Hans Koch (16 August 1893 – 24 April 1945) was a German lawyer, a member of the

Confessional Church Confessionalism, in a religious (and particularly Christian) sense, is a belief in the importance of full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a religious teaching. Confessionalists believe that differing interpretations or understandings, espe ...

and a member of the German resistance 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) i ...

. Koch was born in

Bartenstein Bartoszyce (pronounced , german: Bartenstein, ; lt, Barštynas) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geog ...

, East Prussia (modern Bartoszyce, Poland),GDW Berlin
/ref> he graduated in law from the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

.Biography of Hans Koch
German Resistance Memorial Center, official website. Retrieved December 10, 2010 In 1923, he began working at the

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 ...

n Ministry of Trade and later as the second state commisar of the

Berlin stock exchange Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. In 1927, he opened his own law office. In 1937, he helped win an acquittal for pastor

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 18926 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem " First they ca ...

. During

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 opposing ...

, he developed contacts with

Claus von Stauffenberg Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair. Despite ...

and the 20 July plot conspirators, including

Carl Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a monarchist conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed some anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was ...

. In the 20 July plot, once the Nazis had been routed, Koch was slated to become the presiding judge of the '' Reichsgericht'', the highest court in the German

Reich ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...

. The plot failed, however, and Koch sheltered one of the conspirators. An informer denounced him and Koch and his family were arrested. He was murdered extrajudicially in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

by a Sonderkommando of the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt on 24 April 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Hans 1893 births 1945 deaths People from Bartoszyce People from East Prussia German Protestants Protestants in the German Resistance University of Königsberg alumni Executed members of the 20 July plot German people executed by Nazi Germany Extrajudicial killings in World War II Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany