 Some of these contacts existed before 1933, for example through the German "Society of intellectuals".John Rittmeister's wife Eva was a good friend of Liane Berkowitz, Ursula Goetze, Friedrich Rehmer, Maria Terwiel and Fritz Thiel who met in the 1939 abitur class at the secondary private school, "Heil'schen Abendschule" at Berlin W 50, Augsburger Straße 60 in Schöneberg.The Romanist Werner Krauss joined this group, and through discussions, an active resistance to the Nazi regime grew.