Talk:Friedrich Kellner/Archive 1

message: Dear R S Kellner, I mean no disrespect to your grandfather, who was obviously a very brave man, but this article is unencyclopaedic in places and needs an edit. You cannot refer to him by his first name. You cannot make comments like "the insanity of their leader, the Führer Adolf Hitler." It must be written in a neutral tone throughout, hard though that may be. Also, you say that Kellner engaged in acts of open resistance to the Nazi regime, yet not only was he not arrested, he was not even (if I read your text correctly) dismissed from his judicial position. This seems highly unlikely. Perhaps you can clarify this. Adam 11:55, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Thank you for writing, Adam.  I have followed your advice.  I have performed a major editing operation on the entry to bring it in line with Wikipedia standards.  There is a Kellner entry on the Deutsch Wikipedia that fulfills that requirement, and I more closely mirrored its layout and details here in the English Wikipedia.  If you would, please let me  know what you think about the rewrite.  Regarding your question as to why my grandfather was not arrested or at least dismissed from his job, he was exceedingly lucky in that regard.  And he knew it -- particularly after the war when he got to read some of the official Nazi reports about him.  There are PDF documents at the George Bush Presidential Library website about the occasions he was called in before the authorities (most notably, the Hermann Engst report).  Fortunately for my grandfather, his position as the Chief Justice Inspector in the district court gave him a certain immunity from arbitrary arrest (the Third Reich had special requirements for arresting its own officials).  Also, my grandfather was knowledgeable about the corrupt activities of his fellow officials (Laubach was a town of only 2,000 people), and they feared my grandfather because of that.  Nevertheless, as you will see in the reports, the Nazis intended "to take care of him" after the war. These documents, and numerous accounts of my grandfather's resistance to the Nazis are available in the links in the entry.  The Justus Liebig University link will take you to a fairly complete collection of articles about various aspects of his life. The documentary movie recently made in Canada about my grandfather (and about me, as well), further explores his active, as well as passive, resistance.  There is a separate Wikpedia site for that movie: My Opposition: the Diaries of Friedrich Kellner. Again, thank you for your interest in improving the entry about my grandfather.  That is certainly my aim, too, and I truly appreciate all the advice I can get. Please feel free to email me at rskellner AT cox DOT net and I will be happy to share more information with you. I am hoping this further information might help you to reconsider your thoughts about him being included on the German Resistance page. Robert Scott Kellner Rskellner 13:55, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Remark from Adam 

message: This article should focus IMHO on the biography, not the diary, nor on later events or interpretations. I'll try to assist a little. -- Matthead discuß!     O       23:58, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I have read your corrections, and I agree they have improved the article (although I do think the revision by Adam concerning the regimental name was necessary).  Please do continue with your help.  Because of my own subjectivity about this topic (Friedrich Kellner being my grandfather), I fully realize the need for objective readers and editors.  And I greatly appreciate the help.  My email address is rskellner AT cox DOT net and I would be happy to provide you with any additional information you might wish. Again, thanks.  Scott Rskellner 04:20, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Hi Scott, I went a little too far looking up and writing down the family relations and actually saving them, but one has to remember that the Great War was also caused, or at least not prevented, by too close personal relations. I will have no time within the next weeks, which comes in handy as, honestly speaking, crossing the path of Adam was not always a pleasure, especially when German matters are involved - I guess hand-written Sütterlin must be the mother of all ß then. The revert back to a 4 hour old version of mine undid also these edits. Shortening the surplus sentences from the latest version would have been enough. As I had saved a newer version in between, an "edit conflict warning" must have been given automatically. Regarding "a small town a few miles from the Dutch border", :de:Laubach (Begriffsklärung) offers several to choose from. The currently linked town in Hessen does not fit this description, and the SPD-Laubach.de link seems to be wrong too. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Matthead (talk • contribs) 05:25, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

text: Hello again, Matthead:  Friedrich and Pauline Kellner lived in the Laubach in Hessen, near Giessen, about 30 miles north of Frankfurt.  Thank you very much for double-checking the link to SPD-Laubach.  I had not realized the website had been updated.  I have now corrected my link to show the current page where they list the book "1925-2000: 75 Jahre Sozialdemokratische Partei Laubach."  My grandfather is mentioned in the book for helping to restore the Laubach SPD after the war and becoming the chairman of the local branch.  I also took a look at your reference to "Vossstrasse."  No doubt the German use of the double-S causes great consternation among translators.  I have noticed that discussions about such matters often get heated between Wikipedia editors.  I am trying with all my might not to get caught up in the Wikipedia Wars.  I am close to 70 years of age, and my constitution couldn't stand it.  As for the diary being written in Suetterlin, thank you for commisserating.  Yes, it is a big challenge -- and headache.  Happily, my grandfather was very precise when it came to handwriting. My biggest problem is that I learned German in just a few college courses, and I visited with my grandparents only a few times in Germany, and I seldom have a chance to hear German or to speak it.  So translating the diary was an extraordinary challenge for me, and took decades. Scott Rskellner 16:30, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wikipedia standards