Hello @TheaDickinson, I am Axel. German. Living in the UK since 1997. Let me tell you a bit about my family... 1/

My grandparents Erna and Ernst Louis Jarmers ran a mill on the outskirts of Hamburg when Hitler rose to power in 1933. When the war broke out my grandfather was spared front line duty, as a miller he was exempted. 2/

During this time in Hamburg he wasn't idle though. He did fight, not in the same way as the millions senselessly sent to their deaths in the trenches. He fought the regime, from the underground. 3/

He wasn't alone, many Germans fought the Nazis from within. For a long time he got away with it. He was a respected personality locally and many Germans in his community covered him in his fight against Hitler. 4/

In 1943 someone snitched on him though. He was put into "Schutzhaft" - "protective custody". Imprisonment without a judge or trial. Just rounded up. There were so many resistance fighters in the concentration camps they even had their own symbols to wear. (Highlighted in red) 5/

By 1944 there were 524,000 Germans in "protective custody" & by January 1945 the number had grown to 714,000, many of whom did not see the end of the war. 6/

While my grandfather was imprisoned fearing daily firing squats on a daily basis - my grandmother was in Hamburg. Looking after my mother and her two young sisters on her own. 7/

One of the most memorable stories my grandmother ever told me was when she, on her own looking after her 3 daughtees, witnessed the fire rolling down her street brought on through the bombings of Hamburg during Operation Gomorrah in 1943. 8/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II …

Your comment about Germans is deeply hurtful, it treats the victims of that regime with utter disrespect. You are trampling on the graves of my grandparents. 9/

Germany has put this gruesome time behind itself. Never forgotten though. Maybe it is time for the British to do the same rather than bringing up the long obsolete picture of the 'ugly hun' everytime it suits. 10/

P.S. My grandfather survived the war. He was freed by British troops in 1945 - something my family are immensely grateful for. The British liberated Germany, were seen as a force of good. Your vindicative tweet makes me question that. /end

has since deleted her nasty tweet. Deleting a tweet does not mean that she is sorry though. Here is the tweet above thread refers to:

I didn't expect this thread to be so popular. For us Germans family history is very rarely black or white though.

Nazi Germany divided Germany and it wasn't all good vs evil as it is often portrait today. This is why I would like to also tell the story of my other grandfather, Helmut Antoni.

Helmut Antoni joined the Hitler Youth as early as 1932 and the NSDAP in 1934. The early 1930s in Germany were a time of unrest. The Weimar Republic was falling apart. Fascists were having street fights with communists. In 1932 my grandfather was 16.

At some point point between 1932 and 1934, no one really knows, my grandfather suffered a very traumatic event. His best friend got killed by a stray bullet fired by a communist during one of those street fights.

Whether this event triggered him joining the Hitler Youth in 1932 or the NSDAP in 1934 is unclear. But one thing is clear it set him on a path. He chose a side. His CV from 1936 is not very clear on this.

What his CV shows though by 1936 he had turned his membership into a career. And he saw the the time between 1932 & 1936 as a time of battle ("Kampfzeit")

Nazi Germany was great at turning young men into fascist career chasers. And my grandfather was very successful. From local speaker in 1934 to international speaker later on he managed to work himself into the top ranks of the Hitler Youth.

By 1938 he arrived at the top of the Hitler Youth. Between 1938 & 1942 he was head of the foreign division of the Hitler Youth reporting directly to the Reichsjugendführer Baldur von Schirach.

And my grandfather was a believer. In 1942 in Freiburg he was encouraging young Swiss Germans to join the fight for the "Endsieg" - the final victory.

My family history is encapsulating all of Nazi Germany with Ernst Louis suffering imprisonment as political resistance fighter and Helmut as one of Germany's top 1000 Nazis.

Am I proud of Ernst Louis? A bit.

Am I ashamed of Helmut? A bit.

But most importantly it has made me the balanced person I am now. Brought up by parents teaching me: 'Never again!'. With the knowledge that the journey into fascism is not abrupt but slow that can happen everywhere

With that I want to close with an all caps:



NEVER AGAIN!

You can follow @antoni_UK.

Share this thread

Bookmark

____

Tip: mention @threader_app on a Twitter thread with the keyword “compile” to get a link to it.



Enjoy Threader? Sign up.



Since you’re here...



... we’re asking visitors like you to make a contribution to support this independent project. In these uncertain times, access to information is vital. Threader gets 1,000,000+ visits a month and our iOS Twitter client was featured as an App of the Day by Apple. Your financial support will help two developers to keep working on this app. Everyone’s contribution, big or small, is so valuable. Support Threader by becoming premium or by donating on PayPal. Thank you.



Download Threader on iOS.