Fritz Eberhard (2 October 1896 – 30 March 1982) was a German journalist,

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

and social democrat and fought in the

German Resistance German resistance can refer to: * Freikorps, German nationalist paramilitary groups resisting German communist uprisings and the Weimar Republic government * German resistance to Nazism * Landsturm, German resistance groups fighting against France d ...

against

Nazism 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 ...

. He was a member of the

Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund The Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund (, "International Socialist Militant League") or ISK was a socialist split-off from the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD during the Weimar Republic and was active in the German resistance to Naz ...

(ISK). After the war, Eberhard was a member of the

Parliamentary Council The Parliamentary Council was a constitutional authority in Sri Lanka established under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Formally being constituted on January 1, 2011 as per the 18th Amendment, it replaces the Constitutional ...

, precursor of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

, where he was one of the founders of the modern German constitution.

Early years

Eberhard was born Helmut (or Hellmut) von Rauschenplat, a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

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 larg ...

that dated back to the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

.Bernd Sösemann: ''Fritz Eberhard. Rückblicke auf Biographie und Werk. Beiträge zur Kommunikationsgeschichte'' Vol. 9, p. 73. Steiner, Stuttgart (2001) In 1914, he began studying

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, attending universities in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

und

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

. Taking three years off, from 1915 to 1918, to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

,Ansgar Diller
"Fritz Eberhard - Politiker und Publizist: Ein Repräsentant der Remigration im Nachkriegsdeutschland"
Arbeitskreis selbstständiger Kultur-Institute, e.V., official website. Retrieved 19 July 2010 he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1920.Fritz and Elizabeth Eberhard Collection
(PDF) Institute of Contemporary History, official website. Munich. Retrieved 21 July 2010 During this time, he developed his social and political ideas and became an adherent of the ideas of

Robert Wilbrandt The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and

Leonard Nelson Leonard Nelson (; ; 11 July 1882 – 29 October 1927), sometimes spelt Leonhard, was a German mathematician, critical philosopher, and socialist. He was part of the neo-Friesian school (named after post-Kantian philosopher Jakob Friedrich Fr ...

.Fritz Eberhard
''Arbeit gegen das Dritte Reich''
(PDF) German Resistance Memorial Center, official website. Lecture at the Evangelische Akademie Berlin (24 June 1974) Retrieved 19 July 2010 In 1921, he joined the ''Internationaler Jugendbund'', the forerunner of the ISK. He also joined the SPD in 1922 and the Jungsozialisten, but withdrew from the SPD in 1924. He also taught economics at the ISK school, ''Walkemühle'' in

Melsungen Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The stream ...

. He worked as an editor for the ISK newspaper, ''

Der Funke ''Der Funke'' (, "The Spark") was a daily newspaper published from Berlin, Germany, from 1932 to 1933. It was the national organ of the International Socialist Struggle League (ISK). The ISK leader Willi Eichler was the editor-in-chief of ''Der F ...

'', where from 1932–1933, he was responsible for covering economic politics.

Resistance and exile

After the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

seized power in 1933, Rauschenplat was forced to go underground because of an arrest warrant and took the name "Fritz Eberhard". He began heading up the banned ISK in Germany in 1934 and worked on building an independent socialist trade union, the ''Unabhängigen Sozialistischen Gewerkschaft''. He also worked closely with

Hans Jahn Johannes Jahn (29 August 1885 – 10 July 1960) was a German trade unionist, politician and anti-Nazi activist. Jahn became a smelter, and then in 1909 began working for a trade union. By 1930, he was serving on the national executive of th ...

and the railroad Resistance group organized by the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

and he maintained contact with the

Willi Eichler Willi Eichler (7 January 1896 – 17 October 1971) was a German journalist and politician with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Before 1945 Eichler was born in Berlin, the son of a postal worker. He attended Volksschule and then beca ...

and the

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d ISK leadership in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. During this period, he also wrote articles under a pseudonym for the ''Stuttgarter Sonntagszeitung'' until it was banned in 1937. The underground organization of the ISK was crushed by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

in 1937. Eberhard was able to flee to London, but fell into conflict with Eichler over his advocacy of

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. As a result, he left the ISK in 1939, along with

Hilde Meisel Hilde Meisel (31 July 1914 – 17 April 1945) was a Jewish German socialist and journalist who published articles against the Nazi regime in Germany. While in exile in England, she wrote under the pseudonym Hilda Monte, calling for German resis ...

and Hans Lehnert. Following his split, he worked closely with Waldemar von Knoeringen and

Richard Löwenthal Richard Löwenthal (April 15, 1908 – August 9, 1991) was a German journalist and professor who wrote mostly on the problems of democracy, communism, and world politics. Life Löwenthal was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Ernst and Anna L ...

and with the '' Sender der europäischen Revolution''. He also worked as a journalist for several newspapers.

Return to Germany

In April 1945, Eberhard was able to return to Germany, with the help of the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

. He became a commentator and advisor to the American program director at Radio Stuttgart. In October, he re-joined the SPD and in 1946, he was elected to the ''

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. I ...

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

''. In 1948-1949, he was a member of the ''

Parlamentarischer Rat The ''Parlamentarischer Rat'' (German for "Parliamentary Council") was the West German constituent assembly in Bonn that drafted and adopted the constitution of West Germany, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, promulgated on 23 Ma ...

'', the Parliamentary Council that was involved in writing the postwar

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. Eberhard played a leading role in ensuring the right to

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

status be included in the new

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. From 1949 to 1958, he worked at '' Süddeutscher Rundfunk'' as political director. From 1961 to 1968, he was the director and an honorary professor at the ''Institut für Publizistik'' at the ''

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

''. In 1979, Eberhard and

Axel Eggebrecht Axel Constantin August Eggebrecht (10 January 1899 – 14 July 1991) was a German journalist, writer, and screenwriter. Life Eggebrecht grew up in bourgeois surroundings in Leipzig until 1917 when he volunteered to serve in the First World War ...

were awarded the

Carl von Ossietzky Medal The (ILMR) has awarded the Carl von Ossietzky Medal since 1962. The league has honored personalities, initiatives or organizations who have worked with civil courage and outstanding commitment to the realization of human rights annually since 1962 ...

. Eberhard died in Berlin in 1982. His personal papers are at the archives of the Institute of Contemporary History in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Works by Eberhard

Between 1934 and 1939, Eberhard published 71 articles in '' Sozialistische Warte'' with the pen name, Fritz Kempf or the abbreviation, F.K. In 1939, he wrote ''How to Conquer Hitler'' with

Hilda Monte Hilde Meisel (31 July 1914 – 17 April 1945) was a Jewish German people, German socialist and journalist who published articles against the Nazi regime in Germany. While in exile in England, she wrote under the pseudonym Hilda Monte, calling for ...

References

External links

*
Deutsche Exilzeitschriften 1933-1945

Fritz-Eberhardt-Gesellschaft e.V.

Institute for Contemporary History
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Eberhard, Fritz German journalists German male journalists 20th-century German journalists People of the Office of Strategic Services German resistance members Exiles from Nazi Germany 1982 deaths Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1896 births German male writers ARD (broadcaster) people Members of Parlamentarischer Rat Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf