Walter Küchenmeister (9 January 1897 – 13 May 1943) was a German machine technician, journalist, editor, writer 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 the Nazi regime. Küchenmeister was a member of the anti-fascist resistance group, that was later called the
Red Orchestra by the
Abwehr
The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...
. Küchenmeister was notable for being part of the close group that constituted the
Schulze-Boysen group of individuals.
Life
Küchenmeister was the son of a
shoemaker
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...
. After leaving elementary school, as a young man he worked ironworker and a miner, eventually gaining an
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...
as a
turner
Turner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name
*One who uses a lathe for tur ...
.
In 1911, Küchenmeister became involved in the youth committee of the
Metal Workers Union.
Küchenmeister married Anna Auguste Küchenmeister
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Lasnowski in Ahlen in 1926. They had two sons from the marriage,
Rainer Küchenmeister who was born in 1926 and who would later be an artist and university
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
and
Claus Küchenmeister who was born in 1930 and was a writer.
Küchenmeister mother had died in an air raid.
Career
In 1917 he volunteered to become a sailor the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and on 3 November 1918 was part of the
Kiel mutiny
The Kiel mutiny () was a revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet against the Seekriegsleitung, maritime military command in Kiel. The mutiny broke out on 3 November 1918 when some of the ships' crews refused to sail out from Wilhelmshav ...
. At the end of the first world war he joined the
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...
.
In 1920, he became a
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 joined 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 1921 he was promoted to a KPD party functionary, an
Ortsgruppenleiter
''Ortsgruppenleiter'' (Local Group Leader) was a Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, Nazi Party political rank and title which existed between 1930 and 1945. The term first came into being during the German elections of 1930, and was held by t ...
for the town of
Ahlen
Ahlen (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Aulen'') is a Town#Germany, town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 30 km southeast of Münster. Ahlen is part of the Warendorf (district), District of Warendorf and is economically the most impo ...
.During the same year, Küchenmeister started work as an editor on the
Westphalia
Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
n
Arbeiterzeitung (Workers Party), that was considered one of the most radical
social-democratic
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...
newspapers in Germany.
He also edited the communist newspaper, the
Ruhr Echo in
Essen
Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...
, a position he held until 1926.
In 1926 he was expelled from the KPD for non-
proletarian
The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist philo ...
behaviour and was suspected of being a police informer and
embezzler
Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
and this stigmatized his position as an orthodox communist, making him seen by his peer group as a traitor and ex-comrade.
To earn a living he became an advertiser and freelance writer. In the six years that followed he wrote a biography of the German
preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...
and
radical
Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century
*Radical politics ...
theologian
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was f ...
and the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
and
woodcarver
Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...
Tilman Riemenschneider
Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German wood carving, woodcarver and sculptor active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Gothic art, Late Gothi ...
.
In 1929, Küchenmeister and his wife Annie moved to
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 ...
with their son Rainer and where their second son Claus Küchenmeister was born.
In Berlin he collaborated with the political journalist
Karl Otto Paetel and
National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism, whose supporters are known as National Bolsheviks and colloquially as Nazbols, is a syncretic political movement committed to combining ultranationalism and Bolshevik communism.
History and origins In Germany
Natio ...
group.
Between 1933 and 1934 Küchenmeister was twice jailed, including a 9-month jail sentence spent in
Sonnenburg concentration camp
The Sonnenburg concentration camp () was a Nazi German concentration camp, that was opened on 3 April 1933 in Sonnenburg (now Słońsk in Poland) in a former prison, on the initiative of the Free State of Prussia Ministry of the Interior and Just ...
where he was infected by a
stomach ulcer
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical terms re ...
and
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
being released early as an invalid.
After his release he continued to work as a political writer. In 1935 Küchenmeister worked on the underground resistance newspaper ''Wille zum Reich'' along with
Werner Dissel.

In 1935, Küchenmeister joined the
resistance group in Berlin that was run by
Harro Schulze-Boysen. Küchenmeister had known Schulze-Boysen since 1930,
but had been reintroduced to him through Schumacher, sometime during 1935. Küchenmeister very quickly became an important member of the group working as a writer. He was tasked with writing the content for the production of leaflets and pamphlets for the resistance group. This was often mixed with additional content from KPD sources. He also collaborated in producing the leaflets, as well as organising fundraising amongst friends and collaborators to raise money to help political prisoners and provide political education to Berlin students.
In 1936 Küchenmeister, by now an invalid was receiving medical treatment for his tuberculosis from
Elfriede Paul, a physician from Harburg who was also a communist and who had a medical practice at 63A Sächsischen Straße in
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf () is an inner-city locality of Berlin which lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf following Berlin's 2001 admin ...
.
Kurt Schumacher
Curt Ernst Carl Schumacher, better known as Kurt Schumacher (13 October 1895 – 20 August 1952), was a German politician and resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1946 and the fir ...
a sculptor from
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
had known Elfriede Paul from about 1923 and it was through him that Küchenmeister has been introduced to her. During 1936 and 1937, Küchenmeister and Paul had become good friends and subsequently, in March 1937 Küchenmeister abandoned his wife and moved in with Elfriede Paul who would intensively take-up the education of Küchenmeister's two sons.
In 1937
Gisela von Pöllnitz was arrested by the Gestapo and the resistance group fearing discovery and arrest, temporarily disbanded. Küchenmeister travelled to
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
to be close to the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
border, in case he had to flee across the border but the group's fears were unfounded as Pöllnitz was released after a few months without giving up any details of the group. In 1937 and 1938 Küchenmeister continued his resistance activities. For example, in October 1938 Küchenmeister together with Schulze-Boysen wrote the leaflet entitled ''Der Stoßtrupp'' ''The Shock Troop'' for the imminent affiliation of the
Sudetenland
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
.
Around 50 copies were
mimeograph
A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator or stencil machine) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a co ...
ed and distributed.
By April 1939 Küchenmeister's tuberculosis has advanced so much that Paul advised him to attend a
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence.
Sanatoriums are often in a health ...
, recommending alpine air. Paul had obtained a guarantee of a cure for Küchenmeister and hoped he would recover completely. Both Küchenmeister, Paul and the Schumacher's travelled to
Leysin
Leysin is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in the Aigle (district), Aigle district of Switzerland. It is first mentioned around 1231–32 as ''Leissins'', in 1352 as ''Leisins''.
Located ...
in Switzerland, finding the trip to be less suffocating than the Berlin under Nazi rule. The trip had a secondary agenda in that the small group were sent to meet the German actor, theatre and film director
Wolfgang Langhoff,
who represented the
KPD in exile. The meeting did not go as planned as the KPD members were scattered to the wind due to Nazi purges and less inclined to listen to the message offered by the group of building and reactivating mass protests and building up their factory and regional bases. Indeed, they were dismissive of the group, calling them ''Ideologically dubious''.
The fact that Küchenmeister has been expelled from the KPD in 1926 didn't help the argument. After returning to Germany, Paul attempted a second trip June along with
Gisela von Pöllnitz who also had tuberculosis, but this was also a failure.
Küchenmeister stayed in Switzerland for seven months receiving treatment at the sanatorium in Leysin. Elfriede Paul wrote to Kuchenmeister five times over the seven months.
While he was based in Switzerland, Küchenmeister had extensive contact with
Fritz Sperling, one of the founders of the
Free-Germany Movement
The Free-Germany Movement () was a movement of German exiled opponents to the rule of Adolf Hitler during the Second World War. The movement was led by Otto Strasser.
Founding
The Free-Germany Movement was founded on January 30, 1941 (the 8th an ...
the section head of the ''Southern'' section of the KPD. Sperling maintained contact with Paul, reporting the slow progress of his treatment.
In early 1940, Küchenmeister returned to Germany to continue his resistance activities. In October and November 1940, Schulze-Boysen in conversation with the economist
Arvid Harnack
Arvid Harnack (; 24 May 1901 – 22 December 1942) was a German jurist, Marxist economist, Communist, and German resistance fighter in Nazi Germany. Harnack came from an intellectual family and was originally a humanist. He was strongly influen ...
who also ran a resistance organisation in Berlin and the journalist
Adam Kuckhoff
Adam Kuckhoff (, 30 August 1887 – 5 August 1943) was a German writer, journalist, and German resistance to Nazism, German resistance member of the anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra (espionage), Red Orchestra ...
about information sheets that he prepared weekly on the situation in Germany, his connections in Germany and the leaflets that he received from those connections.
Harnack had known Schulze-Boysen since 1935 or 1936, but each did not know the full extent of the other's network. In that conversation, Küchenmeister and Paul's names were mentioned. The Harnack organisation were suspicious of Küchenmeister, believing him to be a Gestapo agent or possibly watched by the Gestapo. They believed that as he had already been jailed he could have been possibly turned, but it was
Wilhelm Guddorf who considered himself the only representative in the KPD group, who made the strongest argument and demanded of Schulze-Boysen that all ties with Küchenmeister and Paul be broken. Schulze-Boysen wasn't impressed with Guddorf's argument and instead consolidated his friendship with both Küchenmeister and Paul and at the time began to soften his relationship with
Kurt Schumacher
Curt Ernst Carl Schumacher, better known as Kurt Schumacher (13 October 1895 – 20 August 1952), was a German politician and resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1946 and the fir ...
.
Küchenmeister continued to resist the Nazi state in the next two years as a core member of the Schulze-Boysen group up until his arrest.
Death
Küchenmeister and Paul were arrested on 16 September 1942. On 6 February 1943 Küchenmeister was sentenced to death by the 2nd Senate of the
Imperial War Court for belonging to the resistance organisation, the
Red Orchestra. Küchenmeister was executed on 13 May 1943 in
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison (, JVA Plötzensee) is a men's prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The detention centre established in 1868 has a lon ...
in Berlin.
The 2nd senate of the Reichskriegsgericht sentenced Paul on 6 February 1943 to six years in prison for ''preparation for high treason''.
Due to the German idea that the family shares responsibility for a crime, known as
Sippenhaft
''Sippenhaft'' or ''Sippenhaftung'' (, ''kin liability'') is a German term for the idea that a family or clan shares the responsibility for a crime or act committed by one of its members, justifying collective punishment. As a legal principle, it ...
, Küchenmeister son Rainer felt the brunt of Sippenhaft as he was jailed by the Nazis until the end of the war.
He was sent to
Moringen concentration camp Three concentration camps operated in succession in Moringen, Lower Saxony, from April 1933 to April 1945. ''KZ Moringen'', established in the centre of the town on site of former 19th century workhouses (), originally housed mostly male political i ...
and in March 1945, he was conscripted into
strafbataillon, a penal battalion and survived the war. Rainer was perhaps the last person of the resistance to see Harro Schulze-Boysen alive, when he was being dragged past his cell window with both his hands heavily bandaged after screws were driven in each finger by the Gestapo. His other son Claus had managed to flee to Switzerland and evade capture.
Film
After the war, Walter Küchenmeister's son Claus and his wife Wera decided to make a documentary about their father. They started to conduct interviews with former members of the
Red Orchestra and when the East German
Ministry of State Security's Department of Agitation heard about the project they provided access to their archives and provided previously undisclosed materials. No documentary was actually made, instead a full feature film was commissioned called ''
KLK Calling PTZ – The Red Orchestra
''KLK Calling PTZ – The Red Orchestra'' (alternate title: ''KLK To PTX – The Red Band''; German language, German: ''KLK an PTX – Die Rote Kapelle'') is a 1971 East German film about the history of the Red Orchestra (espionage), Red Orchestra ...
''
''KLK Calling PTZ'' is the initial
wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using electrical cable, cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimenta ...
calling sequence that was used by members of the Red Orchestra when they needed to transmit information to Soviet intelligence.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuchenmeister, Walter
1897 births
1943 deaths
Executed Red Orchestra members
Executed communists in the German Resistance
People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison
People from Waldheim, Saxony
German political writers
Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I
Mutineers