Egbert Hayessen (28 December 1913 – 15 August 1944) was a German

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 objective ...

in the struggle against

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, and a major in the army. Born in

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century, ...

, Hayessen grew up on the Hessian state domain of Mittelhof near Felsberg-Gensungen. In 1924, he went to Roßleben. There, in 1933 at the Roßleben Monastery School he did his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen yea ...

''. After his ''Abitur'', Hayessen completed military training at Artillery Regiment no. 12 in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. ...

as a career officer and rose to major on the General Staff with General

Friedrich Fromm Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar Fromm (8 October 1888 – 12 March 1945) was a German Army officer. In World War II, Fromm was Commander in Chief of the Replacement Army (''Ersatzheer''), in charge of training and personnel replacement for combat div ...

, Commander-in-chief of the Reserve Army. Hayessen first learnt of the plot against Hitler and

Operation Valkyrie Operation Valkyrie (german: Unternehmen Walküre) was a German World War II emergency continuity of government operations plan issued to the Territorial Reserve Army of Germany to execute and implement in the event of a general breakdown in civ ...

on 15 July 1944 from Robert Bernardis. He turned away from

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

and took part in the attempt to assassinate Hitler at the

Wolf's Lair The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ostp ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...

on 20 July 1944, taking on the foreseen logistical connections between City Commandant

Paul von Hase Karl Paul Immanuel von Hase (24 July 1885 – 8 August 1944) was a German career soldier and figured among the members of the resistance against Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. Biography Hase was born in Hanover. He was the fifth child of Paul ...

and Police President

Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorf Wolf-Heinrich Julius Otto Bernhard Fritz Hermann Ferdinand Graf von Helldorff (14 October 1896 – 15 August 1944) was an SA-''Obergruppenführer'', German police official and politician. He served as a member of the Landtag of Prussia during th ...

. On the day of the attack, Egbert Hayessen brought Paul von Hase the news of General Fromm's arrest at headquarters on Bendlerstraße in Berlin. At the City Commandant's office, Hayessen then took part in the preparations to occupy the radio building in Berlin and to arrest Propaganda Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...

. On 15 August 1944, Hayessen was sentenced to death by hanging at the '' Volksgerichtshof'', and the sentence was carried out the same day at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin. Egbert Hayessen is memorialized at the Plötzensee Memorial Centre. Furthermore, a plaque in memory of his act of conscience may be seen outside the Mittelhof near Gensungen.

Literature

* Plötzensee Memorial Centre Archive

References

External links

Biography at ''Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand''

Article about Hayessen on his school's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayessen, Egbert 1913 births 1944 deaths People from Eisleben People from Saxony-Anhalt executed at Plötzensee Prison Executed members of the 20 July plot German Army officers of World War II People from the Province of Saxony People condemned by Nazi courts People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison