The second son of the Kornweitz family, Julius is a year younger than Nathan, and three years older than Paul. We can easily understand such complicity between the two older sons and imagine that their political commitment finds its roots in their familial environment. Julius is an engineer architect; he graduated in 1933 after seven years of studies. Finally in 1935, in spite of the collapsing economic situation, Julius finds a job in an architect studio where he earns 100 shillings per month.
Since 1927 he is an active member of the socialist student’s movement, and continues his actions undercover when the organisation becomes illegal.
Because of his low income, Julius is enable to get his own place and still lives at his parents. We don’t know the exact time of his commitment to the KPÖ (Austrian Communist Party), but he swiftly becomes one of its leaders.
Communist and undercover
In December 1937 he’s arrested and imprisoned in Karajangasse in Vienna, the police found communist leaflets at his place. Condemned for illegal activities and press felony, he denies his acquaintance with the KPO, but is still condemned for three months of incarceration and three more in a concentration camp. In February 1938 he is given amnesty. After Austria’s annexation, Julius goes again undercover; he is hunted and his family is once more under pressure. It is most likely that, between 1938 an 1939, Julius went to Moscow then attended a meeting in Split where he met Erwin Puschman and Herbert Eichholzer. Julius goes under the name “Bobby”. He joins his brother and his parents in Belgium in June 1939 and asks for political asylum.
Bobby aka Ing. Barda, aka Christian Jenssen
He only remains in Brussels for three months, than declares to the authorities that he’s leaving for London when he’s really going to Oslo, where the KPO in exile stay. We know from the Viennese Gestapo’s files that he uses another code name “Ing. Barda” he also has fake ID in the name of Christian Jenssen. Between 1938 and 1939 Julius also goes to Paris, Zurich, Agram/Zagreb then heads to a central committee in Praguue What was Julius’ position after the Soviet-German alliance and Poland’s invasion? We haven’t got the answer. In 1941, the pact is broken and the Reich is again an official communist enemy. Several documents and testimonies from the Gestapo’s archives witness Julius activities for the Komintern in 1941-1942. He heads to USSR through Turkey and the Balkans; the Gestapo is vigorously looking for him. Julius comes back to Vienna in 1941, carrying the mission to form a new resistance network.
A Nazi maul crawls in the network and finally in 1942, Julius along with all members of his operation, is arrested. Incarcerated in Vienna, questioned and tortured, Julius is about to be trialled when his jailors realize that he is Jewish and since the “night and fog” directives of December, 7 1941; he can be deported without trial. Julius Kornweitz is sent to Mauthausen in 1944 where he is murdered.
