Ernst Heilmann (13 April 1881 – 3 April 1940) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

Born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, then in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, Heilmann attended the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

and majored in law and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Heilmann was a proponent of the German party truce ('' Burgfriedenspolitik''). He gained a seat in the Reichstag in the

1928 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 20 May 1928.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p762 The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) remained the largest party in the Reichstag after winning 1 ...

. Not long after Hitler and the Nazis seized power (''Machtergreifung''), Heilmann 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 ...

and imprisoned in the first of a series of concentration camps in which he was to spend nearly seven years. From February 1937, Heilmann was kept in

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 ...

until he was transferred in September 1938 to

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, where he was executed in April 1940.*.

References

External links

* * 1881 births 1940 deaths Politicians from Berlin Jurists from Berlin Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Prussian politicians Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians German people who died in Buchenwald concentration camp Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps German civilians killed in World War II Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic {{Germany-SPD-politician-stub