Why is the JUZ called FRIEDRICH DÜRR?
A stencil portrait of Friedrich Dürr on the exterior wall of the JUZ.
In 1975, Fritz Salm, author of the book “In the Shadow of the Executioner” (Im Schatten des Henkers), gave a talk at the old JUZ (O4, 8) about Mannheim’s anti-fascist resistance against the Nazi dictatorship. His account of the resistance fighter Friedrich Dürr led to the following resolution by the JUZ General Assembly:
“Not in order to honor a hero, but in the awareness that the struggle against the forces of reaction must continue, we have adopted the name of the Mannheim machine fitter Friedrich Dürr.”
Because of his resistance to fascism, Friedrich Dürr was arrested in 1935 and deported to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Yet even in captivity he remained active. He played a significant role in the Dachau uprising, which successfully prevented the SS from deporting and murdering 30,000 prisoners shortly before their liberation by the Allied forces.
The name “Friedrich Dürr” is intended to serve as a reminder that consistent and unwavering anti-fascism existed despite the ruthless oppression and repression of the National Socialist regime, and that such resistance remains necessary today.
