Arno Esch (6 February 1928 – 24 July 1951) was a German

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician of the late 1940s in the

Soviet Occupation Zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...

. He was executed at the

Lubyanka prison The Lubyanka ( rus, Лубянка, p=lʊˈbʲankə) is the popular name for the building which contains the headquarters of the FSB, and its affiliated prison, on Lubyanka Square in the Meshchansky District of Moscow, Russia. It is a large Ne ...

in Moscow in 1951 at the age of 23.

Biography

Esch was born and brought up in Memel (Klaipėda). In late 1944 he was evacuated to

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

, where he was drafted into military service as a

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

–

Flakhelfer A ''Luftwaffenhelfer'', also commonly known as a ''Flakhelfer'', was any member of the auxiliary staff of the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Such terms often implied students conscripted as child soldiers. Establishment ''Luftwaf ...

. In 1946 Esch started to study law at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

and became a member of the

Liberal Democratic Party of Germany The Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (german: Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands, LDPD) was a political party in East Germany. Like the other allied bloc parties of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in the National Front, it ...

(LDPD). He opposed the leading role claimed by the communist Youth organisation

Freie Deutsche Jugend The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant ...

and was elected into the LDPD committee in 1948 and the LDPD executive committee in 1949. He was a co-author of the ''Eisenacher program'' of the LDPD. Esch wrote several editorials for the ''Norddeutsche Zeitung'', the newspaper of the Liberal-Democrats in Mecklenburg, in which he applied for the

Separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

, individual

civil and political rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

and the abolition of the death penalty. Esch caused a controversy with his dictum: "A Chinese liberal is more affiliated to me than a German communist". Esch was imprisoned by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

on 18 October 1949, together with 12 other young Liberals and sentenced to death by a Soviet

Military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bod ...

for "counterrevolutionary activities" in July 1950, he was transferred to Moscow, where the sentence was approved and executed at the

on 24 July 1951. The judgement was voided in 1990 by the Soviet High Court.

Remembrance

The FDP-attached Arno-Esch-Foundation and the Arno-Esch-Award of the German Liberal Association of Academics are named after him. Streets in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

and Schönberg (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) as well as a memorial plaque at the

remind of Esch.

References

*Horst Köpke, Friedrich-Franz Wiese: ''Mein Vaterland ist die Freiheit: Das Schicksal des Studenten Arno Esch''. Rostock, Hinstorff, 1990, *Hartwig Bernitt, Friedrich-Franz Wiese: ''Arno Esch: Eine Dokumentation''. Verband Ehemaliger Rostocker Studenten (VERS), Danneberg/Elbe 1994 * Thomas Ammer: ''Universität zwischen Demokratie und Diktatur: Ein Beitrag zur Nachkriegsgeschichte der Universität Rostock''. Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, Köln 1969 *Hermann Marx: ''Liberale Studenten im Widerstand''. Liberaler Studentenbund Deutschlands, Bonn o.J. *Waldemar Krönig, Klaus-Dieter Müller: ''Anpassung, Widerstand, Verfolgung: Hochschule und Studenten in der SBZ und DDR 1945–1961''. Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, Köln 1994,

External links

editorials and pictures of Esch at the ''Norddeutsche Zeitung''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esch, Arno 1928 births 1951 deaths People from Klaipėda People from East Prussia Liberal Democratic Party of Germany politicians German people executed by the Soviet Union Soviet rehabilitations Executed East German people University of Rostock alumni Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II Child soldiers in World War II