Ringerhalle_Hermann_Fischer_Namensschild_tom

Hermann Fischer (18 January 1912 in Asch,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Aš Aš (; german: Asch) is a town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Dolní Paseky, Doubrava (Aš), Doubrava, Horní Paseky, Kopaniny (Aš), Kopaniny, ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) – 23 November 1984 in

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

) was a German athlete and Communist resistance fighter 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 ...

Life

His parents, a round knitter and his wife, moved from Asch to

Apolda Apolda () is a town in central Thuringia, Germany, the capital of the Weimarer Land district. It is situated in the center of the triangle Weimar–Jena–Naumburg near the river Ilm, c. east by north from Weimar. Apolda station lies on the Hall ...

in 1914, where he attended the

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary (' ...

. His early recognizable tendency to woodwork made him take on the profession of a carpenter. Already as a youth, he worked as a wrestler in the Apolda sports clubs "Blau-Gold" and "Olympia". During the period of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he joined the

Rote Hilfe The Rote Hilfe ("Red Aid") was the German affiliate of the International Red Aid. The Rote Hilfe was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany and existed between 1924 and 1936. Its purpose was to provide help to those Communists who had bee ...

, the German branch of the

International Red Aid International Red Aid (also commonly known by its Russian acronym MOPR ( ru , МОПР, for: ''Междунаро́дная организа́ция по́мощи борца́м револю́ции'' - Mezhdunarodnaya organizatsiya pomoshchi bor ...

. When the sports associations were banned in 1933, he secretly continued to train. In the same year, he was imprisoned for several weeks because of political resistance. From 1935 onward, he belonged to the regional resistance group Brümmer-Kleine. In 1936 he was condemned to two years in a

House of correction The house of correction was a type of establishment built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), places where those who were "unwilling to work", including vagrants and beggars, were set to work. The building of houses of correctio ...

with loss of honor. He spent his time in the "

Roter Ochse Roter Ochse ("The Red Ox", today JVA Halle I) is a Prisons in Germany, prison in Halle (Saale). The name can be traced to the end of the nineteenth century, but its origin is unclear. It is said to be related to the colour of the masonry. Since 1 ...

" of Halle. After his dismissal, he continued to work for the Red Aid, and was arrested again in 1941 and was forced into the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, where he had to work in the quarry, weighing only 40 kg. After being liberated from the concentration camp, he was recognized as a persecutor of the

Nazi regime 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 ...

(VdN). He joined the KPD and organized the Apolda Criminal Police, and then took over the management of a dispossessed room operator. From 1947 to 1953, he belonged to the wrestling national team of the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Since 1951, he worked as a sports and trainer in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Artern Artern is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, Thuringia, Germany. The former municipalities Heygendorf and Voigtstedt were merged into Artern in January 2019. Geography Artern is situated at the confluence of the rivers Unstrut and Helme, ...

, and

Leuna Leuna is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle, on the river Saale. The town is known for the ''Leunawerke'', at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range of ...

, where he trained young recruits for the GDR national wrestling team. His son Lothar also became a successful wrestler, who won a bronze medal for the GDR in 1958 World Wrestling Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In 1968, he and Hans Bachmann were appointed as the chief trainers of the team. In 1970, he had to give up his professional activities because of illness, but he continued to volunteer for sports.

Services

* 1949 in

Zella-Mehlis Zella-Mehlis is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 5 km north of Suhl, and 20 km east of Meiningen. The town of Zella-Mehlis is the site of the original Walthe ...

2nd place at the German championship in the Greco-Roman-style as flyweight.

Honors

* Verdienter Meister des Sports * Ehrennadel des DTSB der DDR in Gold * Ehrennadel des Ringerverbandes der DDR in Gold * Medaille „Kämpfer gegen den Faschismus“ * Verleihung seines Namens am 7. Oktober 1986 an die Trainingshalle der Apoldaer Ringer

References

Literature

* Udo Wohlfeld, Peter Franz: ''Das Netz. Die

Konzentrationslager 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 concen ...

in Thüringen 1933–1937.'' Weimar 2000, . 1912 births 1984 deaths People from Aš German Bohemian people Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany members German male sport wrestlers Buchenwald concentration camp survivors {{Germany-martialart-bio-stub