| Unit Name: | Ernst Thalmann Company |
| Native Name: | Die deutsche Partisanentruppe „Ernst Thälmann" Nemačka Četa Ernest Telman |
| Dates: | 15 August 1943 — Summer 1944 |
| Disbanded: | Summer 1944 |
| Country: | Independent State of Croatia |
| Allegiance: | Yugoslav Partisans |
| Size: | 40 |
| Command Structure: | Podravina Detachment |
| Nickname: | Red Company or Telmanovci[1] |
| Colours: | --> |
| Colours Label: | --> |
| Commander1: | Rudolph Vanpotić |
| Commander1 Label: | First commander |
The Ernst Thalmann Company (sh|Nemačka Četa Ernest Telman, de|die deutsche Partisanentruppe „Ernst Thälmann") was a company within Yugoslav Partisans composed of ethnic Germans from Slavonia (then Independent State of Croatia, modern day Croatia). It belonged to the Podravina Detachment of Sixth Slavonian Corp of Yugoslav Partisans.[2] The company was established on 15 August 1943 in Slatinski Drenovac, from the order of the Sixth Slavonian Corp and composed of 10 Germans, 5 of them being members of the Communist Party for many years.[3] Its first commander was Rudolph Vanpotić.[4] Initially it was composed of 40 soldiers, mostly of German ethnicity and a number of Serbs and Croats.[5] The Ernst Thalmann Company was disestablished in Summer of 1944.[6] This company was named after Ernst Thälmann, the leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) during much of the Weimar Republic.
The intention of Partisan command was to mobilize as many young Germans as possible, to prevent their participation in Waffen-SS units and German police.[7] The members of the company included several women of German ethnicity.[8] The commanders of Telman Company were Germans who issued orders on German language hoisting national flag of German minority in Yugoslavia.[9] The company was reinforced with squad of heavy machineguns.[10]
The story of the company and its founding are a major plotline in the 2004 Croatian movie Long Dark Night directed by Antun Vrdoljak.
"Tako su 15 avgusta, pored već postojećeg Čehoslovačkog bataljona, u sastavu Podravskog odreda, formirani mađarski bataljon »Šandor Petefi« i nemačka četa »Ernest Telman«. "
"U 1. slavonskom odredu bilo ih je 2, u Drugom 4, a u 1. slavonskoj brigadi 1, pa je i to stanje u neku ruku poticalo slavonsko rukovodstvo da ustraje u svojim naporima privlačenja Nijemaca u redove NOP-a. Ideja je konačno realizirana 15. kolovoza 1943. godine. Tog dana naredbom17 Šestog slavonskog korpusa formirana je Njemačka četa »Ernst Thalmann«, sastava 10-ak boraca njemačke narodnosti, od kojih su petorica bili članovi KPJ s višegodišnjim partijskim stažom i ..."
" Istog dana kad je formiran mađarski bataljon u Slat. Drenovcu, od pripadnika njemačke nacionalne manjine, koji su se do tada nalazili u raznim slavonskim jedinicama, formirana je četa »Ernst Thalmann«. Za komandira čete određen je Rudolf Vanpotić, a za njegovog ..."
"Formiraju se mađarski bataljon „Šandor Petefi“ i nemačka četa „Ernst Telman". Strane jedinice u sastavu NOVJ imale su svoj komandni kadar, nacinalnu zastavu i služile se svojim nacionalnim jezikom u vojnoj komunikaciji. "
" »Ernst Thalmann« (ta je četa bila privremeno u sastavu naše brigade i kretala se na ovom terenu da bi narod tog kraja vidio kako u NOV postoje i nemačke partizanske jedinice; četa je formirana od pripadnika nemačke nacionalne manjine u Slavoniji). Četa je pojačana odeljenjem teških mitraljeza, i bila postavljena kao obezbeđenje prema Popovači, a jedan vod 2. bataljona prema Kutini."