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kanalB  topics Contemporary witnesses of the Nazi-Regime
Knorr, Lorenz

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Lorenz Knorr was born on July 18th 1921 in Eger (CSSR), today called Cheb. He was the son of functionaries of the labour movement. Before WW2, he was a member of the social democratic party of the CSSR. ... more

BATTLES AGAINST NAZIS, DISCUSSIONS ABOUT VIOLENCE (LORENZ KNORR)

interview  // german  // 4:08 Min  // 18.06.2008  // Hits: 642
Well, of course, at first, we debated with the young people. But more and more we were forced to debate with the adults, as well. It was not, as if only the youth was discussing fascism. We knew exactly how to distinguish between the Italian fascism, the black fascism in Austria and the brown fascism in Germany. There was a difference – you had to know and consider that. But we were also forced into conflict by that, because there were (this is a historical term) ‘saloon battles’ going on right from the beginning. The Nazis for example tried to attack the events of the anti-fascists or to make them impossible and the anti-fascists tried to make the Nazis’ events impossible, as well. Of course there were rows and because I was quite strong, I went to anti-fascist’s events when I was fifteen, against my parent’s will. When the Nazis had stormed or tried to storm, you had to defend yourself, of course. We did that and there always were oral disputes before the rows took place. But as it went to that time there were different tendencies between us. My father belonged to the tendency, who said that the Nazis could not be beaten by their own weapons. We were not supposed to take over the violence of the Nazis, but focus on enlightenment. Others, our metal workers in the companies said: “But that is what we witness daily, they only understand the language of violence. Our arguments bounce off like the raindrops on a raincoat. We can only succeed the Nazis with violence.” And in the socialistic youth we did both. We acquired the theoretical qualifications to be able to debate with the Nazis and at the same time we defended ourselves. We had no choice. Until 1936 we sang: “We never want to carry weapons again! Never, ever do we want war again. Let the ones at the top fight each other on their own, we just won’t take part any more.” Then the old comrades came and said that Hitler was standing in front of the door with armed arguments, and you do not intend to defend yourself. There was a giant discussion in the youth association and then we decided to do military training. We learned to shoot and we learned a new martial art. The Nazis did not even know the name of it. Nowadays it is an old hat, at that time the latest achievement: Jiu-Jitsu, training blows with the edge of your hand. With that we were able to prevail against the majority of the Nazis. If, for example one of our youth centres was closed in by Nazi rowdies and their supporters, how were we supposed to liberate the group in the youth centre? With defensive methods? That would not do. We had to attack and once their blows were overcome then the others would lose ground and we were able to get our people out of the youth centre. That happened from time to time, the adult’s organisation of the social democrats, the socialists, “Rote Wehr”, later on “Republikanische Wehr” (republican force), was strictly adjusted to defensive. That was good when a public house was to be defended against the attack of the Nazis. That was good at demonstrations, where the ‘Rote Wehr’ was walking at the front and at the back, but if, the way it happened a few times, a location in a small village was encircled by the Nazis, some of our people were already inside and some still wanted to get in to the event and couldn’t, well, then the pioneer fraction was called. Then we made sure that the ring around the house was burst through with our fighting tactics; with our new fighting methods that was possible.

interview Presentation, Introduction (Lorenz Knorr)

My name is Lorenz Knorr; born in 1921 and grown up in Eger, now Cheb, in the German populated areas of Czechoslovakia. I am a trained typesetter and typographer. After 1945 I was active in the socialistic youth as a state and federation secretary. For 25 years I was the head of the German Union of Peace and then federation spokesman for the Association of the victims of persecution by the Nazi regime. If you grew ... more
length: 4:27 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 1.132
interview “We were warned” (Lorenz Knorr)

These preparations that we were able to make before German fascism marched into the German areas of Czechoslovakia, became relevant after German fascism got rid of the Austrian cleric-fascism in 1934 and replaced it by the Nazi regime and then proclaimed the ‘Großdeutsches Reich’ (Greater German Reich). That took place on the 12th and 13th March 1938. Ever since then we knew that the next victim would ... more
length: 1:47 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 913
interview Antifascist poltics in CSSR (Lorenz Knorr)

The party my parents were functionaries in, was called the ‘German Social Democratic Labour Party in Czechoslovakia’. But the name was a diversion, it was a socialistic, an Austro-Marxian party. Our party did not belong to the ‘1st International’ but to the ‘2.5th International’, the ‘Vienna International’, with the slogan: No social democratic opportunism and no Bolshevistic dogmatism.
We worked according to ... more
length: 2:13 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 350
interview Fascism in childhood and youth (Lorenz Knorr)

Fascism was a subject, because of the experiences that we picked up from the immigrants. In our youth group we occasionally invited immigrants from Austria and Germany so they could tell us their story. And we already knew before the high finance and the generals pushed the power towards the Nazi leading clique: Hitler means war. That means we not only grew into the anti-fascist fight, but as well into the fight ... more
length: 2:28 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 505
interview Battles against nazis, discussions about violence (Lorenz Knorr)

Well, of course, at first, we debated with the young people. But more and more we were forced to debate with the adults, as well. It was not, as if only the youth was discussing fascism. We knew exactly how to distinguish between the Italian fascism, the black fascism in Austria and the brown fascism in Germany. There was a difference – you had to know and consider that. But we were also forced into conflict by ... more
length: 4:08 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 642
interview Political education/information (Lorenz Knorr)

We for example carried our knowledge out into the villages. The labour movement was strong in the towns, in the villages lived mainly rural population and a few craftsmen. In order to get an influence there, we, from the Socialist Youth, cycled to those places, carried out some events, tried to involve the people and at these cultural events tried to point out to the people with speeches what fascism meant, what ... more
length: 1:28 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 652
interview Acts of sabotage (Lorenz Knorr)

Well, we worked in groups of three, made agreements, always in a group of three. We met somewhere, where we could not be overheard, to prepare missions. Whether they were campaigns with flyers or posters or later on, when we realised that we did not achieve enough, acts of sabotage - that did not matter. So we thought: “Now the time is right for a big poster campaign!” Half a year after the invasion the two ... more
length: 2:19 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 332
interview Resistance in the German Wehrmacht (Lorenz Knorr)

After the ‘Munich Agreement’ we had the 36 divisions, which marched into Czechoslovakia from all sides. Bohemia and Moravia were encircled by ’Großdeutschland’ from the north, west and south. At this time it was that for start you worked as a civilian and only when in 1939 the war began, the enlistments then started. I myself was not enlisted until the end of 1940, so that we had two years of time for the ... more
length: 4:11 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 476
interview Using codes (Lorenz Knorr)

In the summer of 1938, before the Nazis marched in, we agreed that we not only want to keep in touch, but as well that we wanted to develop a cipher, a secure code in which we were able to correspond politically, not only in the general and personal way. That was a cipher which the Gestapo was not able to figure out until the end: A very shifty system, the so called „two-box-system“. Which is commonly known, but ... more
length: 5:24 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 297
interview Soldier in Africa (Lorenz Knorr)

Yes, I was sent to Africa. I had to fight in a motorbike patrol. I have to say that we agreed before we became soldiers we would never shoot somebody who had been said to be an enemy. We would shoot into the air, we would never shoot anybody, except in self defence; that was something different. There I kept going on with my illegal work; e.g. in the military hospital in Tripoli I was approached by an ... more
length: 3:42 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 1.771
interview Injuries and being a radio operator (Lorenz Knorr)

It was a bagatelle that brought me in front of the court martial in Africa. If they had known what I really did, I would have been summarily executed. But as it was, I was taken to the court martial and condemned to the punishment battalion in Africa. That was horrible because you were totally isolated and because you were often sent out in front of the tanks – as cannon catch, so to say; near the Highfalla ... more
length: 2:49 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 950
interview Relationship between men and women of resistance (Lorenz Knorr)

During the illegal fight emotions had to be pushed back as far as possible. Before the Nazis marched in at our place, from 33 activists in the anti-fascist resistance 11 were female comrades. They achieved the same as the men and there I had to kiss unwillingly, once. The pupils love hearing about that, when I relate my story in a school class. While hanging up posters, we were caught by an SS-patrol, which ... more
length: 2:58 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 222
interview End of war (Lorenz Knorr)

Towards the end of the war I was seriously wounded another time. I was buried by a British aircraft-bomb for a short time and was then unconscious for two days. The 8th May I witnessed in an auxiliary military hospital in British captivity. There were only few who were pleased like me. Some just did not care. At the best the war was over. But what was to come towards us now? Some, mostly young officers that were ... more
length: 1:03 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 1.053
interview Reasons for resistance (Lorenz Knorr)

I would have been disloyal to my own convictions, if I hadn’t joined the resistance. My grandfather was jailed in the KUK Empire, Emperor Royal Monarchy of the Habsburgs, because he fought for socialism. My father was jailed because he fought for socialism. It was obvious, that I would work in the same track, therefore would not passively let it wash over me, but work against it. I was not alone and we had ... more
length: 1:27 min  | date: 18.06.2008  | video-hits: 579
  
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Mehling, Waltraud
Deutschkron, Inge
Presentation, Introduction (Lorenz Knorr)
“We were warned” (Lorenz Knorr)
Antifascist poltics in CSSR (Lorenz Knorr)
Fascism in childhood and youth (Lorenz Knorr)
Battles against nazis, discussions about violence (Lorenz Knorr)
Political education/information (Lorenz Knorr)
Acts of sabotage (Lorenz Knorr)
Resistance in the German Wehrmacht (Lorenz Knorr)
Using codes (Lorenz Knorr)
Soldier in Africa (Lorenz Knorr)
Injuries and being a radio operator (Lorenz Knorr)
Relationship between men and women of resistance (Lorenz Knorr)
End of war (Lorenz Knorr)
Reasons for resistance (Lorenz Knorr)

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