Felix Fechenbach
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Felix Fechenbach (28 January 1894 – 7 August 1933) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
and political activist. He served as State-Secretary in the government of
Kurt Eisner Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...
that overthrew the Bavarian Wittelsbach Monarchy. After its overthrow, he worked as a newspaper editor during the
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
period. After the Nazi seizure of power, he was arrested and later executed. He was born in Mergentheim, the son of a lower-middle-class Jewish family. Felix Fechenbach was the son of Noe Fechenbach and Rosalie Fenchenbach. He grew up in poverty. He had four brothers called Max, Siegbert, Mortiz, Abraham, and Jackob Fechenbach. His first job was delivering bread with his older brother Abraham in the town of Würzburg. His first best friend was called Stoffele, the girl next door. Unfortunately, she died at age 7; every time her name was mentioned, he would burst into tears. He started his very first apprenticeship at age 13 at a shoe store. He took vocational education in
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...
until 1910. Later, he worked in a shoe store. In 1911 he secured work in
Frankfurt 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 it ...
but was later fired for union-activity and because of a strike he led. From 1912 until 1914, he was a party secretary of the
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...
in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, he served in World War I was wounded, became a pacifist, later becoming state secretary (1918–1919). During
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 ...
he was a pacifist and served as Private Secretary for
Kurt Eisner Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...
, the prime minister of Bavaria, shortly after the war. Felix Fechenbach later married Martha Fechenbach on 27 April 1894, and to Irma Epstein on 16 October 1895, and he had a total of three children. After he was killed by an approaching SA commando, on his way to the Dachau concentration camp, his late wife Irma Epstein was able to escape with their children. He was jailed in 1922 for publishing secret diplomatic telegrams while Staats Secretary under Eisner, before the
Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic, or Munich Soviet Republic (german: Räterepublik Baiern, Münchner Räterepublik),Hollander, Neil (2013) ''Elusive Dove: The Search for Peace During World War I''. McFarland. p.283, note 269. was a short-lived unre ...
. The decision was a scandal because the court at that time had no standing under the Weimar Constitution. He was pardoned in 1924. He thereafter travelled to
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and worked for ''Kinderfreunde'' (Friends of Children) and criticised the
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...
in his children's stories while still a member of the party. In 1929, he became the editor in chief of the SPD newspaper ''Volksblatt'' in Detmold. On 11 March 1933 he was jailed by the new Nazi government for his anti-fascist activities, and was shot on 7 August by members of the SS and SA in a forest between
Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...
and
Warburg Warburg (; Westphalian: ''Warberich'' or ''Warborg'') is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter distri ...
while being transported to the Dachau concentration camp. There are two schools named after Fechenbach: the Felix-Fechenbach Gesamtschule in Leopoldshoehe and the Felix-Fechenbach Berufskolleg in Detmold.Felix-Fechenbach-Gesamtschule Leopoldshöhe
/ref> A street in Detmold and in Oerlinghausen was also named after him.


Works by Felix Fechenbach

''Im Haus der Freudlosen'', J. H. W. Nachfolger, Berlin 1925. ''Im Haus der Freudlosen: Als Justizopfer im Zuchthaus Erbach'', revised edition edited by Roland Flade Koenigshausen & Neumann, Wuerzburg 1993. ''Mein Herz schlaegt weiter: Briefe aus der Schutzhaft'', Kulturverlag, St.Gallen 1936. ''Mein Herz schlaegt weiter: Briefe aus der Schutzhaft'', revised edition with a foreword by Heinrich Mann, a contribution by Robert M.W. Kempner and a postscript by Peter Steinbach, Andreas-Haller-Verlag, Passau 1987. ''Der Puppenspieler'', Verlag E. & K. Scheuch, Zuerich 1937. ''Der Puppenspieler: Ein Roman aus dem alten Wuerzburg'', revised edition edited by Roland Flade and Barbara Rott, Koenigshausen & Neuman, Wuerzburg 1988.


Bibliography

Felix Fechenbach 1894–1933: Journalist, Schriftsteller, Pazifist Symposium zum 100. Geburtstag am 28. Und 29. Januar 1994 in Detmold Landesverband Lippe, Institut fuer Lippische Landeskunde Kreis Lippe. Das Felix Fechenbach-Buch, Eichenverlag, Arbon 1936. Hermann Schueler, Auf der Flucht erschossen: Felix Fechenbach 1894–1933, Kiepenhauer & Wutscgm Jiekb, 1981. Peter Steinbach, Das Schicksal hat bestimmt, dass ich hierbleibe, zur Erinnerung an Felix Fechenbach (1894–1933). Peter Steinbach, Das Schicksal bestimmt, dass ich hierbleibe, Wissenschaftlicher Autoren Verlag, Berlin 1983. Herrmann Fechenbach, Die letzten Mergentheimer Juden: und die Geschichte der Familie Fechenbach mit Holzschnittillustrationen von Herrmann Fechenbach,
Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-l ...
, Stuttgart 1972. Douglas Morris, Justice Imperiled: The Anti-Nazi Lawyer Max Hirschberg, The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor 2005. Wolfgang Mueller, Juden in Detmold, Gesammelte Beitraege zur juedischen Geschichte in Detmold, Lippe Verlag, Lage 2008. Andreas Ruppert, Felix Fechenbach, translated by Katrin von Keitz, lecture given in Detmold, 6 August 2003. Irma Fechenbach-Fey: Juedin, Sozialistin, Emigrantin 1895–1973. Landesverband Lippe, Institut fuer Lippische Landeskundde, Lemgo 2003. Auf der Flucht erschossen – Felix Fechenbach, Videotape of Bayerischer Rundfunk Production der Media 3, Muenchen 1989. Videotape. Felix Fechenabach-Preisverleihung Fernsehbericht 8/6/2003, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Muenchen 2003. Videotape.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fechenbach, Felix 1894 births 1933 deaths German male journalists People from the Kingdom of Württemberg People from Baden-Württemberg executed by Nazi Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Recipients of German pardons People from Bad Mergentheim People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm German male poets 20th-century German poets 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German journalists German Jewish military personnel of World War I who died in the Holocaust Extrajudicial killings by the Nazi regime