<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=Revision:%20Protest in Germany 1930s & 1940s/Edelweiss Pirates - Wikipedia%20-%2020260302210751" style="border:1px solid #555; padding:4px 12px; border-radius:4px; color:#a89ee8; text-decoration:none; font-size:0.9em; background-color:#2a2a2a;">📩 Submit a Revision/Addition</a> <br> Memorial for the Cologne victims on Schönsteinstraße, next to the Köln-Ehrenfeld station The **Edelweiss Pirates** (**[German](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language "German language"): *Edelweißpiraten*** [\[ˈeːdl̩vaɪs.piˌʁaːtn̩\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Standard_German "Help:IPA/Standard German")) were a loosely organized group of youths opposed to the [status quo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_quo "Status quo") of [Nazi Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany "Nazi Germany"). They emerged in western Germany out of the [German Youth Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Youth_Movement "German Youth Movement") of the late 1930s in response to the strict regimentation of the [Hitler Youth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth "Hitler Youth"). Similar in many ways to the *[Leipzig Meuten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_Meuten "Leipzig Meuten")*, they consisted of young people, mainly between the ages of 14 and 17, who had evaded the Hitler Youth by leaving school (which was allowed at 14) and were also young enough to avoid [military conscription](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Germany "Conscription in Germany"), which was only compulsory from the age of 17. The roots and background of the Edelweiss Pirates movement were detailed in the 2004 film *[Edelweiss Pirates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edelweiss_Pirates_\(film\) "Edelweiss Pirates (film)")*, directed by [Niko von Glasow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niko_von_Glasow "Niko von Glasow"). ## Name  Edelweiss flower; detail from a mural in Cologne memorializing the Edelweiss Pirates The Edelweiss Pirates were named after the [edelweiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edelweiss "Edelweiss") flower, which grows wild in the [Alps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alps "Alps") mountain range. An early adopter of the name was a small social group which included [Gertrud Koch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrud_Koch "Gertrud Koch"),[^2]^{<span title="Location: &quot;Her group had decided recently that they would call themselves the Edelweiss group, after a flower that grows high in the mountains in the Alps, a flower that grows wild and free.&quot;">: Chapter 14 </span>}  and ultimately grew to become one of the Pirate groups. ## History  Monument to the Nippes Edelweiss Pirates, Leipziger Platz, 2025 ### Early years The origins of the *Edelweißpiraten* were before the [Second World War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_War "Second World War"), as the state-controlled [Hitler Youth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth "Hitler Youth") ([German](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language "German language"): *Hitlerjugend*) was mobilized to [indoctrinate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoctrinate "Indoctrinate") young people, at the expense of the leisure activities previously offered to them. This tension was exacerbated once the war began and youth leaders were conscripted. The *Edelweißpiraten* offered young people considerable freedom to express themselves and to mingle with members of the opposite sex.[^3] This was unlike [Nazi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism "Nazism") youth movements, which were strictly segregated by sex, the Hitler Youth being for boys and the [League of German Girls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_German_Girls "League of German Girls") ([German](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language "German language"): *Bund Deutscher Mädel*) for girls. Although predominantly male, the *Edelweißpiraten* consisted of male and female members. They used many symbols of the outlawed [German Youth Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Youth_Movement "German Youth Movement"), including their tent (the *[Kohte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohte "Kohte")*), their style of clothing (the *[Jungenschaftsjacke](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jungenschaftsjacke&action=edit&redlink=1 "Jungenschaftsjacke (page does not exist)")*), and their songs.[^2] The first *Edelweißpiraten* appeared in the late 1930s in western Germany, comprising mostly young people between 14 and 18. Individual groups were closely associated with different regions but were identifiable by a common style of dress with their own edelweiss badge and by their opposition to what they saw as the [paramilitary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramilitary "Paramilitary") nature of the Hitler Youth.[^4] Subgroups of the *Edelweißpiraten* included the *Navajos*,[^1] centered on [Cologne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne "Cologne"), especially the [Ehrenfeld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehrenfeld,_Cologne "Ehrenfeld, Cologne") area;[^3] the *Kittelbach Pirates* of [Oberhausen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberhausen "Oberhausen") and [Düsseldorf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorf "Düsseldorf"); and the *Roving Dudes* of [Essen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essen "Essen").[^5] According to one Nazi official in 1941, "Every child knows who the Kittelbach Pirates are. They are everywhere; there are more of them than there are Hitler Youth... They beat up the patrols... They never take no for an answer." [^6] Although they rejected the Nazis' [authoritarianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism "Authoritarianism"), the *Edelweißpiraten* ' s nonconformist behaviour tended to be restricted to petty provocations. Despite this, they represented a group of youth who rebelled against the government's regimentation of leisure and were unimpressed by the propaganda touting *[Volksgemeinschaft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksgemeinschaft "Volksgemeinschaft")* (people's community).[^4] During the war, many *Edelweißpiraten* supported the [Allies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II "Allies of World War II") and assisted deserters from the German Army. Some groups also collected [propaganda leaflets dropped by Allied aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_leaflet_propaganda#World_War_II "Airborne leaflet propaganda") and pushed them through letterboxes.[^5] Apart from gatherings on street corners, they engaged in hiking and camping trips, defying the restrictions on free movement, which kept them away from the prying eyes of the totalitarian regime.[^5] They were highly antagonistic to the Hitler Youth, ambushing their patrols and taking great pride in beating them up. One of their slogans was "Eternal War on the Hitler Youth".[^5] As one subgroup, the Navajos, sang > Des Hitlers Zwang, der macht uns klein, > noch liegen wir in Ketten > Doch einmal werden wir wieder frei, > wir werden die Ketten schon brechen. > Denn unsere Fäuste, die sind hart, > ja – und die Messer sitzen los, > für die Freiheit der Jugend, > kämpfen Navajos. > The force of Hitler makes us small; > we still lie in chains. > But one day we will be free again; > we are about to break the chains. > For our fists, they are hard; > yes – and the knives sit ready; > for the freedom of the youth > Navajos fight. ### Nazi reprisals The Nazi response to the *Edelweißpiraten* was relatively slight before the war, because they were viewed as a minor irritant and did not fit in with the policy of selective terror. As the war went on, and some Pirates' activities became more extreme, so did the punishments meted out. Individuals identified by the *[Gestapo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo "Gestapo")* as belonging to the various gangs were often rounded up and released with their heads shaved to shame them. In some cases, young people were sent to [concentration camps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_camp "Concentration camp") specifically organized for youths, or temporarily detained in regular prison.[^7] On 25 October 1944, [Heinrich Himmler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmler "Heinrich Himmler") ordered a crackdown on the group, and in November of that year, a group of thirteen people, the heads of the *[Ehrenfelder Gruppe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehrenfeld_Group "Ehrenfeld Group")*, were publicly hanged in Cologne.[^8] This followed an attack on an arms depot during which members of the *Edelweißpiraten* shot and killed the local Gestapo chief.[^9] Some of those hanged were former *Edelweißpiraten*. The hanged included six teenagers, among them [Bartholomäus Schink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barthel_Schink "Barthel Schink"), called "Barthel", former member of the local Navajos. [Fritz Theilen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Theilen "Fritz Theilen") survived. State repression never managed to break the spirit of most groups, which constituted a [subculture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subculture "Subculture") that rejected the norms of [Nazi society](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_culture "Nazi culture"). While the *Edelweißpiraten* assisted [army deserters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertion#Germany "Desertion") and others hiding from the Third Reich, they have yet to receive recognition as a [resistance movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistance_during_World_War_II "Resistance during World War II") (partly because they were viewed with contempt by many of their former Youth Movement comrades because of their " [proletarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proletariat "Proletariat") " backgrounds and "criminal" activities) and the families of members killed by the Nazis have as yet received no [reparations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_reparations "World War II reparations").  Edelweiss Pirates during the " Edelweißpiratenfestival " in Cologne, 2005 Contrary to what the Allies had hoped, the *Edelweißpiraten* were neither pro-British nor pro-American.[^2]^{<span title="Location: Chapter 63">: Chapter 63 </span>}  In the early days of the Allied occupation, they sought contact with the occupying authority to intervene on behalf of friends, and even to propose that they might go on patrol, as did the [Wuppertal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal "Wuppertal") *Edelweißpiraten*.[^10] They were taken seriously and courted by various factions; the first known pamphlets of the [Communist Party of Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Germany "Communist Party of Germany") (KPD), in July 1945, were directed at them.[^11] While a small number of *Edelweißpiraten* remained in the Antifascist Youth and the [Free German Youth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_German_Youth "Free German Youth") organizations, the majority turned their backs on these bodies as soon as they realized that, in the words of one member, "politics were taking centre stage again". For example, a group in [Bergisch Gladbach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergisch_Gladbach "Bergisch Gladbach") disbanded when young people of [communist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism "Communism") orientation tried to form a majority in the group.[^10] The *Edelweißpiraten* ' s turning away from the re-authorized political youth groups forced them into the role of social outcasts and brought them into conflict with the Allies. The headquarters of the American [Counter-Intelligence Corps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterintelligence_Corps "Counterintelligence Corps") in [Frankfurt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt "Frankfurt") reported in May 1946 that *Edelweiß* activities were known throughout the [British and American Zones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germany "Allied-occupied Germany"). At about this time, Allied intelligence officers launched *Operation Valentine*, a [counter-insurgency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-insurgency "Counter-insurgency") [dragnet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragnet_\(policing\) "Dragnet (policing)") to arrest hundreds of Edelweiss leaders and the decapitation of many local groups, known as *Züge*.[^12] Groups identifying themselves as *Edelweißpiraten* conducted many violent attacks against Soviet Russian and Polish [displaced persons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displaced_person "Displaced person"). Author [Peter Schult](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Schult "Peter Schult") witnessed such an attack against a Polish black marketeer.[^13] There were also attacks against German women who were known to have been friends or been intimate with British soldiers.[^14] In a trial held by a military court at [Uelzen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uelzen "Uelzen") in April 1946, a juvenile named as "Heinz D." was initially sentenced to death, for his "very active part in carrying out the nefarious schemes of the *Piraten*. An organization such as this might well threaten the peace of Europe." [^3] The sentence was commuted the following month to a prison term. In Western Germany, *Piraten* continued to be considered criminals–and former members were not exonorated of resistance-related crimes, which impacted their criminal records–until the 2000s.[^15] At that time, former Pirate [Gertrud "Mucki" Koch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrud_Koch "Gertrud Koch") said, "We were from the working classes, that is the main reason why we have only now been recognised. After the war there were no judges in Germany so the old Nazi judges were used and they upheld the criminalisation of what we did and who we were." [^15] In the [Soviet Zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_occupation_zone_in_Germany "Soviet occupation zone in Germany"), young people suspected of being *Edelweißpiraten* were sentenced to a virtually obligatory 25 years in prison.[^16] Controversy surrounded the claims that the group were *Widerstandskämpfer* (resistance fighters) after one member, [Fritz Theilen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Theilen "Fritz Theilen"), published his memoirs in 1984, leading to several legal battles that Theilen won.[^17] [Yad Vashem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yad_Vashem "Yad Vashem") in Israel recognised the Piraten as " [righteous gentiles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteous_Among_the_Nations "Righteous Among the Nations") " in 1988.[^3] In April 2011, Cologne's mayor, [Jürgen Roters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCrgen_Roters "Jürgen Roters"), presented Theilen, Koch, and three other survivors with the [Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Merit_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany "Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany").[^17] [^18]  Jean Jülich in 2007  Gertrud Koch in 2009 - [Jean Jülich](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jean_J%C3%BClich&action=edit&redlink=1 "Jean Jülich (page does not exist)") (1929–2011) [^3] [^19] - [Gertrud "Mucki" Koch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrud_Koch "Gertrud Koch") (1924–2016) [^3] - [Kurt Piehl](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kurt_Piehl&action=edit&redlink=1 "Kurt Piehl (page does not exist)") - [Barthel Schink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barthel_Schink "Barthel Schink") (1927–1944) [^3] - [Fritz Theilen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Theilen "Fritz Theilen") (1927–2012) [^17] ## See also ## Explanatory footnotes ## References ## External links - [Edelweiss Pirates festival](http://www.edelweisspiratenfestival.de/) (in German) - "Eternal War On The Hitler Youth", [*Audio*](https://resonanceaudiodistro.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/eternal-war-on-the-hitler-youth-audiozine/), 4 July 2015. - ["An increasingly complex portrayal of German anti-fascism"](http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/mar2005/ber3-m05.shtml), *WSWS* (article), Mar 2005, discussing the films *Edelweißpiraten* and *Sophie Scholl: The Final Days*. - Mayer, Walter, [*Interview with an Edelweiss Pirate – Walter Mayer*](http://libcom.org/library/edelweiss-pirate-interview) (interview), Libcom - Mayer, Walter, [*Interview with an Edelweiss Pirate – Walter Mayer*](http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn506706) (interview), USHMM - Lichte, Michael, "Kids im Nazi-Regime. Widerstand Jugendlicher gegen den Nationalsozialismus", [*Shoah Project*](https://web.archive.org/web/20071023025812/http://www.shoahproject.org/widerstand/kids/shkids4.htm) (Edelweiss Pirates description) (in German), archived from [the original](http://www.shoahproject.org/widerstand/kids/shkids4.htm) on 2007-10-23, retrieved 2006-01-16. - "Edelweiss Pirates' history, actions, customs, songs (incl. lyrics) &c.", [*Museen koeln*](http://www.museenkoeln.de/ausstellungen/nsd_0404_edelweiss/) (resources) (in German), [DE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany "Germany"). [^1]: The *Navajos* were named after the [Navajo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo "Navajo") people. [^2]: R., Gaddy, K. (2020), [*Flowers in the gutter The true story of the edelweiss pirates, teenagers who resisted the nazis.*](http://worldcat.org/oclc/1146530052), Listening Library (Audio), [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-593-15612-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-593-15612-4 "Special:BookSources/978-0-593-15612-4"), [OCLC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCLC_\(identifier\) "OCLC (identifier)") [1146530052](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1146530052), retrieved 2022-03-10 `{{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation "Template:Citation")}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list () [^3]: Rosthorn, Andrew (2011-11-10). ["Jean Jülich: One of the Edelweiss Pirates, who resisted the Nazis"](https://web.archive.org/web/20250425125039/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jean-julich-one-of-the-edelweiss-pirates-who-resisted-the-nazis-6259542.html). *The Independent*. Archived from [the original](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jean-julich-one-of-the-edelweiss-pirates-who-resisted-the-nazis-6259542.html) on 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-08-06. [^4]: Welch, David (1993). *The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda*. [Routledge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routledge "Routledge"). pp. 62– 63. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [0-415-09033-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-09033-4 "Special:BookSources/0-415-09033-4"). [^5]: Lee, Stephen J (1998). [*Hitler and Nazi Germany*](https://archive.org/details/hitlernazigerman00lees). [Routledge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routledge "Routledge"). p. [58](https://archive.org/details/hitlernazigerman00lees/page/n67). [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [0-415-17988-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-17988-2 "Special:BookSources/0-415-17988-2"). [^6]: Beckett, Andy (2007-04-14), ["Teenage: The Creation of Youth 1875–1945 by Jon Savage"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/apr/14/society), *[The Guardian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian "The Guardian")* (review), retrieved 2009-02-18 [^7]: Peukert, Detlev J. K. (1987). *Inside Nazi Germany: Conformity, Opposition and Racism in Everyday Life*. London: B. T. Batford Ltd. p. 161. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [0300044801](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0300044801 "Special:BookSources/0300044801"). [^8]: Pine, Lisa (2011). [*Education in Nazi Germany*](https://books.google.com/books?id=1jfW28Uq3_QC&pg=PA109). Berg. p. 109. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1-84520-264-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84520-264-4 "Special:BookSources/978-1-84520-264-4"). [^9]: Moos, Merilyn; Cushion, Steve (2020). *Anti-Nazi Germans: Enemies of the Nazi State from Within the Working Class Movement*. Socialist History Society. p. 86. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1916342309](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1916342309 "Special:BookSources/978-1916342309"). [^10]: Biddiscombe, Perry (1995). "'The Enemy of our Enemy': A View of the Edelweiss Piraten from the British and American Archives". *Journal of Contemporary History*. **30**: 37– 63. [doi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doi_\(identifier\) "Doi (identifier)"):[10.1177/002200949503000102](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F002200949503000102). [S2CID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S2CID_\(identifier\) "S2CID (identifier)") [159996639](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:159996639). [^11]: Billstein, R (1988). *Das entscheidende Jahr. Sozialdemokratie und Kommunistische Partei in Köln 1945/46* (in German). Cologne. p. 143.`{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book "Template:Cite book")}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher "Category:CS1 maint: location missing publisher")) [^12]: [Biddiscombe 1995](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#CITEREFBiddiscombe1995), pp. 50–51. [^13]: Schult, Peter (1978). *Besuche in Sackgassen. Aufzeichnungen eines homosexuellen Anarchisten* (in German). Munich: [Trikont Verlag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trikont_Verlag "Trikont Verlag"). p. 46. [^14]: Henke, Klaus-Dietmar (1995). *Die amerikanische Besetzung Deutschlands* (in German). Munich: Oldenbourg. pp. 198– 200. [^15]: Cleaver, Hannah (2005-06-25). ["Teenage rebels who fought Nazis are honoured at last"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/1492771/Teenage-rebels-who-fought-Nazis-are-honoured-at-last.html). *The Telegraph*. Retrieved 2025-08-06. [^16]: Schildt, Axel; Siegfried, Detlef (2005). *European Cities, Youth and the Public Sphere in the Twentieth Century*. Munich: Ashgate Publishing. p. 48. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [0-7546-5173-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7546-5173-8 "Special:BookSources/0-7546-5173-8"). [^17]: ["Fritz Theilen: Member of the Edelweiss Pirates, the children who resisted Hitler"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/fritz-theilen-member-of-the-edelweiss-pirates-the-children-who-resisted-hitler-7707378.html). *The Independent*. Retrieved 2018-06-23. [^18]: Porter, Monica (2020). [*Children Against Hitler: The Young Resistance Heroes of the Second World War*](https://books.google.com/books?id=wuXbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT172). Pen and Sword History. p. 172. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_\(identifier\) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1-5267-6429-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5267-6429-4 "Special:BookSources/978-1-5267-6429-4"). [^19]: ["Jean Jülich"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9065024/Jean-Julich.html). *The Telegraph*. 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2025-08-06.