April 18, 1929: On this date, Jean Jülich was born.
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April 18, 1929: On this date, Jean Jülich was born. At the age of 13 he joined the Edelweiß Pirates, an informal network of German youth with non-conformist to oppositional behaviors against the enforced social conformity of the Third Reich. Some Pirates engaged in active antifascist resistance, defacing Nazi posters, scrawling anti-Nazi graffiti, assassinating Nazi officials, & plotting to bomb the Cologne Gestapo headquarters. (1/7)
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April 18, 1929: On this date, Jean Jülich was born. At the age of 13 he joined the Edelweiß Pirates, an informal network of German youth with non-conformist to oppositional behaviors against the enforced social conformity of the Third Reich. Some Pirates engaged in active antifascist resistance, defacing Nazi posters, scrawling anti-Nazi graffiti, assassinating Nazi officials, & plotting to bomb the Cologne Gestapo headquarters. (1/7)
The most active Edelweiß Pirates in Cologne, including Jean Jülich, hid among the bombed-out neighborhood of Ehrenfeld. The Ehrenfeld Group “supplied black market food and shelter to runaway forced laborers, concentration camp escapees, fugitive Jews and German army deserters. They attacked Hitler Youth patrols, derailed ammunition trains, catapulted bricks through the roof of a munitions factory and sabotaged machinery.” (2/7)
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The most active Edelweiß Pirates in Cologne, including Jean Jülich, hid among the bombed-out neighborhood of Ehrenfeld. The Ehrenfeld Group “supplied black market food and shelter to runaway forced laborers, concentration camp escapees, fugitive Jews and German army deserters. They attacked Hitler Youth patrols, derailed ammunition trains, catapulted bricks through the roof of a munitions factory and sabotaged machinery.” (2/7)
Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed German cities during WW2. The city was littered with unexploded bombs following Allied air-raids. Concentration camp prisoners were used to defuse the munitions. A prisoner, Hans Steinbrück, personally defused 900 bombs, earned local notoriety, & was given the nickname “Bomber Hans.” He was able to escape & the Ehrenfeld Edelweiß Pirates group sheltered him. (3/7)
#WW2 #Germany #Antifa #Resistance
https://historycollection.com/hans-steinbrucks-hopeless-fight-gestapo-ruins-cologne/
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Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed German cities during WW2. The city was littered with unexploded bombs following Allied air-raids. Concentration camp prisoners were used to defuse the munitions. A prisoner, Hans Steinbrück, personally defused 900 bombs, earned local notoriety, & was given the nickname “Bomber Hans.” He was able to escape & the Ehrenfeld Edelweiß Pirates group sheltered him. (3/7)
#WW2 #Germany #Antifa #Resistance
https://historycollection.com/hans-steinbrucks-hopeless-fight-gestapo-ruins-cologne/
Steinbrück, Jülich, & other Ehrenfeld Pirates increased their activities, including assassinating Nazis & culminating in a plan to bomb Gestapo headquarters in Cologne. In early October 1944, the Gestapo rounded up multiple members of the group. After a month of brutal interrogation, 13 were publicly hanged. The youngest, Barthel Schink, was 16 years old. Jülich was arrested, tortured, & imprisoned until the end of the war. (4/7)
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Steinbrück, Jülich, & other Ehrenfeld Pirates increased their activities, including assassinating Nazis & culminating in a plan to bomb Gestapo headquarters in Cologne. In early October 1944, the Gestapo rounded up multiple members of the group. After a month of brutal interrogation, 13 were publicly hanged. The youngest, Barthel Schink, was 16 years old. Jülich was arrested, tortured, & imprisoned until the end of the war. (4/7)
Jean Jülich survived the war. In 1984 he was honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. A 2004 film, Edelweisspiraten (The Edelweiss Pirates), is available with English subtitles on streaming services in the US. Jean Jülich provided voiceover for the movie which appears (by my amateur assessment) historically accurate. He died in 2011 at the age of 82. (5/7)
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Jean Jülich survived the war. In 1984 he was honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. A 2004 film, Edelweisspiraten (The Edelweiss Pirates), is available with English subtitles on streaming services in the US. Jean Jülich provided voiceover for the movie which appears (by my amateur assessment) historically accurate. He died in 2011 at the age of 82. (5/7)
Another Cologne-based Edelweiß Pirate, Gertrude Koch, survived the war. In 2005, she co-founded the yearly festival Edelweißpiratenfestival (Edelweiss Pirates Festival). She published her memoirs, Edelweiß- Meine Jugend als Widerstandskämpferin (Edelweiss - My youth as a resistance fighter) in 2006. Koch was the last known surviving member of the Edelweiss Pirates; she died June 21, 2016. (6/7)
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Another Cologne-based Edelweiß Pirate, Gertrude Koch, survived the war. In 2005, she co-founded the yearly festival Edelweißpiratenfestival (Edelweiss Pirates Festival). She published her memoirs, Edelweiß- Meine Jugend als Widerstandskämpferin (Edelweiss - My youth as a resistance fighter) in 2006. Koch was the last known surviving member of the Edelweiss Pirates; she died June 21, 2016. (6/7)
For more history on the Edelweiss Pirates please listen to this excellent podcast from Working Class History. (7/7)
#WW2 #Germany #Antifa #Resistance
https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/72-edelweiss-pirates-swing-kids/
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Another Cologne-based Edelweiß Pirate, Gertrude Koch, survived the war. In 2005, she co-founded the yearly festival Edelweißpiratenfestival (Edelweiss Pirates Festival). She published her memoirs, Edelweiß- Meine Jugend als Widerstandskämpferin (Edelweiss - My youth as a resistance fighter) in 2006. Koch was the last known surviving member of the Edelweiss Pirates; she died June 21, 2016. (6/7)
@MNSpy
️ Mucki ️ Had the honor of knowing her. -
For more history on the Edelweiss Pirates please listen to this excellent podcast from Working Class History. (7/7)
#WW2 #Germany #Antifa #Resistance
https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/72-edelweiss-pirates-swing-kids/
Thank you for remembering Jean Jülich, Gertrud "Mucki" Koch and the Edelweiss Pirates.
My father, son of a catholic fighter for the resistance, who was hanged by the Nazis in 1943, was a great admirer of Mucki. In the picture below they sing together at a canal in Cologne. My father, Dirk Hespers, was invited to sing at the Edelweiss Pirates festival regularly. He sang resistance songs he learned while he and his family were in exile.
https://podcasts.social/@dieanachronistin/109522846741419236
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