Friedrich Kellner

August Friedrich Kellner (February 1, 1885 - November 4, 1970) was born in Vaihingen an der Enz, Germany, and died in Lich. He was a German social democrat, a justice inspector and the author of a secret diary written in the time of the Nazi period in Germany.

Deutsch: August Friedrich Kellner war ein deutscher Sozialdemokrat, Justizinspektor und Autor dokumentarischer Aufzeichnungen in der Zeit des Naziregimes in Deutschland.

Español: August Friedrich Kellner fue un socialdemócrata alemán, inspector de Justicia y autor de un diario escrito en secreto durante el Tercer Reich.

Français : August Friedrich Kellner était un social-démocrate allemand. Il devient greffier de justice au tribunal et écrit son journal à l'époque du régime nazi en Allemagne.

Magyar: Friedrich Kellner vaihingeni születésű katona, majd német biztos volt, aki nagyhatású (de Magyarországon kevéssé ismert) feljegyzéseiről ismert külföldön.

Italiano: August Friedrich Kellner fu un socialdemocratico tedesco, ispettore di giustizia e autore di un diario segreto nel periodo della Germania Nazista.

Nederlands: August Friedrich Kellner was een Duitse sociaal-democraat een auteur van een geheim dagboek tijdens het Nazi-tijdperk.

Polski: August Friedrich Kellner – niemiecki socjaldemokrata, inspektor sprawiedliwości i autor znanych wspomnień pisanych w tajemnicy w czasach III Rzeszy.

Português: August Friedrich Kellner Foi um Social-democrata alemão, inspetor de justiça e autor de um diário escrito secretamente durante o domínio do Terceiro Reich.

Svenska: August Friedrich Kellner, född 1 februari 1885 i Vaihingen an der Enz, död 4 november 1970 i Lich, var en tysk socialdemokrat, tingsnotarie och författare till en dagbok under nazitiden i Tyskland.

Images

Friedrich Kellner

Friedrich Kellner, 23 years old, with army comrades in 1908. He is seated, second from right, wearing a beret. The braid on his chest indicates his status as a sharpshooter.

Friedrich Kellner in 1892, seven years old, in costume for Karneval.
Friedrich Kellner in the Kaiser's army in 1914. He was wounded early in the war and given a medical discharge in 1918.
Justice Inspector Friedrich Kellner in 1923. He campaigned actively against Hitler and the Nazis.
1923 identification card issued during the French occupation of Mainz after WWI.
Friedrich Kellner in 1934.
Friedrich Kellner in 1934. Image flipped.
Friedrich and Pauline Kellner's photographs and signatures on their 1935 passport.
Chief Justice Inspector Friedrich Kellner (front and center) at Laubach courthouse in 1948. He and his wife Pauline had an apartment in the courthouse.

Friedrich Kellner (center) with friends, c. 1902.

Progeny

Friedrich and Pauline Kellner in 1914 in Mainz. The first wedding anniversary of a fifty-seven year marriage.

Friedrich and Pauline Kellner and their son Fred in 1926, on vacation in Schwarzwald, the Black Forest.

Fred William Kellner in 1928, at the age of twelve. Fred would have a tragic life, cut short by his own hand at the age of 37. Photo taken in Mainz.
Fred William Kellner (1916 - 1953), only child of Friedrich and Pauline. Emigrated to America in 1935. Sent back to Germany in the U.S. Army to fight against his former countrymen.
Robert Scott Kellner in 1960 when he first met his grandparents. He is the English translator of the diary.
Friedrich and Pauline Kellner in 1968, with their grandson Robert Scott Kellner. This was when they gave their grandson the diary.
Robert Scott Kellner in 2007, translator of the diary

Diary

The Friedrich Kellner diary consists of 10 volumes with a total of 861 pages. It contains 676 individually dated entries from September 1939 to May 1945. More than 500 newspaper clippings are pasted on the pages of the diary.

April 25, 1943 entry and newspaper photos about the Atlantic Wall fortifications. "Such fortifications will not stop the Allies."
Page 3 of the long entry of October 6, 1939, in which Friedrich Kellner is writing about a speech Hitler broadcast from the Reichstag, when Hitler was talking about the German and Russian invasion and partition of Poland.
Page 4 of the October 6, 1939 entry: "It is sheer nonsense for Hitler to say that now that Poland has been destroyed we can have peace in Europe. The opposite is the case. Every Pole will have an indelible hatred that will produce blazing flames of revenge – and it will be directed at us."
First page of Oct. 28, 1941 entry about mass murder of Jews. Entry begins near bottom of page.

A closeup look at the Sütterlin style of lettering used by Friedrich Kellner.

Second page of Oct. 28, 1941 entry about mass murder of Jews.
Entry of Oct. 28, 1941 about the mass murder of Jews. With English translation.
Using part of the October 28, 1941, entry as an example of Sütterlin script transcribed into modern German and into English
Friedrich Kellner diary entry of April 14, 1943, including newspaper clipping about the death penalty being given for listening to a foreign broadcast on the radio.

Locations

Vaihingen an der Enz, Germany, is the birthplace of Friedrich Kellner. The town is located on the bank of the Enz River. It is not far from Heidelberg.

The birthplace of Friedrich Kellner in 1885, #5 Stuttgarterstrasse in Vaihingen an der Enz, Germany. Friedrich's father, Georg, had a bakery on the ground floor.
The town of Laubach in Hesse, Germany. The Solms castle is in the background. Friedrich and Pauline Kellner lived in Laubach from 1933-1962, and Friedrich spent the last few months of his life here in 1970.
The courthouse (Amtsgericht) in Laubach where Friedrich Kellner was chief justice inspector. There were two 7-room apartments in the courthouse, one for the presiding judge, one for the chief justice inspector.
The Schwarze Adler (Black Eagle) Inn, in Altenstadt, Germany. During the war, Friedrich Kellner alternated his workdays between the courthouses in Laubach and Altenstadt, and he resided at this inn.
Friedrich and Pauline Kellner's retirement home in Laubach, built in 1950. The address was originally #7 Andree Allee; renamed in 2014, the address of the Kellner house is now #2 Friedrich Kellner Strasse.
American Legion Tomb in Neuilly, France, in the La Defense zone of Paris. Place of burial for Fred William Kellner.
Friedrich and Pauline Kellner's gravestone in Hauptfriedhof cemetery in Mainz. In 2012 the cemetery officials and mayor of Mainz designated the Kellner grave an Ehrengrab, Grave of Honor.
Close up of gravestone. Upper plaque says "Kellner." Lower plaque says "Pauline Kellner." Friedrich and Pauline both died in 1970, after 57 years of marriage.

Other

Limestone statues of Friedrich and Pauline Kellner, included in the museum exhibits of the diary. He is holding a fountain pen, and she is holding a scroll of paper. Sculpted by Robert Scott Kellner.

Friedrich Kellner's 1908 beer stein. It has his name on it, along with the names of the other members of his regiment.
Silver goblet belonging to Friedrich Kellner's father, Georg. Date on goblet is 1908.
Friedrich Kellner's WWI military passbook, with a page listing the battles he fought in.
Pronunciation of Friedrich Kellner.