Adolf Dethmann (born 3 December 1896,

Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). History The city was fi ...

; died 6 August 1979,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

engineer, social scientist and communist activist and industrial manager. Adolf Dethmann was a son of Hans Peter Adolf Dethmann (born 20 February 1865 in

Meldorf Meldorf (Holsatian: ''Meldörp'' or ''Möldörp'') is a town in western Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, that straddles the river Miele in the district of Dithmarschen. Overview Meldorf was first mentioned in writing before 1250 AD. In 1265 it rece ...

) and his wife Katharina Henriette (Henny), (born Boysen on 8 December 1870 in Flensburg; died 1 October 1952 in

Heikendorf Heikendorf is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is a seaside resort off the Baltic Sea, located approximately 10 km from Kiel. The oldest part of the town is the Old Viking settlement in Möltenort. ...

). Dethmann was active in the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), editing the journal ''Spartakus'' - the KPD journal for

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

in March 1919. However he was thrown out of the party following the

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

conference in October 1919, and became a founder member of the Communist Workers Party of Germany (KAPD) when that was founded in April 1920. Dethmann had become friends with

Hugo Junkers Hugo Junkers (3 February 1859 – 3 February 1935) was a German aircraft engineer and aircraft designer who pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (Junkers Aircraft and ...

and in 1931 was appointed managing director of his company. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Dethmann was released from the Junkers works and arrested for "treason". Although he was acquitted, German Chancellor

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

ordered that Dethmann should no longer work in any of the Junkerswerke plants and should no longer be resident in Dessau. Dethmann therefore moved to Hamburg in 1933 and worked here in a scientific antiquarian bookshop. After Dethmann was bombed out in Hamburg during World War II, he moved back to

Plön (district) Plön () is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Ostholstein and Segeberg, the city of Neumünster, the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Kiel and the Baltic Se ...

, Northern Germany. Shortly after the end of the war (1945) he became one of the founders of the KPD. In 1946 he was elected member of the district council and deputy district administrator. In the same year he was given a full-time job as a department head of the Economic Authority at the city of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

. In 1948 he went to Hamburg again and rebuilt his antiquarian bookshop. In 1957 he became employed at the Hamburg Economic Authority.see the more detailed entry on Adolf Dethman at the German wikipedia page, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Dethmann

References

1886 births 1979 deaths Junkers people German communists {{Germany-engineer-stub