Born in Aachen, André was a manual labourer's son. By the time he was five, he had already lost his father, and his mother, who was ill, found it quite hard to look after her three children. Belgian relatives brought them to Liège where for a while, Edgar found himself living at an orphanage. After leaving school, he took up an apprenticeship at a bookshop, where he came into contact with political literature.
SPD membershipedit
In 1911, he became a member of the Belgian Labour Party, and in only two years' time, he had become the Secretary of the Socialist Worker Youth in Brussels. In 1914, he took part in the Party Congress of the Belgian Labour Party. In the First World War, he volunteered for service in the Rhineland and in late 1918 wound up a prisoner of the French. After coming back to Germany, he went first to Koblenz, where he joined the Socialist Worker Youth and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In 1922, he moved to Hamburg. There he worked in building and at the harbour, and he became a member of the Building Workers' Alliance, and later also the Transport Workers' Alliance.
KPD membershipedit
During the post-war early 1920s depression, which struck Germany especially hard owing to the war reparations exacted from it by the Treaty of Versailles, André came into sharp conflict with the SPD's policies, resulting in his resignation from the party, and his joining the KPD on 1 January 1923. He soon belonged to Ernst Thälmann's circle of friends. As a member of the KPD's Wasserkante District Leadership (1926–1930), he was one of the best liked labour leaders in Hamburg.[citation needed] As the Hamburg jobless workers' spokesman, he likewise stepped forward as co-founder and leader of the Wasserkante branch of the Rotfrontkämpferbund, the KPD's protection and defence organization (1924–1929). After attending the KPD's party school, André was, in 1931-32, active in the International Union of Seamen and Harbour Workers as an instructor and propagandist, spending much of his time in Belgium and France. His knowledge of French was a great advantage to him in this endeavour.
Arrest, imprisonment, torture and deathedit
After Hitlerseized power following the Reichstag fire, Edgar André was arrested on 5 March 1933. He was held in custody for three and a half years, during which time he was tortured. When it was over, he could walk only on crutches, and he had lost his hearing. When his trial began in Hamburg on 4 May 1936, on charges of murder, nine cases of attempted murder and public order offences, the prosecution could only present insufficient evidence of André's guilt. Nevertheless, the prosecutor requested – one assumes on Hitler's personal orders – that the death penalty be imposed[citation needed]. On 10 July 1936, the judge imposed just such a sentence.
The authorities ignored the international protest movement over the case, and André was beheaded on 4 November 1936. A few hours later, Fuhlsbüttel Prison's 5,000 inmates went "on strike" in protest over André's death.
edgar, andré, politician, swiss, footballer, edgar, andré, footballer, edgar, josef, andré, etkar, josef, andré, january, 1894, november, 1936, politician, communist, party, germany, antifascist, citation, needed, edgar, josef, andréborn, 1894, january, 1894di. For the Swiss footballer see Edgar Andre footballer Edgar Josef Andre or Etkar Josef Andre 17 January 1894 4 November 1936 was a politician in the Communist Party of Germany KPD and an antifascist citation needed Edgar Josef AndreBorn 1894 01 17 17 January 1894Died4 November 1936 1936 11 04 aged 42 NationalityGermanOccupationPoliticianKnown forAntifascismThis article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Edgar Andre politician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Contents 1 Early years 2 SPD membership 3 KPD membership 4 Arrest imprisonment torture and death 5 Bibliography 6 External linksEarly years editBorn in Aachen Andre was a manual labourer s son By the time he was five he had already lost his father and his mother who was ill found it quite hard to look after her three children Belgian relatives brought them to Liege where for a while Edgar found himself living at an orphanage After leaving school he took up an apprenticeship at a bookshop where he came into contact with political literature SPD membership editIn 1911 he became a member of the Belgian Labour Party and in only two years time he had become the Secretary of the Socialist Worker Youth in Brussels In 1914 he took part in the Party Congress of the Belgian Labour Party In the First World War he volunteered for service in the Rhineland and in late 1918 wound up a prisoner of the French After coming back to Germany he went first to Koblenz where he joined the Socialist Worker Youth and the Social Democratic Party of Germany SPD In 1922 he moved to Hamburg There he worked in building and at the harbour and he became a member of the Building Workers Alliance and later also the Transport Workers Alliance KPD membership editDuring the post war early 1920s depression which struck Germany especially hard owing to the war reparations exacted from it by the Treaty of Versailles Andre came into sharp conflict with the SPD s policies resulting in his resignation from the party and his joining the KPD on 1 January 1923 He soon belonged to Ernst Thalmann s circle of friends As a member of the KPD s Wasserkante District Leadership 1926 1930 he was one of the best liked labour leaders in Hamburg citation needed As the Hamburg jobless workers spokesman he likewise stepped forward as co founder and leader of the Wasserkante branch of the Rotfrontkampferbund the KPD s protection and defence organization 1924 1929 After attending the KPD s party school Andre was in 1931 32 active in the International Union of Seamen and Harbour Workers as an instructor and propagandist spending much of his time in Belgium and France His knowledge of French was a great advantage to him in this endeavour Arrest imprisonment torture and death editAfter Hitler seized power following the Reichstag fire Edgar Andre was arrested on 5 March 1933 He was held in custody for three and a half years during which time he was tortured When it was over he could walk only on crutches and he had lost his hearing When his trial began in Hamburg on 4 May 1936 on charges of murder nine cases of attempted murder and public order offences the prosecution could only present insufficient evidence of Andre s guilt Nevertheless the prosecutor requested one assumes on Hitler s personal orders that the death penalty be imposed citation needed On 10 July 1936 the judge imposed just such a sentence The authorities ignored the international protest movement over the case and Andre was beheaded on 4 November 1936 A few hours later Fuhlsbuttel Prison s 5 000 inmates went on strike in protest over Andre s death In the Spanish Civil War shortly before his death the first battalion of the International Brigades was formed under the name Edgar Andre Bibliography editBredel Willi Edgar Andre Ein deutscher Antifaschist mit dem Tode bedroht Strasbourg Ed Promethee 1936 Uhse Bodo Die erste Schlacht Vom Werden und den ersten Kampfen des Bataillons Edgar Andre Strasbourg Ed Promethee 1938 Joachim Priewe Begegnung mit Etkar Andre Ein Lebensbild Berlin Ost 1986 External links editNewspaper clippings about Edgar Andre in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edgar Andre politician amp oldid 1173083215, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
