Heinz Kapelle (17 September 1913 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 ...

– 1 July 1941 in Berlin) was a leader of the

Young Communist League of Germany The Young Communist League of Germany (, abbreviated KJVD) was a political youth organization in Germany. History The KJVD was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth () of the Communist Party of Germany, A prior youth wing had been forme ...

(''Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands;'' KJVD) in

in the 1930s. By training he was a book printer, having learnt the craft between 1928 and 1932, but he was thereafter jobless until 1934. During his training, he had joined the KJVD in 1931, which became illegal with the

Nazis 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 ...

seizure of power An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

in 1933. Nevertheless, he continued to be a member and used the Alliance to further his anti-fascist goals. He was, for instance, involved in the publication and distribution of anti-fascist literature. Early in 1934, Kapelle was arrested for the first time and sentenced to two years' im

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

ment on 20 September 1934 by the ''Berliner Kammergericht'' for "conspiracy to commit

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

". Once released, he quickly returned to anti-régime activities. He in effect led an illegal youth

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

group of about 60 members against the

. The leaflets that he wrote he sometimes even distributed himself, by scattering them in the streets of Berlin's working-class neighbourhoods at night from his motorcycle. He was arrested many times, but in the end, he and five other group members were 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 ...

on 16 October 1939. Kapelle was

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

d, but never betrayed the other members of his group. The Volksgerichtshof sentenced Heinz Kapelle to death on 21 February 1941 for "furthering the enemy's cause and conspiracy to commit high treason". On 1 July of that year, he was put to death at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin. He is honoured today as a hero by the Communist Youth Movement. A street in the Berlin neighbourhood

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incorp ...

is named ''Heinz-Kapelle-Straße'' in his honour. Also there is a street close to German Parliament in the very center of Berlin honouring him named ''Kapelle-Ufer'' (which loosely translates to "Kapelle Bank" or "Kapelle Shore").

Sources

Biography
at

German Resistance Memorial Center The German Resistance Memorial Center (german: Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand) is a memorial and museum in Berlin, capital of Germany. History It was opened in 1980 in part of the Bendlerblock, a complex of offices in Stauffenbergstrasse (fo ...

(includes portrait photo)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapelle, Heinz 1913 births 1941 deaths People from Berlin executed at Plötzensee Prison People condemned by Nazi courts Executed communists in the German Resistance