Carmella Flöck (28 October 1898 - 20 December 1982) was a courier for the

Austrian Resistance The Austrian resistance launched in response to the rise in fascism across Europe and, more specifically, to the Anschluss in 1938 and resulting occupation of Austria by Germany. An estimated 100,000 people were reported to have participated i ...

during the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

of 1938-1945. She was a survivor of the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

Life

Carmella Flöck was born in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

as an extramarital child, the daughter of a tailor, Juliane Flöck, in Innsbruck. After being at an elementary school (Mädchenbürgerschule) and a trade school (Ursulinen) in Innsbruck, she worked from 1915 to 1923 at a bank. After a downsizing of the bank, she lost her job and was then doing temporary jobs. During this time her mother adopted another girl as a foster child. Flöck grew into the role of being her sister's mother as she was 24 years younger than her. In 1925, Flöck became an office worker at the National Association of

Catholic Workers The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...

of Tyrol. This Christian workers association was modeled after Pope Leo XIII's Enzyklika ''

Rerum Novarum ''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pass ...

''. Flöck worked lastly in a leading position at the office until it was taken over by the

national socialists Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

on 11 March 1938, who then dissolved it. Flöck began secretarial work in 1938 for the architect Franz Baumann. She remained critical towards the national Socialist regime and was therefore recruited by an acquaintance into a resistance movement. She recruited new members for this resistance group and was working as a courier. The group was betrayed and she was arrested on 10 October 1942. After several months in Innsbruck prison, she was taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp on 20 February 1943. Her inmate number was 17046. Flöck survived the concentration camp despite a

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

infection. After the liberation, she returned to Innsbruck and worked at the organization for victims of the national socialist regime in Tyrol and from 1949 as secretary to the state politician

Hans Gamper Hans Max Gamper-Haessig (; 22 November 1877 – 30 July 1930), commonly known as Joan Gamper (), was a Swiss-born football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably FC Barcelona and FC Z� ...

Awards

Flöck received the (1958) as well as the Ehrenzeichens für Verdienste um die Befreiung Österreichs (1977).

Work

After her retirement in 1961, Flöck recorded her memories between 1965 and 1970. She kept the manuscript to herself until her death. In 2012 her manuscript was first published in the form of a book.Carmella Flöck: Erinnerungen – Konzentrationslager Ravensbrück. Manuskript (electronic resource), Innsbruck 1965–1970. (Online at ALO).

References

External links

Life story of Carmella Flöck
on the website about Austrians in the concentration camp in Ravensbrück
Radio program
about Carmella Flöck {{DEFAULTSORT:Flöck, Carmella Austrian resistance members Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Liberation of Austria

Life

Awards

Work

References

Further reading

External links