Cäsar Horn (18 May 1914 – 19 March 1945) was a German

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

against

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

Biography

Horn, a clerk, was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He joined both the

Young Communist League of Germany The Young Communist League of Germany (, abbreviated KJVD) was a political youth organization in Germany. History The KJVD was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth () of the Communist Party of Germany, A prior youth wing had been formed ...

(KJVD) and the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

(KPD) in 1932. He was also active in the workers' sports club "Fichte". After the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

came to power in 1933, Horn joined the underground resistance and was active in the publication of an illegal newspaper, ''Der Scheinwerfer''. In 1934, Horn joined the

Reich Labour Service The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate ...

in order to provide a cover for his resistance activities. Despite this, his membership in the illegal workers' sports association Kampfgemeinschaft für Rote Sporteinheit was discovered in 1935. Horn was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, which he served in

Moabit Moabit () is an inner city locality in the boroughs of Berlin, borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany. As of 2022, about 84,000 people lived in Moabit. First inhabited in 1685 and incorporated into Berlin in 1861, the former industrial sector, industr ...

Prison in Berlin and Börgermoor concentration camp in

Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems (river), Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer (district), Leer, Cloppenburg (district), Cloppenbur ...

. After his release, Horn continued his resistance activities. Horn was conscripted into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

in 1939. In 1943, he established contacts with the

Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization The Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization was an underground German resistance movement acting during the Second World War, that published the illegal magazine, ''Die Innere Front'' ("The Internal Front"). In the 1940s, the Communist Party of German ...

, a resistance group. He was tasked with spreading anti-fascist messages amongst Wehrmacht soldiers, encouraging them to desert and join the anti-Nazi resistance instead. On 19 July 1944, Horn was arrested, and on 23 January 1945 he was tried by the People's Court and sentenced to death. He was executed by guillotine on 19 March 1945 in

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horn, Cäsar 1914 births 1945 deaths Communist Party of Germany politicians Communists in the German Resistance Executed communists in the German Resistance German Army personnel of World War II People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine People from Berlin executed by Nazi Germany Börgermoor concentration camp survivors Reich Labour Service members People executed by Nazi courts Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization