his experiences during the Kapp Putsch
of the Weimar republic
. After the Nazi Party seized power
in 1933, the guild became "nazified" and Knauf quit in disgust, taking his secretary, Erna Donath with him. Knauf and Donath then got married.
In 1934, he wrote a critical review of Carmen
at the German state opera, angering Ministerpräsident Hermann Göring
, who was a patron of the opera house. Göring had Knauf arrested by the Gestapo
. He spent three months in protective custody
in Sachsenhausen concentration camp
and was expelled from all professional associations, as had Kästner and Ohser previously experienced.
After his release, he became the chief publicist for the film company, Tobis Rota. In order to get by, he had to adapt to working with people such as Veit Harlan
, who produced the anti-semitic film, Jud Süß
, but he also got to know Werner Bochmann
, a successful film music composer who also came from Meerane. Knauf and Bochmann teamed up to write the song, Heimat, deine Sterne ("Homeland, your stars"), for the film Quax, der Bruchpilot ("Quax, the crash pilot") starring Heinz Rühmann
. Other work followed.
, where they still had to endure many hours in bomb shelters, waiting out bombing raids. Ohser, who was hard of hearing and spoke loudly, and Knauf complained about the war and passed the time making wisecracks about the Adolf Hitler
and Göring. A neighbor, who was a Nazi Hauptmann
, Bruno Schultz and his wife Margarete listened to every word. Schultz made no comment, but afterward, wrote everything down. The Schultzes then denounced Knauf and Ohser to the Gestapo with this as evidence.
Knauf was arrested on March 28, 1944. On April 6, 1944, he was sentenced to death by judge Roland Freisler
at the Volksgerichtshof for "undermining military morale" and "denigrating the Führer
" (Wehrkraftzersetzung
and Verunglimpfung des Führers). Josef Goebbels himself selected Freisler to preside over the trial and pressed for swift and harsh retribution. Knauf was beheaded on May 2, 1944 at Brandenburg-Görden Prison
in Brandenburg an der Havel. His widow, Erna Knauf, was given a bill of 585.74 German Reichsmark
s for the cost of the proceedings against her husband, including his execution. Ohser, who was arrested with Knauf, committed suicide the night before their trial, and in an apparent attempt to mitigate the charges against Knauf, left behind a suicide note in which he assumed all responsibility for their actions.
for Knauf and Ochser at Am Feldberg 3 in Kaulsdorf, where Knauf and Ohser were living at the time they were denounced. The plaque was installed in 1999.
There are streets named for Knauf in Brandenburg an der Havel, Plauen
and Zwickau
.
In 1998, Wolfgang Eckert published a biography of Erich Knauf, written from his 1985 interviews with Knauf's widow. In 1987, she bequeathed all of Knauf's papers and all rights to his works to Eckert.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime.
Biography
Knauf was born in MeeraneMeerane
Meerane is a town in the Zwickau district of Saxony, Germany. It lies midway between the towns of Chemnitz and Zwickau.As of 31 December 2008, there were 16,517 inhabitants...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, the son of a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
and party secretary of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
. The family later moved to Gera
Gera
Gera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
, where he learned the typesetting
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
trade. After the First World War, Knauf went to university, studying history, political economy and culture.
He was a close friend of Erich Kästner
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
and Erich Ohser (pen name, e. o. plauen) and together, they became known as "the three Erichs from Saxony". An erotic poem by Kästner, with a frivolous illustration by Ohser, became a scandal, forcing all three to leave Saxony, whereupon Knauf moved to 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...
.
Knauf was a member of the Independent Social Democratic Party
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
, an editor of the newspaper, "Plauener Volkszeitung".
In Berlin, Knauf began directing the Büchergilde Gutenberg (Gutenberg Book Guild) in 1928. In 1930, Knauf published a semi-autobiographical novel, Ça ira ("It will" in French) about his experiences during the Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
of the Weimar republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
. After the Nazi Party seized power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in 1933, the guild became "nazified" and Knauf quit in disgust, taking his secretary, Erna Donath with him. Knauf and Donath then got married.
In 1934, he wrote a critical review of Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
at the German state opera, angering Ministerpräsident Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, who was a patron of the opera house. Göring had Knauf 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...
. He spent three months in protective custody
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
in Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
and was expelled from all professional associations, as had Kästner and Ohser previously experienced.
After his release, he became the chief publicist for the film company, Tobis Rota. In order to get by, he had to adapt to working with people such as Veit Harlan
Veit Harlan
Veit Harlan was a German film director and actor.-Life and career:Harlan was born in Berlin. After studying under Max Reinhardt, he first appeared on the stage in 1915 and, after World War I, worked in the Berlin stage. In 1922 he married Jewish actress and cabaret singer Dora Gerson; the couple...
, who produced the anti-semitic film, Jud Süß
Jud Süß (1940 film)
Jud Süß is an antisemitic propaganda film produced in 1940 by Terra Filmkunst at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. The movie was directed by Veit Harlan, who wrote the screenplay with Eberhard Wolfgang Möller and Ludwig Metzger, and starred Ferdinand Marian and Harlan's wife Kristina Söderbaum.The...
, but he also got to know Werner Bochmann
Werner Bochmann
Werner Bochmann was a German composer.-External links:...
, a successful film music composer who also came from Meerane. Knauf and Bochmann teamed up to write the song, Heimat, deine Sterne ("Homeland, your stars"), for the film Quax, der Bruchpilot ("Quax, the crash pilot") starring Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
. Other work followed.
Arrest and execution for making criminal jokes
In 1943, Knauf lost his home in a bombing raid. He and Ohser moved to KaulsdorfBerlin-Kaulsdorf
Kaulsdorf is a locality within the borough Marzahn-Hellersdorf of Berlin. Kaulsdorf has been incorporated into Greater Berlin by the Prussian Greater Berlin Act in 1920. From then on it belonged to the former borough of Lichtenberg until 1979, when it became part of the former borough of Marzahn...
, where they still had to endure many hours in bomb shelters, waiting out bombing raids. Ohser, who was hard of hearing and spoke loudly, and Knauf complained about the war and passed the time making wisecracks about the 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 Göring. A neighbor, who was a Nazi Hauptmann
Hauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
, Bruno Schultz and his wife Margarete listened to every word. Schultz made no comment, but afterward, wrote everything down. The Schultzes then denounced Knauf and Ohser to the Gestapo with this as evidence.
Knauf was arrested on March 28, 1944. On April 6, 1944, he was sentenced to death by judge Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
at the Volksgerichtshof for "undermining military morale" and "denigrating the Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
" (Wehrkraftzersetzung
Wehrkraftzersetzung
Wehrkraftzersetzung is a term from German military law during the Third Reich. In 1938, with Adolf Hitler moving Germany closer to war, the Nazi government issued a decree for the purpose of suppressing any expression or activity opposed to the Nazi regime or the Wehrmacht...
and Verunglimpfung des Führers). Josef Goebbels himself selected Freisler to preside over the trial and pressed for swift and harsh retribution. Knauf was beheaded on May 2, 1944 at Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden section of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. It was a Zuchthaus for inmates with lengthy or life sentences at hard labor, as well as...
in Brandenburg an der Havel. His widow, Erna Knauf, was given a bill of 585.74 German Reichsmark
German reichsmark
The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
s for the cost of the proceedings against her husband, including his execution. Ohser, who was arrested with Knauf, committed suicide the night before their trial, and in an apparent attempt to mitigate the charges against Knauf, left behind a suicide note in which he assumed all responsibility for their actions.
Legacy
Kästner wrote an essay about the bill received by Knauf's widow. There is a commemorative plaqueCommemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
for Knauf and Ochser at Am Feldberg 3 in Kaulsdorf, where Knauf and Ohser were living at the time they were denounced. The plaque was installed in 1999.
There are streets named for Knauf in Brandenburg an der Havel, Plauen
Plauen
Plauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
and Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
.
In 1998, Wolfgang Eckert published a biography of Erich Knauf, written from his 1985 interviews with Knauf's widow. In 1987, she bequeathed all of Knauf's papers and all rights to his works to Eckert.
Further reading
- Wolfgang Eckert, Heimat, deine Sterne. Biography of Erich Knauf. Chemnitzer Verlag (1998) ISBN 978-3928678407