My Opposition
Diary entry about Atlantic Wall fortifications
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| Author | Friedrich Kellner |
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| Original title | 'Mein Widerstand' |
| Translator | Robert Scott Kellner |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Subject | World War II diary |
| Genre | Historical diaries |
| Publisher | Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany |
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Publication date
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2011 |
My Opposition (German: Mein Widerstand) is a diary secretly written by the German social democrat Friedrich Kellner (1885–1970) during World War II to describe life under Nazi Germany and to expose the propaganda and the crimes of the Nazi dictatorship. It is considered one of the most comprehensive diaries of the period. The first entry in the 861-page diary is dated September 13, 1939, and the last entry is May 17, 1945. In 1968 Kellner gave the diary to his American grandson, Robert Scott Kellner, to translate into English and to bring it to the attention of the public.
The diary has been on exhibit in museums in America and Germany. The first exhibit was at the George Bush Presidential Library in April and May 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, which took place on May 8, 1945. The Holocaust Literature Research Unit at the University of Giessen in Germany has created the Kellner Project. The complete diary was published in 2011 by Wallstein Verlag in Göttingen, Germany. It is in two volumes, approximately 1,200 pages, with over 70 illustrations and photographs. The title is, "Friedrich Kellner, 'Vernebelt, verdunkelt sind alle Hirne,' Tagebücher 1939-1945." (Literal translation: 'Clouded, darkened are all of the minds,' Diaries 1939-1945.) A Canadian documentary film, My Opposition: The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner, was produced in 2006, for distribution in 2007.
Friedrich Kellner was a justice inspector in the courthouse in Mainz between 1903 and 1933. From 1914 until 1918, he served as a soldier in the German army. When the First World War ended and Germany became a republic, Kellner became a political activist for the Social Democratic Party of Germany. For ten years, Kellner openly campaigned against the Nazis until they came to power in 1933.
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