Die Freunde der Unterdrückten was a close association of good friends, all united under a single cause. They dedicated themselves to undermining their enemy, the enemy of the free peoples: The Nazi Party. They wanted a free and united Germany. They wanted a place where they could live in peace. They needed it.
They were made up of nine very different men. They were called Engelbert, Konrad, Chlothar, Feirefiz, Johannes, Jochim, Bonifaz, Baldewin, and Gernod. Each of them had their own story, their own reason to fight, but none of their reasons were more significant than the next.
Engelbert Künzel had his life set out before him under the Führer's regime. He was as well-off as anyone was capable of being in that time. Nothing about him was unexcusable by the Nazis, except for his political ideals. He was an Aryan. His family members were members of the party. Yet he wasn't blinded by their beliefs. He knew his fellow Germans suffered under Hitler. He felt that he needed to make a change or die trying.
Konrad Löwenherz was a brave yet reserved spirit. He believed that Die Freunde could change Germany, but he believed in doing it through education. He had the utmost faith in the people. He believed they could changed the philosophies that had been forced upon the German people through teaching them kindness and respect. That was the most important thing to him.
Chlothar Buchmann was much more zealous than any of his fellow Freunde. In his eyes, Die Freunde would succeed the most through attempting to get their ideas into the public eye. He enjoyed openly harassing the Nazis and secretly meeting with the loose women. His friends were surprised that he hadn't gotten himself killed yet.
Feirefiz Stein was a prime example of what Die Freunde were fighting for. His whole family had been killed by agents of the SS when he was young because they were Jews. He was left to fend for himself in a country that could and would not help him. He joined so that his people would have a voice.
Johannes Dichter dreamt his way through life. He loved music, dance and literature- especially poetry. To him, anything could be art. He strongly believed that when art was made, all should have an opportunity to appreciate it. When the Nazis censored and burned the poetry he had fought so hard to have published, he took up arms against them.
Jochim Fröhlich was the jolliest of all Die Freunde. Though he was fearful of contracting disease, he studied medicine at the university and strived to help others that were sick themselves. Some day, he wished to have his own respectable practice that he could operate without feeling the eyes of hatred on him all the time.
Bonafiz Bühler found a silver lining in everything. He was a poor man, yet he found enough money to give to those even worse off than he was. He was notoriously unlucky, yet every day he came to Die Freunde's secret meetings with a bright smile on his face. He knew that Germany could become strong without a hateful leader and an oppressive police force. He looked forwards to that new, peaceful Germany.
Baldewin Stark was seen by many as a brute, but he did not necessarily fit that common assumption. It was true that he would never run from a fight. In fact, he would run freely towards that fight. However, he was a kind-hearted man who yearned for a country that would treat all of its citizens equally well. He was fierce, but he loved all. He treated everyone as a friend, and he treated his friends like family.
Gernod Groβehr didn't fit in with the rest of Die Freunde. He had little faith in anything. Just a few years prior, his family abandoned him when they fled for the United States. He didn't trust anyone to help him- anyone except Engelbert. The fact that a man as privileged as Engelbert was so willing to risk everything to save people that were so far below his level fascinated him. He found himself willing to do anything to please Engelbert, which in turn became a desire to help those that had suffered a similar fate to his own.
None of Die Freunde were perfect human beings, but they all knew that they had to unite under this one cause and strive to make a better Germany.
A/N: I just read the Brick and we're studying the Third Reich in my history class so this little thing popped into my mind. (HOLY RUN-ON SENTENCE BATMAN!) What do y'all think? (I don't really care if nobody likes it, I'm still writing it because hashtag YOLO). But I still really would like people's opinions. I'll try putting the first chapter up soon. I'm super busy with AP classes right now.
So here's a short explanation of names and other stuff. If you haven't figured it out (and I wouldn't blame you if you haven't), here's a list of the barricade boys and their WWII German counterparts, along with an explanation of their names:
Bahorel- Baldewin (Baldewin means "brave friend." Bahorel is a total badass in the Brick. He tells Enjolras off epically.)
Bossuet- Bonifaz (Bonifaz means "good fate." I picked this name for the sake of irony, because Bossuet is very unlucky. Also, Bonifaz is an awesome name.)
Combeferre- Konrad (Konrad means "bold counsel." I would have gone with the spelling of Conrad for the sake of starting with a C for Combeferre, but for some reason still unbeknownst to me, I didn't.)
Courfeyrac- Chlothar (Chlothar means "loud warrior." If you know anything about Courfeyrac's personality in the Brick, you'll see how perfect this name is for him.)
Enjolras- Engelbert (Engelbert means "bright angel," although it sounds incredibly dweeby. In the Brick, Enjolras is described as being angelically handsome, so I thought this was a good fit for him.)
Feuilly- Feirefiz (I must warn you; this is a very long explanation, as this name comes from German mythology. "In the German Arthurian epic poem, Parzival, Sir Percival has a mulatto half-brother, Feirefiz, meaning 'black and white son,' whom he meets towards the end of the poem. During a fight, with Feirefiz, Percival's sword breaks, but Feirefiz does not slay him. As they are talking, they learn that they have the same father." I picked this name because I think it embodies Feuilly very well. Though he struggles with his enemies, they find they are not so different after all.)
Grantaire MY FAVORITE BARRICADE BOY YAY- Gernod (Gernod means "need" or "want." Grantaire is in need of Enjolras, so that's where I got this one from. Finding a good name for Grantaire was hard, so please don't stone me.)
Jehan- Johannes (Johannes means "God is gracious." This isn't really relevant to Jehan, except for the fact that the Brick mentions that he is confounded by the concept of God. However, I made his last name relevant! Dichter means "poet" in German.)
Joly- Jochim (Jochim means "Jehovah raises up." Again, not super relevant, but pretend it means he's happy! Frohlich also means happy in German, so hopefully that makes more sense)
And there's my not so brief explanation! YAY! Expect the first chapter soon!
grand-taire :)