Madness leads to destructionExternally, the seizure of power by the National Socialists took place in the form of an act of unpremeditated and violent intervention in the municipal administrative machinery and its affiliated companies. The Nazis seized power at the Rheinbahn in the same way that they did at the city council, theatres and schools. The city's mayor, Dr. Lehr, was imprisoned, though the General Director of the Rheinbahn, Fritzen, was spared this fate. He was defamed, accused of embezzlement and an NSDAP committee was brought in to investigate the matter. Fritzen, who had conscientiously fulfilled his official duties with pedantic precision was forced to resign.
His position was filled by a party functionary, Otto Liederley, who was also the chairman of the NSDAP investigating committee and Kaiserswerth’s propaganda manager. Brainwashed by the NSDAP’s party manifesto, Liederley soon willingly placed the company at the party’s disposal and politicised its social structures. Thus, in October 1933, the "German salute" was made obligatory for all Rheinbahn employees, who faced disciplinary action if they refused to comply.
Although they gave the appearance of not putting up resistance, some employees silently harboured misgivings and others had the courage make this clear by their actions. Karl Schabrodt, deputy chairman of the German Communist Party, the KPD, wrote about the anti-fascist resistance at the Rheinbahn in the years up to 1937. The party newsletter, "Der Blitzstrahl" pillories Nazi politics and reveals their machinations. Flyers that were distributed early in the morning pronounced: "Hitler is endangering the German people and anyone who votes for Hitler is voting for war!"
The canteen at the central depot on Erkrather Strasse was converted into a meeting room. Large swastikas were painted on the ceiling, and the decor also included a bust of Hitler and the imperial eagle - the national emblem of the Third Reich. This central depot was the point of departure for the First of May marches. These events were organised along the same lines as the Reich’s party conferences in Nuremberg.
It is difficult to comprehend just how much pressure was exerted on people, which is why many of them suppressed all memories of these events. In 1937, the introduction of equality for all German citizens was taken one step further. Announcement 30 stipulated that all Rheinbahn employees were required to furnish evidence of their Arian descent, which means that all employees had to prove, based on birth certificates and church records, that there was no Jewish blood in their family over the last three generations. If this could not be established without doubt, the employees in question were either dismissed or demoted. Married couples with one Jewish spouse were forced to divorce or driven out of the local community.