Katharina Jacob
Encyclopedia
Katharina Jacob was a teacher and member of the German Resistance
movement against National Socialism. She was married to Franz Jacob
, a German Resistance fighter who was executed by the Nazis.
politician and member of the Hamburg Parliament
during the Weimar Republic
. She joined the Communist Party
(KPD) in 1928.
They had one daughter together, Ursel Hochmuth, born in 1931. After the Nazis seized power
in 1933, Hochmuth appeared on a wanted poster
and went underground
. He had an affair with the woman who gave him a place to stay and they had a son in March 1934. He and Katharina got divorced in 1939.
Katharina was arrested a number of times. She was politically active in the German Resistance and was sent to Lübeck
-Lauerhof from 1934–1936 and to KolaFu
in 1938. Whenever she was under arrest, her daughter was left with no parent. Political friends took care of Ursel, as well as neighbors and her teacher at school, Gertrud Klempau. A chapter in the book, Schule unterm Hakenkreuz ("School Under the Swastika") is dedicated to her.
In December 1941, she married Franz Jacob
, whom she had known from the Young Communist League
. He moved in with her and her daughter, Ursel into her apartment at Jarresstraße 21. She continued her Resistance activities, collecting food ration cards for forced labrorers
and listened to Radio Moscow. The broadcasts enabled the families of soldiers to get information about their loved ones and provided information for the flyers that Franz Jacob was producing. Their friend, Charlotte Groß, a courier, smuggled these illegal leaflets to Berlin.
A wave of arrests in Hamburg in October 1942 prompted Franz Jacob to flee to Berlin. The following month, their daughter, Ilse, was born on November 9, 1942. Groß brought news to Jacob's husband, underground in Berlin. Jacob took a road trip with her daughters, stopping secretly to see Franz in Berlin and staying just one night. It was the only time Franz saw his infant daughter.
Jacob and Groß were arrested on July 6, 1944. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Groß, but she received a ten-year sentence at hard labor in a Zuchthaus instead. Lack of evidence, prevented the court from passing sentence on Jacob, but nonetheless, she was not released. Rather, she was taken in protective custody
and sent to the women's concentration camp at Ravensbrück and was kept imprisoned till after the war.
Franz Jacob was arrested in Berlin in autumn 1944. He was sentenced to death on September 5, 1944 and he was executed on September 18, 1944 at Brandenburg-Görden Prison
.
(Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes), an association of victims of Nazi persecution. Years later, she was asked if her fight against Adolf Hitler
had been worth it.
Jacob died in Hamburg in 1989.
Jacob's daughter, Ursel grew up to become a historian. She has researched the German Resistance for decades and written several books on the subject.
was named after Katharina Jacob. There is a stolperstein
at Jarresstraße 21, where she lived for many years with her two children, and briefly, with her husband, Franz.
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...
movement against National Socialism. She was married to Franz Jacob
Franz Jacob (Resistance fighter)
Franz Jacob was a German Resistance fighter against the National Socialists and a Communist politician.- Early years :...
, a German Resistance fighter who was executed by the Nazis.
Biographical details
Jacob was born Katharina Emmermann in Cologne. She married Walter Hochmuth in 1927. He was a CommunistCommunist 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...
politician and member of the Hamburg Parliament
Hamburg Parliament
The Hamburg Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2011 there were 121 members in the parliament, representing a relatively equal amount of constituencies...
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...
. She joined the Communist Party
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...
(KPD) in 1928.
They had one daughter together, Ursel Hochmuth, born in 1931. 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...
in 1933, Hochmuth appeared on a wanted poster
Wanted poster
A wanted poster is a poster distributed to let the public know of an alleged criminal whom authorities wish to apprehend. They will generally include either a picture of the alleged criminal when a photograph is available, or of a facial composite image produced by a police artist...
and went underground
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
. He had an affair with the woman who gave him a place to stay and they had a son in March 1934. He and Katharina got divorced in 1939.
Katharina was arrested a number of times. She was politically active in the German Resistance and was sent to Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
-Lauerhof from 1934–1936 and to KolaFu
Fuhlsbüttel
Fuhlsbüttel is an urban quarter in the north of Hamburg, Germany in the district Hamburg-Nord. It is known as the site of Hamburg's international airport, and as the location of a prison which served as a concentration camp in the Nazi system of repression....
in 1938. Whenever she was under arrest, her daughter was left with no parent. Political friends took care of Ursel, as well as neighbors and her teacher at school, Gertrud Klempau. A chapter in the book, Schule unterm Hakenkreuz ("School Under the Swastika") is dedicated to her.
In December 1941, she married Franz Jacob
Franz Jacob (Resistance fighter)
Franz Jacob was a German Resistance fighter against the National Socialists and a Communist politician.- Early years :...
, whom she had known from the Young Communist League
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...
. He moved in with her and her daughter, Ursel into her apartment at Jarresstraße 21. She continued her Resistance activities, collecting food ration cards for forced labrorers
Forced labor in Germany during World War II
The use of forced labour in Nazi Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in German-occupied...
and listened to Radio Moscow. The broadcasts enabled the families of soldiers to get information about their loved ones and provided information for the flyers that Franz Jacob was producing. Their friend, Charlotte Groß, a courier, smuggled these illegal leaflets to Berlin.
A wave of arrests in Hamburg in October 1942 prompted Franz Jacob to flee to Berlin. The following month, their daughter, Ilse, was born on November 9, 1942. Groß brought news to Jacob's husband, underground in Berlin. Jacob took a road trip with her daughters, stopping secretly to see Franz in Berlin and staying just one night. It was the only time Franz saw his infant daughter.
Jacob and Groß were arrested on July 6, 1944. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Groß, but she received a ten-year sentence at hard labor in a Zuchthaus instead. Lack of evidence, prevented the court from passing sentence on Jacob, but nonetheless, she was not released. Rather, she was taken in protective custody
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
and sent to the women's concentration camp at Ravensbrück and was kept imprisoned till after the war.
Franz Jacob was arrested in Berlin in autumn 1944. He was sentenced to death on September 5, 1944 and he was executed on September 18, 1944 at Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden section of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. It was a Zuchthaus for inmates with lengthy or life sentences at hard labor, as well as...
.
After 1945
Jacob's wife survived the war and became a teacher at the Schule Winterhuder Weg. She remained politically active and was involved in the Union of Persecutees of the Nazi RegimeUnion of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime
The Society of People Persecuted by the Nazi Regime – Federation of Anti-Fascists is a political organization founded in 1947....
(Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes), an association of victims of Nazi persecution. Years later, she was asked if her fight against Adolf 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...
had been worth it.
Fifty-five million people in Germany and Europe were wiped out; gassed, fallen on the front lines, died where they lived. Should one not ask here if their deaths had any purpose? ... The Resistance fighters put their lives on the line for humanity and peace. My husband fell on this front. I also followed my conscience and convictions. The decision was not easy. But to see wrong and do nothing about it? I had to be able to face myself and my children.—Katharina Jacob
Jacob died in Hamburg in 1989.
Jacob's daughter, Ursel grew up to become a historian. She has researched the German Resistance for decades and written several books on the subject.
Memorials
In 1992, a street in the Hamburg district of Groß BorstelBoroughs and quarters of Hamburg
The city of Hamburg in Germany is made up of 7 boroughs and subdivided into 105 quarters . Most of the quarters were former independent settlements...
was named after Katharina Jacob. There is a stolperstein
Stolpersteine
Stolperstein is the German word for "stumbling block", "obstacle", or "something in the way". The artist Gunter Demnig has given this word a new meaning, that of a small, cobblestone-sized memorial for a single victim of Nazism...
at Jarresstraße 21, where she lived for many years with her two children, and briefly, with her husband, Franz.
Further reading
- German Resistance Memorial Center Short biography of Franz Jacob. Retrieved March 22, 2010
- Ursula Puls. Die Bästlein-Jacob-Abshagen-Gruppe, Berlin (1959)
- Ursel Hochmuth. Widerstandsorganisation Bästlein-Jacob-Abshagen in Streiflichter aus dem Hamburger Widerstand 1933 - 1945, Frankfurt am Main (1969)
- Frank Müller. Mitglieder der Bürgerschaft. Opfer totalitärer Verfolgung, 2nd Edition, expanded. Hamburg (1995) pp. 47–50
- Kathleen Marowsky. Die Bästlein-Jacobs-Abshagen Gruppe - Ein Beispiel des kommunistischen Widerstands in Hamburg im „Dritten Reich" (Written by a historian from Hamburg.) Retrieved March 23, 2010