Transcript
Theodor Neubauer “We are right in the thick of it. In the midst of the collapse of a world. A world to which we are all bound by a thousand threads. A world whose collapse affects us all.”
Narrator Theodor Neubauer wrote these lines in 1920. The war is over; the republic has been founded. He is 29 years old, a senior teacher of French, English, and history at a middle-class high school, and a recognized historian. His path has been almost linear: From the son of an estate manager to a high school student, a Wandervogel leader, a student in Brussels, Jena, and Berlin, and finally a Doctor of Philosophy. He volunteered for the war, served as a lieutenant in the imperial army, and was wounded. Like many of his contemporaries, he is convinced that the war has fundamentally changed everything. And he questions his life up to that point. He writes to a friend:
Theodor Neubauer “You know my attitude toward what I must do. I must serve, place myself in the current of what is to come. I must fight and bear burdens. The political struggle is, after all, only a part of it. Even if it were ended by our victory, my task would not become any easier. For I am not fighting for a party, but for humanity.”
Narrator He becomes a rebel. His ideas for socialist school reform are met with fierce opposition. Soon he is dismissed from the Lyceum, takes another job, and finds himself facing striking conservative parents there as well. The workers call him the “Red Doctor.” He joins the KPD, becomes a member of the state parliament in Thuringia, and experiences persecution and frequent moves. His wife and two children struggle to make ends meet. He rarely sees them. Soon, the enthusiasm of his early political days gives way to a more sober perspective. Yet he remains a radical supporter of the revolution. For him, the republic is merely a transition. He becomes a party journalist, a member of the Reichstag, and delivers speeches against the National Socialists. After January 1933, he is under threat. Nevertheless, he does not flee; he goes into hiding and attends the final meeting of the KPD leadership. His wife recalls this time:
Elisabeth Neubauer “Theo went into hiding; the children and their nanny, Anna, were taken in by acquaintances, because after a routine police search, they were constantly harassed by raids from wild SA hordes who threatened them and who also took a whole carload of books from us, as well as the desk drawer containing all my husband’s securities and identification documents, along with pictures from Russia.”
Narrator In August 1933, the Gestapo arrested Theodor Neubauer in Berlin. He hoped in vain for his release. With no prospect of a trial, the Gestapo shuttled him from one concentration camp to another: Esterwegen, Columbiahaus, Lichtenburg, and Buchenwald were the stops along the way. In Buchenwald, where he has been since August 1937, many look up to him—the SS, the Gestapo, his comrades, for whom he serves as a role model. Released unexpectedly from the camp in 1939, he resumes his underground work. He becomes the leader of a Thuringian resistance network that prints leaflets and maintains contacts throughout Germany. He is arrested again. The People’s Court sentences him to death. He is executed on February 5, 1945. His final message to his family reads:
Theodor Neubauer “I die with a steadfast heart—of course.”
