Bruno Tesch (antifascist)
Encyclopedia
Bruno Guido Camillo Tesch (22 April 1913 - 1 August 1933) was a German antifascist and member of the Young Communist League of Germany. Aged 20, he was convicted of murder and executed in connection with the Altona
Bloody Sunday (Altonaer Blutsonntag) riot, an SA
march on 17 July 1932 that turned violent and led to 18 people being shot and killed. His conviction was overturned in November 1992.
to an Italian mother, Tesch spent his childhood in Italy before moving to live with his stepfather in Hamburg
in 1925, where he was an apprentice plumber
. Finding himself unemployed after his apprenticeship
was over, he entered the Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst (FAD), or Volunteer Work Service. Politically radical, he joined the Socialist Worker Youth (Sozialistische Arbeiterjugend) in 1930, but soon switched to the Young Communist League of Germany
(Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands).
(Nazis) through a working-class area in Altona. Arguments and shoving escalated, culminating in gunfire that killed two SA members and 16 others, the latter group likely by uncontrolled police gunfire. Tesch, who was involved in the violence, was later alleged to have fired shots in the incident.
After the Nazis seized power
, the case was brought before the Nazi Special Court (Sondergerichte
) in Altona. Although the investigation turned up no solid proof of Tesch's guilt, and it could not be proved that Tesch had brought a weapon to the demonstration, he was nonetheless sentenced to death along with Walter Möller, Karl Wolff and August Lütgens. When Hermann Göring
refused to commute the sentences of the four, on 1 August 1933, in the courthouse courtyard – now home to Altona's Local Court – they were beheaded. These were the first executions in the Third Reich.
's 1947 book The Axe of Wandsbek was written about Altona Bloody Sunday and was subsequently filmed in East Germany in 1951 (and, again, in West Germany in 1981). In East Germany, a school in Klausdorf
as well as a street in Wismar
were named after Bruno Tesch. Despite political resistance, a former comprehensive school
in Hamburg-Altona was named after Bruno Tesch.
All those sentenced to death had their convictions overturned on 13 November 1992 by the Hamburg State Court. Further sentences meted out by the Sondergericht in connection with the Altonaer Blutsonntag were reversed on 21 June 1996 and 29 June 1998.
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
Bloody Sunday (Altonaer Blutsonntag) riot, an SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
march on 17 July 1932 that turned violent and led to 18 people being shot and killed. His conviction was overturned in November 1992.
Life
Born in KielKiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
to an Italian mother, Tesch spent his childhood in Italy before moving to live with his stepfather in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in 1925, where he was an apprentice plumber
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
. Finding himself unemployed after his apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
was over, he entered the Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst (FAD), or Volunteer Work Service. Politically radical, he joined the Socialist Worker Youth (Sozialistische Arbeiterjugend) in 1930, but soon switched to the Young Communist League of Germany
Young Communist League of Germany
The Young Communist League of Germany was a political youth organization in Germany. It was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth of the Communist Party of Germany, which itself was formed in October 1918, with support from the Spartacus League . The KJVD was created in 1925...
(Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands).
Altona Bloody Sunday
On 17 July 1932, later known in German history as the Altonaer Blutsonntag, some Communists, with Tesch among them, tried to disrupt a march by the National SocialistsNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
(Nazis) through a working-class area in Altona. Arguments and shoving escalated, culminating in gunfire that killed two SA members and 16 others, the latter group likely by uncontrolled police gunfire. Tesch, who was involved in the violence, was later alleged to have fired shots in the incident.
After the Nazis seized power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
, the case was brought before the Nazi Special Court (Sondergerichte
Sondergerichte
A Sondergericht was a Nazi "special court." After taking power in 1933, the Nazis quickly moved to remove internal opposition to the Nazi regime in Germany. The legal system became one of many tools for this aim and the Nazis gradually supplanted the normal justice system with political courts...
) in Altona. Although the investigation turned up no solid proof of Tesch's guilt, and it could not be proved that Tesch had brought a weapon to the demonstration, he was nonetheless sentenced to death along with Walter Möller, Karl Wolff and August Lütgens. When Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
refused to commute the sentences of the four, on 1 August 1933, in the courthouse courtyard – now home to Altona's Local Court – they were beheaded. These were the first executions in the Third Reich.
Memorials and acquittal
Arnold ZweigArnold Zweig
Arnold Zweig was a German writer and anti-war activist.He is best known for his World War I tetralogy.-Life and work:Zweig was born in Glogau, Silesia son of a Jewish saddler...
's 1947 book The Axe of Wandsbek was written about Altona Bloody Sunday and was subsequently filmed in East Germany in 1951 (and, again, in West Germany in 1981). In East Germany, a school in Klausdorf
Klausdorf
Klausdorf is a former municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km northwest of Plön, and 5 km east of Kiel. On 1 March 2008, it was merged with Raisdorf to form the town Schwentinental....
as well as a street in Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
were named after Bruno Tesch. Despite political resistance, a former comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in Hamburg-Altona was named after Bruno Tesch.
All those sentenced to death had their convictions overturned on 13 November 1992 by the Hamburg State Court. Further sentences meted out by the Sondergericht in connection with the Altonaer Blutsonntag were reversed on 21 June 1996 and 29 June 1998.
See also
- The Condemned of AltonaThe Condemned of AltonaThe Condemned of Altona is a play written by Jean-Paul Sartre, known in Great Britain as Loser Wins. It was first produced in 1959 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. It was one of the last plays Sartre wrote, followed only by his adaptation of Euripides' The Trojan Women...
: a play written by Jean-Paul Sartre, known in Great Britain as Loser Wins.
External links
- Biography at German Resistance Memorial Center
- Biography at Stolpersteine Hamburg (in German)
- Biography (in German)
- Urteil aufgehoben / Media report 1998 (in German)