Wikipedia

Josefine Brunner

Josefine Brunner (née Ragnes, 26 February 1909 – 9 September 1943) was an Austrian socialist, resistance member and victim of the Nazi regime. Her code name was Erika.

Josefine Brunner
Born(1909-02-26)26 February 1909
Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria-Hungary
Died9 September 1943(1943-09-09) (aged 34)
Stadelheim Prison, Munich, Nazi Germany
Cause of death
decapitation
Occupationssocialist, resistance member and victim of the Nazi regime
Years active1932–1943
SpouseAlois Brunner (m. 1938)

Family

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Brunner was born on 26 February 1909 in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria to a working class family. After leaving school, she worked as a domestic servant.[1] She lived with socialist Alois Brunner [de] from 1935, before they were married in 1938.[1]

Activism

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In 1932, Brunner became a member of the Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ).[1] She was a member of Waldemar von Knoeringen's [de] resistance network against the Nazi Party, which was based in the town of Wörgl, before they annexed Austria.[2][3] She completed special training in use of espionage techniques, including couriering.[1] During the Anschluss (the German occupation of Austria), she couriered communication between illegal revolutionary socialist groups in Augsburg, Munich, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vienna,[1][4][5] operating under the code name Erika.[6]

Brunner and her husband were arrested in 1942 and were sentenced to death on 28 May 1943.[1] She submitted a petition for clemency to Roland Freisler, President of the People's Court, after the verdict, but this was denied. On 9 September 1943, both Brunner and her husband were executed by decapitation at Stadelheim Prison in Munich, Nazi Germany,[1][7] without being allowed to see each other before their deaths.[8]

Memorial plaque to Alois and Josefine Brunner in Wörgl[9]

Legacy

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In 1988, a commemorative plaque was erected at the train station square in Wörgl in honour of Brunner and her husband.[9]

In 2015, Brunner and her husband were included on a plaque in the Wörgl town cemetery commemorating victims of Nazism.[10]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Josefine Brunner Biographie". German Resistance Memorial Center. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  2. ↑ Trebbin, Ulrich (28 February 2023). Die unsichtbare Guillotine: Das Fallbeil der Weißen Rose und seine Geschichte (in German). Verlag Friedrich Pustet. ISBN 978-3-7917-6231-9.
  3. ↑ Stadtarchiv, Team (23 February 2023). "Roter Widerstand" (in German). Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  4. ↑ Maass, Walter B. (1979). Country Without a Name: Austria Under Nazi Rule, 1938-1945. F. Ungar Publishing Company. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8044-1553-8.
  5. ↑ Kerschbaumer, Marie Thérèse (1996). Woman's Face of Resistance: Seven Reports. Ariadne Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-57241-027-5.
  6. ↑ "Brunner Josefine". biografiA (in German). Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  7. ↑ Commire, Anne (1999). Women in World History: Brem-Cold. Yorkin Publications. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-7876-4062-0.
  8. ↑ "Biographie: Alois und Josefine Brunner". Der Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz in Innsbruck (in German). Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  9. 1 2 Stoff, Sebastian David. "Gedenktafel für Alois und Josefine Brunner am Vorplatz des Bahnhofs Wörgl". gams.uni-graz.at (in German). Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  10. ↑ Stoff, Sebastian David. "Gedenktafel für die Wörgler Opfer des Widerstandes, der religiösen und rassistischen Verfolgung am Kirchhof Wörgl: Alois und Josefine Brunner, Stefan Valentinotti, Josef Gangl, Rudolf und Elisabeth Gottlieb und Anna Gründler". gams.uni-graz.at (in German). Retrieved 10 May 2025.
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