Hugo Launicke (2 February 1909 – 6 June 1975) was a German

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 ...

fighter against the

Nazi 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 ...

régime and later a

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

(SED)

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Life

Launicke was born in

Roßleben Roßleben is a town and a former municipality in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, with a population of 4,885 (2017). It is located in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Roßleben-Wiehe. It is situated on the river Unstr ...

in the

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merge ...

and began by doing building work. In 1923, he joined the Communist Youth League of Germany (''Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands''; KJVD) and the Workers' Sporting Association (''Arbeitersportverein''). In 1927, he became a 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 ...

(KPD). He also became active in the '' Rotfrontkämpferbund''. From 1929 to 1931, he was a member of the KJVD's subdistrict (''Unterbezirk'') leadership in

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

and

Teuchern Teuchern is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km southeast of Weißenfels. On 1 January 2011 it absorbed the former municipalities Deuben, Gröben, Gröbitz, Krauschwitz, Ness ...

. Afterwards, in 1930, Launicke was moved to

Wiehe Wiehe () is a town and a former municipality in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Roßleben-Wiehe. It is situated south of Sangerhausen, and north of Weimar. Location Wiehe is lo ...

, and as of 1931, he took on the function of a KJVD instructor of the subdistrict leadership in Halle. In February 1933, not long after 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 ...

seized power, he got a reprimand from the local district for his political activities. On 9 March 1933, he was arrested. There followed mistreatment and a transfer to the

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 ...

in Naumburg. The lay assessor's court (''Schöffengericht'') in that town sentenced him to three months' imprisonment for insulting a mayor. On 17 October 1935 came a new sentencing. The Superior Court (''Kammergericht'') 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 ...

(5th Penal Senate) imposed a four-year labour-prison (''Zuchthaus'') penalty for conspiracy to commit high-treasonous undertakings. He also had his

civil 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 of ...

suspended for five years (this was quite a common measure in Nazi courts). Only a short time after his release on 10 May 1939, he was once again arrested and taken away to

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, more precisely the Rautalwerk Off-Site Command at

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

. In this camp, he belonged to the illegal prison KPD leadership. In April 1945, he had to take part in a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convent ...

, which he survived. After 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 ...

fell, Launicke became the mayor of Wiehe and KPD district secretary. Later, he took on the same function in the Kölleda district. He thereafter held posts in East Germany's ''Nationale Front'' in the Halle and

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

districts. From 1958 to 1963, he was Chairman of the

Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation The Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation, consisting of the Young Pioneers and the Thälmann Pioneers, was a youth organisation of schoolchildren aged 6 to 13 in East Germany. They were named after Ernst Thälmann, the former leader of the Comm ...

in the Magdeburg district. He then took over the leadership of the Antifascist Resistance Fighter Committee in the Magdeburg district. In 1973, he received East Germany's

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

, in

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. After his death, Magdeburg temporarily named a street ''Hugo-Launicke-Straße'' in his honour.

Literature

*''Was Magdeburger Straßennamen erzählen'', ca. 1983, published by the Magdeburg SED city administration, written by Ingelore Buchholz. {{DEFAULTSORT:Launicke, Hugo 1909 births 1975 deaths People from Roßleben People from the Province of Saxony Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Rotfrontkämpferbund members Communists in the German Resistance People condemned by Nazi courts Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit