Albert Friedrich Schlotterbeck (January 9, 1909 – April 7, 1979) was a German

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who wrote

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plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, and

radio plays Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

, and was a local leader of the German Resistance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Biography

Born in

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818. Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...

in the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

as the son of a metal worker, he joined the KJD, the German Communist Youth Party, in 1923, and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1927. He studied in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

from 1929 to 1930, returned to organize groups against the Nazis, and was arrested by the Nazi government. He was held in various

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

from 1934 to 1943, when he was released from the

Welzheim Welzheim is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 35 km east of Stuttgart, and 15 km northwest of Schwäbisch Gmünd. Welzheim has 11,239 (2005) inhabitants and is located in the 'Welzheimer Wa ...

concentration camp. He continued his anti-Nazi activities with the

Schlotterbeck Group Schlotterbeck is a German language habitational surname. Notable people with the name include: * Andreas Schlotterbeck (1982), German water polo player * Anna Schlotterbeck (1902–1972), German political activist and writer * Friedrich Schlotterbec ...

, but the group was captured by the authorities and deported to Dachau, where all captured members were summarily executed, including Schlotterbeck's entire family (except for a three-year-old girl) and his fiance, Else Himmelheber, on November 30, 1944. Schlotterbeck managed to flee to Switzerland. After 1945 he led the

Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime The Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime/Federation of Antifascists (German: ''Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten'') (VVN-BdA) is a German political confederation founded in 1947 ...

(VVN), an association of victims of Nazi persecution, in US-occupied

Württemberg-Baden Württemberg-Baden was a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was created in 1945 by the United States occupation forces, after the previous states of Baden and Württemberg had been split up between the US and French occupation zones. ...

. He moved to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in 1948 and was active in low-level political functions, but was removed from the SED, the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

, in 1951, and imprisoned from 1953 to 1956. Author of an autobiography, ''Je dunkler die Nacht, desto heller die Sterne: Erinnerungen eines deutschen Arbeiters 1933-1945'' (1945), and ''Im Rosengarten von Sanssouci'' (1968).Literaturport.de, "Friedrich Schlotterbeck"
/ref> His autobiography was translated by Edward Fitzgerald as ''The Darker The Night, The Brighter The Stars: A German Worker Remembers (1933-1945)'' (London: Gollancz, 1947).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlotterbeck, Friedrich 1909 births 1979 deaths People from Reutlingen People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime members Communists in the German Resistance German male writers