Else Gebel (July 1905 – 1964) was a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

member of the

German resistance to Nazism Many individuals and groups in Germany that were opposed to the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime engaged in active resistance, including assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler, attempts to remove Adolf Hitler from power by assassination or by overthro ...

. She is remembered for having been the cellmate of

Sophie Scholl Sophia Magdalena Scholl (9 May 1921 – 22 February 1943) was a German student and anti-Nazi political activist, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. She was convicted of high treason after having been f ...

in 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 ...

headquarters in the

Wittelsbacher Palais The Wittelsbacher Palais was located in Munich at the northeast corner of the Brienner Strasse and the Türkenstraße. Today, a building of the BayernLB is located at the site of the palace. A copy of one of two stone lions at the entrance area is ...

of Munich before Scholl's execution.

Life

Else Gebel was born in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. She grew up together with her two brothers, Willy and Arno. She had a close relationship with Willy and both of them shared an apartment until 1935. Gebel's mother died when Else was aged 20. The three siblings were critical of

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 ...

. Until ''

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

'' pogrom, which occurred on 9–10 November 1938, Gebel worked as chief secretary for the Jewish merchant Max Uhlfelder in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Uhlfelder's department store was destroyed during ''Kristallnacht'', and Uhlfelder himself was arrested and brought to the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

. Gebel however was able to avoid bringing attention to herself. Until her own arrest, she worked at the Diamalt company which produced

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

extract for bakeries. Gebel and her brother Willy were members of the ''Aufbruch'' working team, and later of the communist resistance group led by

Beppo Römer Josef "Beppo" Römer (; 17 November 1892 – 25 September 1944) was a member of the Freikorps Oberland, one of the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. He was later an orga ...

and

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 ...

. On 20 June 1944, she was sentenced to one year and four months of forced labour in jail, and had to work as a bookkeeper for the Nazi administration. During her pre-trial custody, Gebel came to know the resistance fighter Sophie Scholl after Scholl's arrest on 18 February 1943, befriended her and engaged her in conversation. Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans and their friend

Christoph Probst Christoph Ananda Probst (6 November 1919 – 22 February 1943) was a German student of medicine and member of the White Rose (''Weiße Rose'') German resistance to Nazism, resistance group. Early life Probst was born in Murnau am Staffelsee. ...

were sentenced to death and hurriedly executed on 22 February 1943. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Gebel kept many memories of her cellmate, which were presented in film in '' Fünf letzte Tage'' (1982) and ''

Sophie Scholl – The Final Days ''Sophie Scholl – The Final Days'' (german: Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage) is a 2005 German historical drama film directed by Marc Rothemund and written by Fred Breinersdorfer. It is about the last days in the life of Sophie Scholl, a 21-ye ...

'' (2005). Else Gebel died in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebel, Else 1905 births 1964 deaths People from Augsburg Communists in the German Resistance

Life

Further reading

References