Anna Krauss ( Friese; 27 October 1884, Bogen – 5 August 1943,

Plötzensee Prison Plötzensee Prison (german: Justizvollzugsanstalt Plötzensee, JVA Plötzensee) is a juvenile prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The d ...

, Berlin) was a German

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

, fortune-teller and businesswomen who owned a lacquer and paint wholesaler business in Berlin. She became a

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

against the Nazi regime, through her association with a Berlin-based anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra ("Rote Kapelle") by the

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

, during the Nazi regime.

Life

Krauss was a daughter of a farmer, Johann Friese. In 1911, Krauss married Hungarian Josef Krauss and had a son, Rudolf (born 1914). Josef Krauss was killed in World War I, leaving her a widow. Krauss had a sister, Magda Friese, who lived in an apartment at Parkallee 10, Stahnsdorf. Krauss and her son lived in Berlin from 1920. To earn a living, she owned and ran a sewing workshop. Since 1936, Krauss, who had undergone commercial training in her youth, had become the owner of a paint and varnish wholesaler in Berlin.

Resistance

At the end of 1938, Krauss sheltered a young 22-year-old Jewish woman, Sophie Kuh (her later married name was ), who was waiting for a British visa. She had gone to Berlin to visit the British embassy to extend her visa. Sophie Templer-Kuh would die in 2021, aged 104. In the same year,

Libertas Schulze-Boysen Libertas "Libs" Schulze-Boysen, born Libertas Viktoria Haas-Heye (20 November 1913 in Paris – 22 December 1942 in Plötzensee Prison ) was a German aristocrat and resistance fighter against the Nazis. From the early 1930s to 1940, Libs attempt ...

became a client of Krauss. Through Schulze-Boysen, Krauss met Toni Graudenz, wife of

John Graudenz Wolfgang Kreher Johannes "John" Graudenz (12 November 1884 – 22 December 1942) was a German journalist, press photographer, industrial representative and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime. Graudenz was most notable for being an impo ...

, as they both had apartments in Stahnsdorf, being neighbours. Krauss would eventually volunteer the use of her apartment to Graudenz, to host two

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a copy made by the pro ...

machines to produce anti-Nazi leaflets for the group. Anni-Krauss-Straße OdF Stahnsdorf

Many of Krauss's customers were superstitious German officers looking for advice and as they described their upcoming campaigns, she would pass the details along to Schulze-Boyzen via Toni Graudenz who acted in the role of cutout. One of these German officers in that mold was Erwin Gehrts. Gehrts, a Colonel in the Luftwaffe, was interested in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

and the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

and led a life that was extraordinary superstitious. He regularly visited Kraus for advice. Krauss read the fortunes of all the members of the resistance group to provide to provide and engender a steely backbone. In a trance like state she would describe the future political future after the Nazis. Krauss was a full member of the Schulze-Boysen group and was fully informed of all their activities. She would also take part in distributing pamphlets and leaflets. Krauss used her own apartment to host duplicate

machines that

ran to create the leaflets that were known under the name

AGIS Agis or AGIS may refer to: People * Agis I (died 900 BC), Spartan king * Agis II (died 401 BC), Spartan king * Agis III (died 331 BC), Spartan king * Agis IV (265–241 BC), Spartan king * Agis (Paeonian) (died 358 BC), King of the Paeonians * Ag ...

. Graudenz was responsible for the technical aspect of the production of leaflets and pamphlets that the group produced.

Arrest

Krauss was arrested on 14 September 1942. She was tried by the 2nd Senate of the

Reichskriegsgericht The Reichskriegsgericht (RKG; en, Reich Court-Martial) was the highest military court in Germany between 1900 and 1945. Legal basics and responsibilities After the Prussian-led Unification of Germany, the German Empire with effect from 1 October ...

("Military court") and it was announced on 12 February 1943 that she had been sentenced to death for "decomposing the military force". The execution took place on 5 August 1943, as part of a serial execution, during which 17 people, 3 men and 14 women, were guillotined.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krauss, Anna 1884 births 1943 deaths People from Straubing-Bogen Red Orchestra (espionage) People condemned by Nazi courts People executed for treason against Germany People executed by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison Executed German women Executed German people People from Bavaria executed at Plötzensee Prison