Reinhold Frank (23 July 1896 – 23 January 1945) was a German lawyer. He did work for the resistance to

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 ...

's rule in

Nazi Germany 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 ...

. He was sentenced to death in connection with the failed 20 July Plot.

Life

Reinhold Frank was born the youngest of seven children in Bachhaupten in the

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen ...

district. After serving in the military in the First World War, he studied law in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. He was a member of the ''Katholische Deutsche Studentenverbindung Arminia'' ("Catholic German ''

Studentenverbindung (; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousan ...

'' Arminia") in the ''

Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen The Union of Catholic German Student Fraternities (german: Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen or ''Cartellverband'' (CV)) is a German umbrella organization of Catholic male student fraternities (Studentenverbindung). ...

''. After his time as a junior lawyer, he went to

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and there, together with Dr. Honold, he ran a law practice. Owing to his Christian outlook,

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 ...

ideology did not sit well with Frank. He often found himself defending persecuted clients of all political and religious stripes, among them Catholic priests, who often ended up before the courts during the time of 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 ...

for having uttered criticisms of the régime. Reinhold Frank belonged to the circle about the resistance group founded by Dr.

Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a monarchist conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed some anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was ...

. He had already agreed to stand ready in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

to take a leading role in Germany's reconstruction, should the plot to overthrow

actually succeed. It was therefore no wonder that, after the attempt on Hitler's life at the

Wolf's Lair The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ost ...

in East Prussia failed, Frank was arrested quite quickly, on 21 July 1944, the day after the attempt. Frank was found guilty by the '' Volksgerichtshof'' of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. On 12 January 1945, he was sentenced to death. He was hanged on 23 January at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin. In his honour, a memorial stone has been placed at the ''Hauptfriedhof'' ("Main Cemetery") in Karlsruhe. The street in Karlsruhe where the lawyers' chambers may be found bears his name. The Research Centre for German Resistance against

National Socialism 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 Naz ...

Southwestern Germany Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...

, together with the

University of Karlsruhe The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 w ...

, the City of Karlsruhe, and the German ''Bundesarchiv'', honours Frank yearly in the time around 20 July with a memorial reading.

Sources

* Horst Rehberger ''Reinhold Frank. Rechtsanwalt in Karlsruhe'', in: Der Widerstand im deutschen Südwesten 1933-1945. pub. by Michael Bosch und Wolfgang Niess, Stuttgart, 1984 * Michael Kißener, ''Der Widerstandskreis um den Karlsruher Rechtsanwalt Reinhold Frank'', Speech on the occasion of the scientific symposium in the framework of the. European Culture Days, Karlsruhe 1994 * ''Reinhold Frank zum fünfzigsten Todestag'', pub. by the City of Karlsruhe/Stadtarchiv, Karlsruhe 1995 * Uwe Schellinger, ''Dr. Reinhold Frank (1896-1945)'', Witnesses for Christ, Twentieth Century German Martyrology, pub. by H. Moll i.A. der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, Paderborn u.a. 1999, 226 * Detlev Fischer: ''Anwälte im Widerstand gegen das NS-Regime'', RuP 2002, 181 {{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Reinhold 20th-century German lawyers Executed members of the 20 July plot People from Baden-Württemberg executed at Plötzensee Prison People condemned by Nazi courts Jurists from Baden-Württemberg 1896 births 1945 deaths People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison People from Sigmaringen (district)

Life

See also

Sources