Krista Lavíčková (December 15, 1917–August 11, 1944) was a Czech secretary who fought 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) in Na ...

with the

German Resistance German resistance can refer to: * Freikorps, German nationalist paramilitary groups resisting German communist uprisings and the Weimar Republic government * German resistance to Nazism * Landsturm, German resistance groups fighting against France d ...

group, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. She was arrested on September 3, 1943 and was tried along with her father,

Paul Hatschek Paul Hatschek (11 March 1888 – 15 May 1944) was a Czech engineer of optical and film technology and a member of the German Resistance against Nazism during the Third Reich. He was involved with Robert Uhrig and then became a leading member of th ...

, at the Volksgerichtshof ("People's Court"). Her father's second wife,

Elli Hatschek Elli Hatschek (July 2, 1901 – December 8, 1944) was a member of the German Resistance against Nazism. She was married to Paul Hatschek, a leading member of the resistance group, the European Union and who was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943. Und ...

, was arrested with her father, but was tried at a later date. All were sentenced to death,Jochen Staadt
Book review
''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

'' (February 20, 2002) p. 8. (Note: Paul Hatschek is incorrectly described as a jurist; he was an engineer.) three of the sixteen members of the European Union who were executed by the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Biographical details

Lavíčková, née Hatschek, was born in Moravian

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

, Czechoslovakia.Paragraph in English under Krista Lavíčková's handwritten farewell letter in German
Gedenstätte-Plötzensee. Retrieved August 16, 2011 As an adult, she lived in Prague, where she worked as a secretary. She was involved with the German Resistance group, the European Union, whose members were from various European nations. On September 3, 1943, she was arrested by the Nazis. Tried with her father at the Nazi "People's Court", they were both sentenced to death on March 27, 1944. Before her execution, she was imprisoned at the

Barnimstrasse women's prison Barnimstrasse women's prison was a women's prison that existed between 1868 and 1974 in Barnimstraße in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin, which belonged first to the Königsstadt and from 1920 to the Friedrichshain district. Building ...

, in Berlin. Her father's second wife,

, was arrested with her father, but was tried separately.Photo (by the Gestapo) and short biography of Elli Hatschek
Gedenkstätte-Plötzensee. Retrieved August 14, 2011 She was also sentenced to death, charged with being connected to the European Union and with ''

Wehrkraftzersetzung ''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' or ''Zersetzung der Wehrkraft'' (German for "undermining defence force") was a sedition offence in German military law during the Nazi Germany era from 1938 to 1945. ''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' was enacted in 1938 by decree ...

'', a crime which included "undermining the military". Lavíčková's father was executed by '' fallbeil'' ("falling axe") on May 15, 1944 at

Brandenburg-Görden Prison Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden quarter of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. Both criminal and political prisoners we ...

. Lavíčková was executed at

Plötzensee Prison Plötzensee Prison (german: Justizvollzugsanstalt Plötzensee, JVA Plötzensee) is a juvenile prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The d ...

on August 11, 1944. Including Lavíčková, her father and step-mother, there were sixteen members of the European Union executed by the Nazis. The record of her execution states, "The convict, who was calm and composed, was laid on the falling axe apparatus without resistance, whereupon the executioner performed the beheading with the guillotine and then reported that the sentence was carried out. The sentence was carried out in 7 seconds, from leading he prisoner to the guillotineto notification of completion.""Record of the execution of Krista Lavíčková on August 11, 1944"
Gedenstätte-Plötzensee. Retrieved August 17, 2011 Elli Hatschek was not tried until November 1944. On December 8, 1944, like Lavíčková, she was executed by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison. Lavíčková was married. Her farewell letter, written before her execution, is addressed to Ilsinko and Friedl.The letter was written on both sides of a lined sheet of paper. At the bottom of the first are printed instructions from her Nazi captors, "Only use the lines! No writing in the margins!"

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavickova, Krista Executed German Resistance members People executed by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison 1917 births 1944 deaths People from Ostrava Female resistance members of World War II Executed Czech people Executed Czech women Czech people executed by Nazi Germany