Elli Hatschek (July 2, 1901 – December 8, 1944) was a member of the

German Resistance German resistance can refer to: * Freikorps, German nationalist paramilitary groups resisting German communist uprisings and the Weimar Republic government * German resistance to Nazism * Landsturm, German resistance groups fighting against France d ...

against

Nazism 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 ...

. She was married to

Paul Hatschek Paul Hatschek (11 March 1888 – 15 May 1944) was a Czech engineer of optical and film technology and a member of the German Resistance against Nazism during the Third Reich. He was involved with Robert Uhrig and then became a leading member of th ...

, a leading member of the resistance group, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and who was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

in 1943. Under heavy interrogation, he gave up the names of others in his group, who were then arrested. His wife was also arrested. Though she was not heavily involved, she was charged with "undermining the morale of the military" and was sentenced to death. She was executed by the Nazis at

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 ...

Biography

Elli Hatschek, née Lotz, was born in

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

, Germany. She was the second wife of Paul Hatschek, a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

. and engineer of

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

and film technology. They lived in Berlin, where he was one of the leading members of the German Resistance group, the

Werner Theuer and Bernd Florath
''Robert Havemann Bibliographie: mit unveröffentlichten Texten aus dem Nachlass''
Robert Havemann Gesellschaft. Akademie Verlag (2007), p. 271. Retrieved August 15, 2011 and worked to bring about the downfall of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He was recruited by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

's military intelligence and tried to provide important information to the Soviets to assist them in expelling their Nazi invaders. He was arrested in 1942 as a member of the

Robert Uhrig Robert Uhrig (; March 8, 1903 – August 21, 1944) was a German communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism. Background Born in Leipzig, the son of a metalworker, Uhrig grew up to become a journeyman toolmaker. He joined the Com ...

Group and according to

Robert Havemann Robert Havemann (; 11 March 1910 – 9 April 1982) was an East German chemist and dissident. Life and career He studied chemistry in Berlin and Munich from 1929 to 1933, and then later received a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Kaiser ...

, had been under Gestapo surveillance for years. Hatschek was told of her husband's activities and she was supportive. In 1943, the Gestapo observed Paul Hatschek meeting two parachutists. After investigating, the Gestapo arrested Hatschek on September 3, 1943, subjecting him to intensive interrogation that same day. He named fellow Resistance fighters and two days later, the Gestapo arrested every person Hatschek had named. After weeks of interrogation, sometimes brutal, they had over 40 members of the European Union.Bernd Florath, "Die Europäische Union," essay in: Johannes Tuchel, ''Der vergessene Widerstand — zu Realgeschichte und Wahrnehmung des Kampfes gegen die NS-Diktatur'', pp. 114-139. (2001) Wallstein Verlag. Elli Hatschek was arrested with her husband.Photo (by the Gestapo) and short biography of Elli Hatschek
Gedenkstätte-Plötzensee. Retrieved August 14, 2011 Her husband's daughter,

Krista Lavíčková Krista Lavíčková (December 15, 1917–August 11, 1944) was a Czech secretary who fought against Nazism with the German Resistance group, the European Union. She was arrested on September 3, 1943 and was tried along with her father, Paul Hatschek ...

was also arrested.List of inmates who were executed
Das Frauengefängnis in der Barnimstraße. Retrieved August 14, 2011 All three were brought before the Nazi court, her husband and his daughter together; Elli Hatschek, some months later. All three were sentenced to death and executed by guillotine,The Nazis executed people by firing squad, gallows and guillotine. Death by firing squad was considered to be the most honorable and was used for military personnel. Hanging was the most preferred for its value as a public spectacle, but beheading was used for crimes of treason and related crimes
(See "The execution of women by the Nazis during World War II".)
/ref> her husband on May 15, 1944, at

Brandenburg-Görden Prison Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden quarter of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. Both criminal and political prisoners we ...

, his daughter at Plötzensee on August 11, 1944.Paragraph in English under Krista Lavíčková's handwritten farewell letter in German
Gedenkstätte-Plötzensee. Retrieved August 16, 2011 In November 1944, Elli Hatschek was charged with being connected with the European Union and with ''

Wehrkraftzersetzung ''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' or ''Zersetzung der Wehrkraft'' (German for "undermining defence force") was a sedition offence in German military law during the Nazi Germany era from 1938 to 1945. ''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' was enacted in 1938 by decree ...

'', a term that means "subversion of the military" and under the Nazis, was a crime that included undermining the war effort.The term "Wehrkraftzersetzung" is also translated a
"undermining military morale"
and a

as in the 1944 conviction of

Oskar Kusch Oskar Heinz Kusch (6 April 1918 – 12 May 1944) was a German naval officer and U-boat commander in World War II who was executed for comments critical of the Nazi state. Early life From 1928 to 1936 Kusch attended the Hohenzollern Gymnasium in ...

, one of two

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

commanders to be condemned to death. According to the ''Oxford Companion to World War II'', the term was also used with deserters. She was convicted and sentenced to death. She was incarcerated at the

Barnimstrasse women's prison Barnimstrasse women's prison was a women's prison that existed between 1868 and 1974 in Barnimstraße in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin, which belonged first to the Königsstadt and from 1920 to the Friedrichshain district. Building ...

, where she was one of the 300 prisoners who were executed. She was guillotined on December 8, 1944, at the Plötzensee Prison in Berlin. Her name is listed in the memorial book of Plötzensee victims.''Ehrenbuch der Opfer von Berlin-Plötzensee'', VVN, Berlin (1974)

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatschek, Elli 1901 births 1944 deaths People from Wetzlar Female resistance members of World War II Executed German Resistance members People executed by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison People from Hesse executed at Plötzensee Prison Executed German people

Biography

See also

Footnotes

References