Josefine Brunner (, 26 February 1909 – 9 September 1943) was an Austrian socialist, resistance member and victim of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

regime. Her code name was Erika.

Family

Brunner was born on 26 February 1909 in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, Tyrol, Austria to a working class family. After leaving school, she worked as a domestic servant. She lived with socialist Alois Brunner de">:de:Alois_Brunner_(Widerstandskämpfer)">defrom 1935, before they were married in 1938.

Activism

In 1932, Brunner became a member of the

Socialist Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unti ...

(SPÖ). She was a member of Waldemar von Knoeringen's de">:de:Waldemar_von_Knoeringen">deresistance network against the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, which was based in the town of

Wörgl Wörgl () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, in the Kufstein district. It is from the international border with Bavaria, Germany. Population Transport Wörgl is a railway junction in the line between Innsbruck and Munich, as well as the ...

, before they annexed Austria. She completed special training in use of espionage techniques, including couriering. During the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'' (the German occupation of Austria), she couriered communication between illegal revolutionary socialist groups in Augsburg, Munich, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vienna, operating under the code name Erika. Brunner and her husband were arrested in 1942 and were sentenced to death on 28 May 1943. She submitted a petition for clemency to

Roland Freisler Karl Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945) was a German jurist, judge and politician who served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1935 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 194 ...

, 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 Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

Stadelheim Prison Stadelheim Prison (), in Munich's Giesing district, is one of the largest Prisons in Germany, prisons in Germany. Founded in 1894, it was the site of many executions, particularly by guillotine during the Nazi period. Notable inmates *Ludwig Thom ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, without being allowed to see each other before their deaths. Woergl Denkmal Brunner

Legacy

In 1988, a commemorative plaque was erected at the train station square in

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Josefine 1909 births 1943 deaths Austrian socialists Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps Austrian resistance members