Hilde Meisel
Encyclopedia
Hilde Meisel was a German socialist and journalist who published articles against the Nazi regime in Germany. While in exile
in England, she wrote under the pseudonym
Hilda Monte, calling for German resistance
to Nazism
in magazines, books and in radio broadcasts. She acted as a courier and repeatedly undertook secret operations in Germany, Austria, France and Portugal, although as a social democrat
and Jew, it was extremely dangerous for her to do so. Other code names she used in exile were Hilde Olday, Selma Trier, Helen Harriman, Eva Schneider, H. Monte, Hilda Monte and Hilde Monte.
. With hostilities breaking out that resulted in the start of World War I
, the family moved back to Berlin
in 1915. They had previously lived there and her older sister had been born there in 1912. Meisel's father exported and imported household goods for a living.
According to the Berlin address book, her parents lived in Berlin from 1915 until 1936. Meisel suffered with a physical problem until puberty, necessitating frequent trips with her mother to Switzerland. In 1924, Meisel and her sister, Margot joined a German-Jewish youth group with socialist revolutionary ideas, called the Shwarze Haufen, which was part of the liberal German-Jewish Wanderbund-Kamaraden. Margot became friendly with the leader of the group, Max Fürst
and Hans Litten
, his childhood friend and the ideological head of the group. Margot later became Fürst's wife and Litten's secretary. After Litten's arrest by the Gestapo
, as his secretary, she was able to maintain contact with him for a time; she worked tirelessly to secure his freedom.
Meisel attended the Berlin Lyceum from 1924 to 1929. She then went to England, where her uncle, the conductor and composer Edmund Meisel
, was then living and working in London
. That same year, she undertook her first activities with the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
(ISK), a socialist group that split from the SPD
during the Weimar Republic
and was active in the fight against Nazism
. The ISK established its own press, Der Funke in 1932 and Meisel contributed a number of articles, writing about the economic problems in France, England and Spain. In 1932, Meisel also began studying art in London.
and Meisel began getting active with the German Resistance
. In 1934, she interrupted her art studies and began taking courses in national economy at the London School of Economics
. She also began publishing numerous articles on economics.
Meisel became active with the ISK established friendships with political contacts in different countries. Writing under the pseudonym "Hilda Monte", she brought like-minded comrades in Germany information. She also acted as a courier and smuggled literature into Germany and helped those under threat by the Gestapo
to escape from Germany. Meisel also wrote for Sozialistiche Warte, an exile publication of the ISK, writing primarily about problems with the economy.
As the situation with Litten deteriorated when he went to Dachau concentration camp in October 1937, Meisel began to work intensively to secure his release. She corresponded with other supporters and arranged to publish an article in the Manchester Guardian on January 26, 1938, "In Dachau Camp. The Tragic Case of Hans Litten". These efforts were without success; Litten committed suicide just days later on February 5, 1938.
To avoid being deported, Meisel entered into a marriage of convenience
with the English caricaturist and cartoonist
John Olday in 1938. In so doing, she became a "British subject by marriage", allowing her to carry out her work in England more easily and Meisel developed a busy career as a journalist, writing articles for The Vanguard, Socialistische Warte, Left News
and Tribune
.
published How to conquer Hitler
– A Plan of Economic and Moral Warfare of the Nazi Home Front. It is believed that the greater portion was written by Eberhard.
In order for her name to be pronounced properly by English-speaking readers, Meisel modified the spelling of her name from Hilde to Hilda. In her German manuscripts, however, she continued to use the original spelling. On occasion, because of circumstances where there was fear about using her real name, it was abbreviated or she used "Hilda Olday".
Fritz Eberhard mentioned his association with Meisel in exile in England.
" radio station. Called the Sender der europäischen Revolution ("European Revolution Broadcasting Station"), it first went on the air October 7, 1940.
After the Gillies Committee was dissolved in 1941, she continued working till 1943 with the unionist Walter Auerbach, the lawyer Otto Kahn-Freund
and Eberhard to form a discussion group that would work in the fight against National Socialism in Germany.
On assignment by the Minister of Economic Warfare
, Hilde Meisel worked with the Central European Joint Committee, which was set up by émigrés to Great Britain to for propaganda and to analyze news and information coming from Germany.
and proceeded from the idea that not all Germans were Nazis."
, Minna Specht
, Walter Auerbach, Werner Burmeister, Fritz Eberhard and Otto Kahn-Freund to establish the German Education Reconstruction, a project of the "Union of German Socialist Organisations in Great Britain
" launched to plan and prepare a reorganization of the system of education and upbringing in postwar Germany.
Founded in spring 1941 at the request of the British Labour Party, the Union was a consortium of German Socialist refugees from several German political parties, Sopade
, the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
, Neu Beginnen
and the ISK
. They set themselves to work on the downfall of the Hitlerian system and to work with the Allies to defeat Hitler. They also discussed the conditions and work of a future united socialist party in Germany, exchanging ideas on a common objective so as not to repeat the mistakes of the Weimar Republic in a democratic, postwar Germany.
One surviving radio manuscript, written in mid-December 1942, deals with the murder of European Jews.
, but left the project because of differences of opinion.
Her ideas and comprehensive approaches to the economic integration of Europe were then published in her own book, "The Unity of Europe". Among other topics, it covered the economic requirements of a postwar Europe. Many German university students have written their diplom
theses using this book.
Both books were published in 1943. The "Sozialistische Mitteilungen: News for German Socialists in England" wrote,
(OSS), who were looking for some 200 agents to obtain military and political news from Germany. The OSS held several training programs for the participants in a small private house outside of London. The teachers were members of the U.S. Army, including several immigrants. The participants were briefed on practical aspects of everyday life in Nazi Germany, such ration cards
, how to acquire an apartment and other bureaucratic requirements they'd need to navigate in order to find work. At the end of the course, they were trained in skydiving
. Because the pending trips were secret, they were forbidden to talk to their friends about their plans.
In September 1944, Meisel and Anna Beyer flew to France
. The original plan was for them to be dropped near Lyon
, but there were skirmishes in the area, so they were dropped in Thonon-les-Bains
, near Lake Geneva
, in a meadow used as a landing field by British intelligence.
They were transported by French farmers in an old open wagon to an unused tunnel, where they were met by an English officer. He helped them reach Thonon-les-Bains, where they stayed four weeks, until they were picked up by Rene Bertholet. Surreptitiously, they crossed the border into Switzerland
and went to Zurich
, where they were given new identification documents and went with Hanna Bertholet to a meeting of the group in Geneva
, centered around Willem Adolf Visser 't Hooft.
Shortly thereafter, Meisel and Beyer traveled to the Ticino
Alps near Intragna, Switzerland
. The Bertholets maintained a weekend home there, called "Al Forno", which was used by emigrants as a residence. In autumn 1944, zwangsarbeiter (forced laborers) began trying to escape Germany by swimming their way to Switzerland, so the Germans, attempting to stanch the escape route, sealed off the border to Switzerland.
Near the end of the war, Meisel, Beyer, Hanna Bertholet and Anne Kapius received an invitation from the American headquarters in Bern to discuss returning to Germany to engage in acts of sabotage, but they declined. A little later, Meisel made contact with Karl Gerold, who later became editor of the Frankfurter Rundschau
, to establish Austrian resistance groups in Ticino.
On April 17, 1945, while trying to cross the border illegally from Germany into Switzerland, Meisel was shot by an SS
patrol in Tisis
near Feldkirch
. Shot in the thigh, she bled to death while still on the border.
and Hilda-Monte-Weg in the Bergedorf quarter
of Hamburg. There is a memorial dedicated to Meisel in Feldkirch
and a stolperstein for her (in her pen name, Hilda Monte), in Berlin (see photo, above). There is a permanent display about Hilde Meisel at the Jewish Museum In Hohenems
, Austria, not far from where she was born.
Much of what is known about Meisel's life in England came from her husband, whose recollections were embellished. In 1946, she was identified as the mastermind behind the 1939 Bürgerbräukeller
assassination attempt on Hitler's life, though convincing evidence of this is unverifiable.
As Hilda Monte:
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in England, she wrote under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Hilda Monte, calling for German resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
in magazines, books and in radio broadcasts. She acted as a courier and repeatedly undertook secret operations in Germany, Austria, France and Portugal, although as a social democrat
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and Jew, it was extremely dangerous for her to do so. Other code names she used in exile were Hilde Olday, Selma Trier, Helen Harriman, Eva Schneider, H. Monte, Hilda Monte and Hilde Monte.
Early political influences
Meisel was born to Rosa and Ernst Meisel, the younger of two daughters in a middle-class, German Jewish family in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. With hostilities breaking out that resulted in the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the family moved back to 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...
in 1915. They had previously lived there and her older sister had been born there in 1912. Meisel's father exported and imported household goods for a living.
According to the Berlin address book, her parents lived in Berlin from 1915 until 1936. Meisel suffered with a physical problem until puberty, necessitating frequent trips with her mother to Switzerland. In 1924, Meisel and her sister, Margot joined a German-Jewish youth group with socialist revolutionary ideas, called the Shwarze Haufen, which was part of the liberal German-Jewish Wanderbund-Kamaraden. Margot became friendly with the leader of the group, Max Fürst
Max Fürst
Max Fürst was a German author. He wrote about his boyhood in Königsberg and his friendship with Hans Litten.- Publications :...
and Hans Litten
Hans Litten
Hans Achim Litten was a German lawyer who represented opponents of the Nazis at important political trials between 1929 and 1932, defending the rights of workers during the Weimar Republic. During one trial in 1931, Litten subpoenaed Adolf Hitler, to appear as a witness, where Litten then...
, his childhood friend and the ideological head of the group. Margot later became Fürst's wife and Litten's secretary. After Litten's arrest by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, as his secretary, she was able to maintain contact with him for a time; she worked tirelessly to secure his freedom.
Meisel attended the Berlin Lyceum from 1924 to 1929. She then went to England, where her uncle, the conductor and composer Edmund Meisel
Edmund Meisel
Edmund Meisel was an Austrian-born composer. He wrote the score to Walter Ruttmann's Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis , The Battleship Potemkin , and other films of Sergei Eisenstein. Meisel was one of the more important and pioneering figures in film music...
, was then living and working in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. That same year, she undertook her first activities with the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
The Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund was a socialist split-off from the SPD during the Weimar Republic and was active in the German Resistance against Nazism.- History :...
(ISK), a socialist group that split from the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
during 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...
and was active in the fight against Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. The ISK established its own press, Der Funke in 1932 and Meisel contributed a number of articles, writing about the economic problems in France, England and Spain. In 1932, Meisel also began studying art in London.
Nazi era begins
In 1933, the Nazis seized powerMachtergreifung
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...
and Meisel began getting active with the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
. In 1934, she interrupted her art studies and began taking courses in national economy at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. She also began publishing numerous articles on economics.
Meisel became active with the ISK established friendships with political contacts in different countries. Writing under the pseudonym "Hilda Monte", she brought like-minded comrades in Germany information. She also acted as a courier and smuggled literature into Germany and helped those under threat by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
to escape from Germany. Meisel also wrote for Sozialistiche Warte, an exile publication of the ISK, writing primarily about problems with the economy.
As the situation with Litten deteriorated when he went to Dachau concentration camp in October 1937, Meisel began to work intensively to secure his release. She corresponded with other supporters and arranged to publish an article in the Manchester Guardian on January 26, 1938, "In Dachau Camp. The Tragic Case of Hans Litten". These efforts were without success; Litten committed suicide just days later on February 5, 1938.
To avoid being deported, Meisel entered into a marriage of convenience
Marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
with the English caricaturist and cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
John Olday in 1938. In so doing, she became a "British subject by marriage", allowing her to carry out her work in England more easily and Meisel developed a busy career as a journalist, writing articles for The Vanguard, Socialistische Warte, Left News
Left Book Club
The Left Book Club, founded in 1936, was a key left-wing institution of the late 1930s and 1940s in the United Kingdom set up by Stafford Cripps, Victor Gollancz and John Strachey to revitalise and educate the British Left. The Club's aim was to "help in the struggle For world peace and against...
and Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
.
How to conquer Hitler
Writing as Hilda Monte, Meisel and Fritz EberhardFritz Eberhard
Fritz Eberhard was a German journalist, anti-fascist and social democrat and fought in the German Resistance against Nazism. He was a member of the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund...
published How to conquer Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
– A Plan of Economic and Moral Warfare of the Nazi Home Front. It is believed that the greater portion was written by Eberhard.
In order for her name to be pronounced properly by English-speaking readers, Meisel modified the spelling of her name from Hilde to Hilda. In her German manuscripts, however, she continued to use the original spelling. On occasion, because of circumstances where there was fear about using her real name, it was abbreviated or she used "Hilda Olday".
Fritz Eberhard mentioned his association with Meisel in exile in England.
- The outbreak of the war was a turning point in my work in exile. I separated myself from the organization, from the ISK at that point. After that, I was not political, but rather worked with unions; so then, in England, I was a political loner. My admission ticket, to speak, to a more tolerable and fertile life in exile was a book, which I had written with Hilde Monte very soon after the war began because of previously ongoing preparations. She left Germany just one day before the outbreak of war, but had previously been in England.
- She had recently experienced the psychological situation of the population in Germany. This book, How to conquer Hitler, gave advice on the economic and psychological war against Hitler. This book had magnificent reviews; the book is a rarity, since most of the edition happened to be in a warehouse at the port when it was destroyed by Nazi bombs. Even if, as a result, the book never became very widespread, some important people did know of it, and so many doors opened for me.
Leaves the ISK
In autumn 1939, feeling that the ISK was not being militant enough against the Nazis, Meisel left the ISK along with Fritz Eberhard and Hans Lehnert (1899–1942). Even during the war, Meisel kept trying to go to Germany.Sender der europäischen Revolution
In early 1940, Meisel and Eberhard were appointed to be advisors with the Gillies Committee, under the direction of William Gillies. They were to develop concrete plans to set up a "black propagandaBlack propaganda
Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy...
" radio station. Called the Sender der europäischen Revolution ("European Revolution Broadcasting Station"), it first went on the air October 7, 1940.
After the Gillies Committee was dissolved in 1941, she continued working till 1943 with the unionist Walter Auerbach, the lawyer Otto Kahn-Freund
Otto Kahn-Freund
Sir Otto Kahn-Freund was professor of comparative law, University of Oxford, and a path breaking scholar in labour law.-Biography:...
and Eberhard to form a discussion group that would work in the fight against National Socialism in Germany.
On assignment by the Minister of Economic Warfare
Minister of Economic Warfare
The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. The minister was in charge of the Special Operations Executive.-Ministers of Economic Warfare 1939-1945:...
, Hilde Meisel worked with the Central European Joint Committee, which was set up by émigrés to Great Britain to for propaganda and to analyze news and information coming from Germany.
Help Germany to Revolt!
The booklet, Help Germany to Revolt! was published in 1942. It is the last book she wrote with Fritz Eberhard. About this project, Eberhard wrote, "On behalf of the Fabian Society, I wrote a small booklet with Hilda Monte, Help Germany to Revolt. It was written as a letter to the members of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and proceeded from the idea that not all Germans were Nazis."
German Educational Reconstruction
In 1942, Meisel worked with Fritz Borinski, Werner MilchWerner Milch
Dr. jur. Werner Milch In German a Doctor of Law is abbreviated as Dr. iur. or Dr. jur. . was a highly decorated Major der Reserve in the Fallschirmjäger during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, Minna Specht
Minna Specht
Minna Specht was a German educator, socialist and member of the German Resistance. She was one of the founders of the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund.- Early years :...
, Walter Auerbach, Werner Burmeister, Fritz Eberhard and Otto Kahn-Freund to establish the German Education Reconstruction, a project of the "Union of German Socialist Organisations in Great Britain
Union of German Socialist Organisations in Great Britain
The Union of German Socialist Organisations in Great Britain was the amalgamation of German socialist and social democratic oriented organizations of exiled Germans during World War II....
" launched to plan and prepare a reorganization of the system of education and upbringing in postwar Germany.
Founded in spring 1941 at the request of the British Labour Party, the Union was a consortium of German Socialist refugees from several German political parties, Sopade
Sopade
Sopade was the name of the exile organization of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . It operated in Prague from 1933 to 1938, from 1938 to 1940 in Paris and until 1945 in London....
, the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany was a political party in Germany. It was formed by a left-wing party with around 20,000 members which split off from the SPD in the autumn of 1931. In 1931 the remnants of USPD merged into the party, and in 1932 some Communist Party dissenters joined the...
, Neu Beginnen
Neu Beginnen
Neu Beginnen was a fringe opposition group on the socialist wing of SPD, which was greatly influenced by the ideas of Lenin. It was formed in 1929. After the Machtübernahme in 1933, the members of the small group discussed what the future of Germany should be after the National Socialist movement...
and the ISK
Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
The Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund was a socialist split-off from the SPD during the Weimar Republic and was active in the German Resistance against Nazism.- History :...
. They set themselves to work on the downfall of the Hitlerian system and to work with the Allies to defeat Hitler. They also discussed the conditions and work of a future united socialist party in Germany, exchanging ideas on a common objective so as not to repeat the mistakes of the Weimar Republic in a democratic, postwar Germany.
BBC
Meisel also appeared on the broadcasts of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) geared toward German workers, was worked with the education program of the British forces, and toward the end of the war, got involved again with the ISK group in London.One surviving radio manuscript, written in mid-December 1942, deals with the murder of European Jews.
- What is happening today in Poland, the cold-blooded extermination of the Jewish people, this is being done in your name, in the name of the German people. [...] Show evidence of your solidarity to these people, even if it requires courage - especially if it requires courage.
The Unity of Europe
Originally, Meisel worked on the book, The Next Germany. A Basis of Discussion on Peace in Europe with Walter Auerbach, Fritz Eberhard, Otto Kahn-Freund and Kurt MandelbaumKurt Mandelbaum
Kurt Mandelbaum was an economist well known for his pioneering contribution in the field of the economics of development.Kurt Mandelbaum was one of a group of emigre economists from Central Europe who played a large role in founding the discipline of development economics in the UK, during and...
, but left the project because of differences of opinion.
Her ideas and comprehensive approaches to the economic integration of Europe were then published in her own book, "The Unity of Europe". Among other topics, it covered the economic requirements of a postwar Europe. Many German university students have written their diplom
Diplom
A Diplom is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland , Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Ukraine...
theses using this book.
Both books were published in 1943. The "Sozialistische Mitteilungen: News for German Socialists in England" wrote,
- In a short chapter of her new book, The Unity of Europe (published by the Left Book ClubLeft Book ClubThe Left Book Club, founded in 1936, was a key left-wing institution of the late 1930s and 1940s in the United Kingdom set up by Stafford Cripps, Victor Gollancz and John Strachey to revitalise and educate the British Left. The Club's aim was to "help in the struggle For world peace and against...
), Hilda Monte debates the status of Germany in a new Europe; in principle, in the same sense as The Next Germany, published around the same time. Monte's highly readable book is rich in factual material and instructive discussion of the political and economic problems in Europe's future. It stresses, in particular, the recent opposition of the highly industrialized West and agrarian southeastern Europe; the export difficulties on the one hand, rural poverty on the other, crises, tensions and which involved uncertainty and was one of the causes of the war.
Secret mission to Switzerland
In summer 1944, Meisel was recruited for the "Faust Project" of the Office of Strategic ServicesOffice of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS), who were looking for some 200 agents to obtain military and political news from Germany. The OSS held several training programs for the participants in a small private house outside of London. The teachers were members of the U.S. Army, including several immigrants. The participants were briefed on practical aspects of everyday life in Nazi Germany, such ration cards
Ration stamp
A ration stamp or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime or in other emergency situations...
, how to acquire an apartment and other bureaucratic requirements they'd need to navigate in order to find work. At the end of the course, they were trained in skydiving
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
. Because the pending trips were secret, they were forbidden to talk to their friends about their plans.
In September 1944, Meisel and Anna Beyer flew to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The original plan was for them to be dropped near Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, but there were skirmishes in the area, so they were dropped in Thonon-les-Bains
Thonon-les-Bains
Thonon-les-Bains is a town in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:...
, near Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
, in a meadow used as a landing field by British intelligence.
They were transported by French farmers in an old open wagon to an unused tunnel, where they were met by an English officer. He helped them reach Thonon-les-Bains, where they stayed four weeks, until they were picked up by Rene Bertholet. Surreptitiously, they crossed the border into Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and went to Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, where they were given new identification documents and went with Hanna Bertholet to a meeting of the group in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, centered around Willem Adolf Visser 't Hooft.
Shortly thereafter, Meisel and Beyer traveled to the Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
Alps near Intragna, Switzerland
Intragna, Switzerland
Intragna was a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 October 2009 the municipalities of Borgnone, Intragna and Palagnedra merged into the municipality of Centovalli....
. The Bertholets maintained a weekend home there, called "Al Forno", which was used by emigrants as a residence. In autumn 1944, zwangsarbeiter (forced laborers) began trying to escape Germany by swimming their way to Switzerland, so the Germans, attempting to stanch the escape route, sealed off the border to Switzerland.
Near the end of the war, Meisel, Beyer, Hanna Bertholet and Anne Kapius received an invitation from the American headquarters in Bern to discuss returning to Germany to engage in acts of sabotage, but they declined. A little later, Meisel made contact with Karl Gerold, who later became editor of the Frankfurter Rundschau
Frankfurter Rundschau
The Frankfurter Rundschau is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition as well as an e-paper...
, to establish Austrian resistance groups in Ticino.
On April 17, 1945, while trying to cross the border illegally from Germany into Switzerland, Meisel was shot by an SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
patrol in Tisis
Tisis
Tisis is a genus of small moth in the family Lecithoceridae. It comprises 21 species form South-East Asia.-Selected Species:*Tisis amabilis K.T. Park, 2003*Tisis argyrophaea Meyrick, 1910*Tisis asterias K.T...
near Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
. Shot in the thigh, she bled to death while still on the border.
Legacy
There are two streets named after Hilde Meise, Hilda-Monte-Straße in BergkamenBergkamen
Bergkamen is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the river Lippe, approx. north-east of Dortmund and south-west of Hamm....
and Hilda-Monte-Weg in the Bergedorf quarter
Bergedorf (quarter)
Bergedorf is a quarter in the homonymous borough of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. In 2006, the population was 41,019.-History:The quarter was first mentioned in 1162...
of Hamburg. There is a memorial dedicated to Meisel in Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
and a stolperstein for her (in her pen name, Hilda Monte), in Berlin (see photo, above). There is a permanent display about Hilde Meisel at the Jewish Museum In Hohenems
Hohenems
Hohenems is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, in the Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a population of 15,200 it is the fifth largest municipality in Vorarlberg...
, Austria, not far from where she was born.
Much of what is known about Meisel's life in England came from her husband, whose recollections were embellished. In 1946, she was identified as the mastermind behind the 1939 Bürgerbräukeller
Bürgerbräukeller
The Bürgerbräukeller was a large beer hall located in Munich, Germany. It was one of the large beer halls of the Bürgerliches Brauhaus company, and after Bürgerliches merged with Löwenbräu, the hall was transferred to that company. It was located on Rosenheimer Street in the neighborhood of...
assassination attempt on Hitler's life, though convincing evidence of this is unverifiable.
Books and brochures
As Hilde Meisel:- Gedichte Hans Lehnert - Europäische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg (1950)
As Hilda Monte:
- How to conquer Hitler, with Fritz EberhardFritz EberhardFritz Eberhard was a German journalist, anti-fascist and social democrat and fought in the German Resistance against Nazism. He was a member of the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund...
. - Jarrolds, London (1940) - Help Germany to revolt!, with Fritz Eberhard under the pen name of Hellmut von Rauschenplat - Victor Gollancz LtdVictor Gollancz LtdVictor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
and the Fabian SocietyFabian SocietyThe Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
, London (1942) - The Unity of Europe, with introduction by Henry Noel Brailsford - Victor Gollancz LtdVictor Gollancz LtdVictor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
, London (1943) - Where freedom perished, foreword by Jennis Lee - Victor Gollancz Ltd, London (1947)
Articles in the Sozialistische Warte
(Pen name used is given in brackets)- [Selma Trier] Der Griff nach der Saar, Vol. 9, 1934, No. 8 (December), pp. 192–201
- [H. Monte] Krise und Ausbeutung, Vol. 11, 1936, No. 1 (January), pp. 13–16
- [H. Monte] Neues Labour-Programm, Vol. 12, 1937, No. 10 (May 15, 1937), pp. 220–222
- [H. Monte] Evolutionaerer Kommunismus, Vol. 13, 1938, No. 12 (March 25, 1938), pp. 267–270
- [Hilde Monte] Die wirtschaftliche Unabhaengigkeit der CSR, Vol. 13, 1938, No. 26 (July 1, 1938), pp. 603–609
- [Hilde Monte] Ungarn vor der Wahl, Vol. 13, 1938, No. 28 (July 15, 1938), pp. 658–662
- [Hilde Monte] Die Erschliessung Polens, Vol. 13, 1938, No. 36 (September 9, 1938), pp. 845–848
Further reading
- Anna Beyer, Politik ist mein Leben. Frankfurt am Main (1991)
- Willi Eichler, "Hilda Monte" in Geist und Tat, Vol. 2, No. 4, April 1947
- Max Fürst, Gefilte Fisch und wie es weiterging. Dt. Taschenbuch-Verl. (2004) ISBN 3-423-13190-X
- Gisela Konopka, Mit Mut und Liebe, Weinheim (1996)
- Annedore Leber, Das Gewissen steht auf. 64 Lebensbilder aus dem deutschen Widerstand 1933-1945. Edited in cooperation with Willy BrandtWilly BrandtWilly Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
and Karl Dietrich BracherKarl Dietrich BracherKarl Dietrich Bracher is a German political scientist and historian of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Born in Stuttgart, Bracher was awarded a Ph.D. in the Classics by the University of Tübingen in 1948 and subsequently studied at Harvard University from 1949 to 1950...
, Berlin-Frankfurt (1955) - Sabine Lemke-Müller, Ethik des Widerstands. Der Kampf des Internationalen Sozialistischen Kampfbundes (ISK) gegen den Nationalsozialismus. Bonn (1996)
- Heiner Lindner, "Um etwas zu erreichen, muss man sich etwas vornehmen, von dem man glaubt, dass es unmöglich sei" in Der Internationale Sozialistische Kampfbund und seine Publikationen
- Dieter Nelles, Widerstand und internationale Solidarität. Die Internationale Transportarbeiter-Föderation (ITF) im Widerstand gegen den Nationalsozialismus unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Seeleute. Klartext Verlag, Essen (2001), ISBN 3-88474-956-0 (Dissertation 2000)
External links
- Literature by and about Hilde Meisel in the catalogue of the Friedrich Ebert FoundationFriedrich Ebert FoundationThe Friedrich Ebert Foundation is a German political foundation associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany , yet independent of it...
- Photo gallery of Hilde Meisel
- Jewish Museum of Hohenems official website. Retrieved July 8, 2010
- Hilde Meisel in the Sozialistischce Mitteilungen from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, in and Supplement: Survey of the discussion on the future of Germany in daily papers and periodicals