Julius Adler (23 January 1894 – 8 April 1945) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

politician and member of the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

. A member of the Reichstag from 1928 to 1933, he was later detained 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 died in the

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concent ...

Life

Julius Adler was born in Neunkirchen, the son of a miner. By occupation a crane operator, he was also an active member and official within the Communist Party. In 1924 he became a city councillor in

Hamborn Hamborn is a district of the city of Duisburg, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Hamborn has a population of 71,528 an area of 20.84 km2. Since 1 January 1975, has been one of seven districts or boroughs (Stadtbezirk) of Duisburg. History ...

and following the incorporation of the former into

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

, became a city councillor there. From 1928 to 1933 he was a member of the Reichstag. After the

Nazi seizure of power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

, Julius Adler was arrested on 15 March 1933 in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, taken into "

protective custody Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pri ...

", and imprisoned at the

Lichtenburg concentration camp Lichtenburg was a Nazi concentration camp, housed in a Renaissance castle in Prettin, near Wittenberg in the Province of Saxony. Along with Sachsenburg, it was among the first to be built by the Nazis, and was operated by the SS from 1933 to ...

. According to an arrest warrant, he was imprisoned in Torgau from August 1934 onwards. On January 11, 1935, the Third Criminal Division of the High Regional Court Hamm (OLG Hamm) sentenced Adler to 18 months in prison for treason. The prosecution alleged that Adler had participated in three meetings of communist officials in March 1933. In 1937 he was discharged from Börgermoor concentration camp but was arrested twice again in the same year. After the beginning of the war in September 1939, Adler was arrested again by the Gestapo and imprisoned in the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

. In 1945 he was transported to Bergen-Belsen, where he died after contracting

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

. The exact date of his death is not known; in 1949 the Hamborn District Court ruled he had died on 8 April 1945.Death date by Martin Schumacher (Hrsg.): ''M.d.R. Die Reichstagsabgeordneten der Weimarer Republik in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus. Politische Verfolgung, Emigration und Ausbürgerung 1933−1945.'' Droste-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1991, , S. 87f.

Honours

Memorial cards on the Reichstag

Since 1992, Adler's name appears on one of the 96 plaques in the

Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag The Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag is a memorial in Berlin, Germany. The memorial is located in front of the Reichstag building and commemorates the 96 members of the parliament who died unnaturally between 1933 and 1945 (1948) ...

, on the corner of Scheidemannstraße / Republic Square in Berlin near the

Reichstag building The Reichstag (, ; officially: – ; en, Parliament) is a historic government building in Berlin which houses the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament. It was constructed to house the Imperial Diet (german: Reichstag) of the ...

. Another memorial to Julius Adler is located in the Berlin borough of

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen. Overview The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin's ...

in the Memorial to the Socialists. Additionally during the time of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, a speedboat (183/1, type P6) of the

Volksmarine The ''Volksmarine'' (VM, ; en, People's Navy) was the naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The ''Volksmarine'' was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a coastal d ...

of the GDR was named after Julius Adler. This boat was in service from 8 October 1957 to 31 May 1968.

References

Literature

*Hermann Weber, Andreas Herbst : ''Deutsche Kommunisten'' (German Communists). Biographical handbook 1918 to 1945. Second edition, revised and greatly extended. Karl Dietz Verlag, Berlin 2008, (Online). *Rudolf Tappe, Manfred Tietz (eds.): Crime Scene Duisburg I. 1933 - 1945 resistance and persecution in Nazi Germany. Plaintext Verlag, Essen, 1989, , p 292ff.

Links

Julius Adler in the Reichstag database
(German)
Biography of Julius Adler
saarland-biografien.de (German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Julius Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Communist Party of Germany politicians Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps Sachsenhausen concentration camp prisoners 1894 births 1945 deaths German people who died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Börgermoor concentration camp survivors Assassinated German politicians Deaths from typhus