Kurt Nehrling (February 13, 1899 – December 22, 1943) was a German
Social Democratic politician and member of the
German resistance against
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Nehrling was responsible for supplying information to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and hid
banned books
This is an index of lists of banned books, which contain books that have been banned or censored by religious authority or government.
By country
* Book censorship in Canada
* Book censorship in China
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* Book ce ...
. He was later caught by the
SS and killed at the
Dachau concentration camp.
Biography
Kurt Nehrling was born in
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
to restaurateurs Max and Emma Nehrling. His parents' restaurant, ''Zum Goldenen Stern'' in the Jakobstrasse, was a popular workers'
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...
and served as a meeting place for members of the Social-Democratic People Association (a local chapter of the
SPD
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 t ...
). This exposure influenced Nehrling's future political career.
Biography
at SPD-Weimar
From 1901 to 1905, membership in the local chapter of the SPD increased dramatically from 120 to 616. The party therefore created an autonomous social and cultural environment in the worker-populated areas of the Weimar. In 1907, the Social Democrats, trade unions, and associations laid the foundation for their own building, the "Community Center". Two years later, a local group of the Socialist Worker Youth was founded there.
Nehrling joined the SPD in 1919. In the years following World War I
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 ...
, he worked at the district administration of Weimar. There he became acquainted with Marie Prox, the daughter of Emil Prox, the chairman to the Social Democratic People Association. In 1921, Nehrling married Prox but tragedy struck two years later when Marie died from complications of childbirth with their second child. Nehrling, however, continued to maintain strong relations with his father-in-law. Although Prox is not very well remembered today, Nehrling's son later recalled his significance on his father's life.
In 1923, Nehrling was working as an employee in the Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
n Ministry of Economic Affairs when he met and later married his second wife, Hedwig Nehrling.
In 1929, Nehrling became ill with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
. This was a long illness, finally breaking in 1931. Although employed in the Thüringer government, the National Socialists
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 ...
broke all relationship with the SPD
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 t ...
in 1933 and terminated all non-National Socialist employment. Kurt and Hedwig Nehrling had immense financial problems in these years. In their dwelling they opened ''Homestead Way 16'' (today Kurt Nehrling road) a provisional linen shop. Later moving to a corner shop at the Zeppelinplatz. At this time Kurt Nehrling joined the Social-Democratic '' Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold'', a front fighter organization formed to defend the Republic from National Socialist control.
See also
* German Resistance
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nehrling, Kurt
1899 births
1943 deaths
German civilians killed in World War II
Politicians from Weimar
People from Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Executed German Resistance members
Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps
German people who died in Dachau concentration camp
Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps
People from Thuringia executed in Nazi concentration camps