Albert Hensel
Encyclopedia
Albert Hensel. He along with numerous other German resistance fighters were executed by the Nazis. Hensel was a member of the Communist Party of Germany
. He was born in Dresden
where he and fellow communist members began their work against the Nazi regime. The resistance believed in the promotion of communism and the elimination of a capitalist society.
(KPD) after the Reichstag fire
on February 23, 1933. The fire was started by Marinus van der Lubbe
who was accused of being one of many communist agitators; however, a trial in March 1933 determined van der Lubbe acted alone. The Reichstag fire caused Hitler to create the Enabling Act which removed habeas corpus
and many other civil liberties, providing Hitler with dictatorial control over Germany. Hitler quickly established a plan to execute any person who was working against the Nazi party and twice extended the act beyond its initial 1937 expiration. The Enabling Act
also allowed Hitler to rule that all competing political parties of the Nazi regime were illegal. Albert Hensel and his co-conspirators did not have the strength to outwardly fight against Hitler, so they took a secretive approach to resisting. The German police were secretive in their counter efforts as well. The resisters were often not well received by the German populace and had to also hide their actions from them in fear of the citizens informing the police of their actions.
published a booklet in 1934 titled, “We are Fighting for a Soviet Germany”. That publication and the regular printing of a KPD
newspaper, reasoned that the elimination of capitalism would erase religions and the hatred of religions including anti-Semitism.
Hensel would also join the Red Front
or Rotfrontkämpferbund
(RFB, other variants: Der Rote Frontkämpferbund, Roter Frontkämpferbund) (English: Red Front Fighters' League, Red Front Fighters Association) a paramilitary organization of the Communist Party of Germany, created on July 18, 1924 in Germany of the Weimar Republic
period. Its first leader was Ernst Thälmann
. The Red Front was banned in 1932.
The Dresden
activists represented a small minority of the KPD
included, Wilhelm Firl (journalist), Otto Gale (cobbler), Franz Hoffman, Kurt Schlosser
, and Herbert Blcohwitz (carpenters), Arno Lade (team conductor), Franz Latzel (metal worker), Hans Rothbarth (textile worker), and Hans Daukner (Jewish Gardner).
members were predominately made up of the unemployed. Many of its members relied on the group for food, clothing, and housing which may have caused some to become members. The organization promised to pay its members for battling the German Nazis but likely were unable to provide any financial support. The KPD
gained significant political power in Germany through the support of Hensel and its other members. At its height in 1933, the KPD
held 1/6 of the seats in the German congress. Hensel helped establish the Communist Party of Germany
along with Karl Stein
, Fritz Shulze and his wife Eva Schulze Knabe, Arno Lade, and Hans Rothbarth were residents of Dresden
and all were opponents of the Nazis. Many of them were convicted of treason by the Volksgerichtshof and eventually executed.
. Hensel was arrested on February 6, 1941 and remained in custody at Plotzensee
for over fourteen months. He was executed on June 5, 1942 at Plotzensee Prison
in Berlin
after being
tried and convicted by the Volksgerichtshof. Hensel was executed by either hanging or beheading on June 5, 1942. The cottage where the executions took place is still standing.
Plotzensee
is still operating in Germany
. After World War II
, the prison was used to house juvenile delinquents until 1987 when the juveniles were housed in a newly built facility nearby. After the juveniles were moved, the prison has been used as a men’s prison which still remains in operation.
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
. He was born in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
where he and fellow communist members began their work against the Nazi regime. The resistance believed in the promotion of communism and the elimination of a capitalist society.
Communism and the Reichstag Fire
Hitler became agitated by the Communist Party of GermanyCommunist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD) after the Reichstag fire
Reichstag fire
The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany....
on February 23, 1933. The fire was started by Marinus van der Lubbe
Marinus van der Lubbe
Marinus van der Lubbe was a Dutch council communist convicted of, and controversially executed for, setting fire to the German Reichstag building on February 27, 1933, an event known as the Reichstag fire. ....
who was accused of being one of many communist agitators; however, a trial in March 1933 determined van der Lubbe acted alone. The Reichstag fire caused Hitler to create the Enabling Act which removed habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
and many other civil liberties, providing Hitler with dictatorial control over Germany. Hitler quickly established a plan to execute any person who was working against the Nazi party and twice extended the act beyond its initial 1937 expiration. The Enabling Act
Enabling Act
The Enabling Act was passed by Germany's Reichstag and signed by President Paul von Hindenburg on 23 March 1933. It was the second major step, after the Reichstag Fire Decree, through which Chancellor Adolf Hitler legally obtained plenary powers and established his dictatorship...
also allowed Hitler to rule that all competing political parties of the Nazi regime were illegal. Albert Hensel and his co-conspirators did not have the strength to outwardly fight against Hitler, so they took a secretive approach to resisting. The German police were secretive in their counter efforts as well. The resisters were often not well received by the German populace and had to also hide their actions from them in fear of the citizens informing the police of their actions.
The Resistance
Most of the resistance’s actions involved industrial sabotage or publications that spoke of overthrowing Hitler and his government while promoting an anti-capitalist state. The KPDCommunist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
published a booklet in 1934 titled, “We are Fighting for a Soviet Germany”. That publication and the regular printing of a KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
newspaper, reasoned that the elimination of capitalism would erase religions and the hatred of religions including anti-Semitism.
Hensel would also join the Red Front
Red Front
Red Front was a socialist electoral coalition in the United Kingdom which stood candidates in the 1987 general election.Its main component was the Revolutionary Communist Party of Frank Furedi, while it also attracted the support of the tiny Revolutionary Democratic Group, Red Action and a few...
or Rotfrontkämpferbund
Rotfrontkämpferbund
Rotfrontkämpferbund was a paramilitary organization of the Communist Party of Germany created on 18 July 1924 during the Weimar Republic. Its first leader was Ernst Thälmann...
(RFB, other variants: Der Rote Frontkämpferbund, Roter Frontkämpferbund) (English: Red Front Fighters' League, Red Front Fighters Association) a paramilitary organization of the Communist Party of Germany, created on July 18, 1924 in Germany of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
period. Its first leader was Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot in Buchenwald on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944...
. The Red Front was banned in 1932.
The Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
activists represented a small minority of the KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
included, Wilhelm Firl (journalist), Otto Gale (cobbler), Franz Hoffman, Kurt Schlosser
Kurt Schlosser
Kurt Schlosser was German cabinet-maker, climber, and an active Communist.During his training in cabinet making, he lost an arm...
, and Herbert Blcohwitz (carpenters), Arno Lade (team conductor), Franz Latzel (metal worker), Hans Rothbarth (textile worker), and Hans Daukner (Jewish Gardner).
Members of the Resistance
The KPDCommunist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
members were predominately made up of the unemployed. Many of its members relied on the group for food, clothing, and housing which may have caused some to become members. The organization promised to pay its members for battling the German Nazis but likely were unable to provide any financial support. The KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
gained significant political power in Germany through the support of Hensel and its other members. At its height in 1933, the KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
held 1/6 of the seats in the German congress. Hensel helped establish the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
along with Karl Stein
Karl Stein
Karl Stein may refer to:*Karl Stein *Karl Stein , eponym of Stein manifold...
, Fritz Shulze and his wife Eva Schulze Knabe, Arno Lade, and Hans Rothbarth were residents of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and all were opponents of the Nazis. Many of them were convicted of treason by the Volksgerichtshof and eventually executed.
Plotzensee Prison
Hensel was one of over 2500 executions that took place at Plotzensee PrisonPlötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
. Hensel was arrested on February 6, 1941 and remained in custody at Plotzensee
Plötzensee
Plötzensee is a small glacial lake in Berlin. It is situated near the Rehberge public park in the former borough of Wedding, now a part of Mitte. The name stems from Plötze, one name for the roach in German, as the lake formerly teemed with it....
for over fourteen months. He was executed on June 5, 1942 at Plotzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
after being
tried and convicted by the Volksgerichtshof. Hensel was executed by either hanging or beheading on June 5, 1942. The cottage where the executions took place is still standing.
Plotzensee
Plötzensee
Plötzensee is a small glacial lake in Berlin. It is situated near the Rehberge public park in the former borough of Wedding, now a part of Mitte. The name stems from Plötze, one name for the roach in German, as the lake formerly teemed with it....
is still operating in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the prison was used to house juvenile delinquents until 1987 when the juveniles were housed in a newly built facility nearby. After the juveniles were moved, the prison has been used as a men’s prison which still remains in operation.