Johann Trettler

Johann Trettler was born in Neckenmarkt in Burgenland, the son of a merchant and farmer. After elementary school, he completed his first five years at grammar school in Eisenstadt and then moved in with his aunt in Rannersdorf near Schwechat so that he could attend the grammar school at Kundmanngasse 22.

Johann Trettler came from a Christian-social background and rejected the National Socialists. After the occupation of Austria by Hitler's Germany, he refuses to join the Hitler Youth.

His classmate Josef Maria Landgraf, also a devout Catholic, listens to the forbidden broadcasts of the BBC and the "Transmitter of the European Revolution" on the family radio set before the outbreak of war. He reports the content of the broadcasts to his classmates and acquaintances and produces letters, flyers and stickers. The content contradicts Germany's official war reports from the front. He adopted Winston Churchill's Victory sign "V", which he used to decorate the leaflets.

Johann Trettler offered Josef Maria Landgraf the chance to join the resistance group. Together with his classmates Ludwig Igáli von Igálffy, Friedrich Fexer, Anton Brunner and Josef Maria Landgraf, he built up a network that posted the letters and distributed the flyers and stickers. Around 70 letters, 50 flyers and 20 stickers were produced.

Another classmate of the five fellow pupils, who had learned of their activities, contacted the principal of Kundmanngasse, Ferdinand Walter, who reported the pupils to the Gestapo. On September 20, 1941, Josef Maria Landgraf was arrested by the Gestapo. Ludwig Igáli von Igálffy and Friedrich Fexer were arrested on January 19, 1942 and Anton Brunner was finally arrested on January 20, 1942.

Johann Trettler was not arrested, especially as he had already been drafted into the Wehrmacht by the time he should have been arrested and the Wehrmacht refused to hand him over to the Gestapo. However, the Gestapo investigated him in absentia. Johann Trettler also remained in correspondence with Anton Brunner. He was killed on September 26, 1942 in the Caucasus region.

[Note: The Landgraf group is often mistakenly counted as one of the "groups of four". Two other youth resistance groups against National Socialism, which emerged simultaneously and independently of each other in the summer of 1941 in Hamburg and Munich, are referred to as the Four Groups

Johann Trettler was a member of the group, but was not tried and convicted by the People's Court like the other four members. Nevertheless, the group had five members]