Walter Budeus (29 October 1902 – 21 August 1944) was a German

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

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

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

Biography

Budeus was born in

Zossen Zossen (; , ) is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, about south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped in 2003 to form the city. Geography Sinc ...

. He trained as a machine fitter, 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 1931. After the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

came to power in 1933, Budeus was active in the underground communist resistance. In 1936, he set up an illegal resistance cell at the

Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book diction ...

factory where he worked, organizing more than 50 workers. From the late 1930s, Budeus worked closely with the resistance group led by

Robert Uhrig Robert Uhrig (; March 8, 1903 – August 21, 1944) was a German communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism. Background Born in Leipzig, the son of a metalworker, Uhrig grew up to become a journeyman toolmaker. He joined the Co ...

, distributing pamphlets, making contacts with other resistance fighters and collecting information on arms production and the political mood of the German population. On 4 February 1942, Budeus was arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. He was detained for more than two years in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

and Brandenburg Prison before being sentenced to death by the People's Court on 7 June 1944. He was executed by guillotine on 21 August 1944 in

Brandenburg-Görden Prison Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden quarter of Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. Both criminal and political pr ...

. A street in the

Friedrichsfelde Friedrichsfelde () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Lichtenberg, Berlin. History The locality was first mentioned in a document of 1265 with the name of ''Rosenfelde''. In 1699 it was renamed Friedrichsfelde ...

locality of Berlin was named Walter-Budeus-Straße from 14 January 1976 until 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budeus, Walter 1902 births 1944 deaths Politicians from Brandenburg Communist Party of Germany politicians Executed communists in the German Resistance People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine People from Brandenburg executed by Nazi Germany Sachsenhausen concentration camp prisoners People from Teltow-Fläming People executed by Nazi courts