Anton Emil Hermann Saefkow (; 22 July 1903 – 18 September 1944) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 a resistance fighter against the Nazi régime. He was arrested in July 1944 and executed on 18 September by guillotine.

Early life

Anton Saefkow was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, a member of a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

working-class family and in 1920 while still a metalworker's apprentice, joined the

Young Communist League of Germany The Young Communist League of Germany (, abbreviated KJVD) was a political youth organization in Germany. History The KJVD was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth () of the Communist Party of Germany, A prior youth wing had been formed ...

to whose Berlin leadership he rose in 1922.

Activism

In 1927, he became secretary of 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 Berlin, then in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. From 1929 to 1932, he led the Revolutionary Trade Union Opposition (''Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts-Opposition''; RGO) in the KPD

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

district and became in 1932 political leader of the KPD's Wasserkante district in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In 1932, Saefkow married Theodora Brey who was also active in the underground resistance.

Imprisonment

From April 1933 to April 1934, Saefkow was in a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

, followed by two and a half years in a '' Zuchthaus'' at hard labour, followed by a spell at the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

. There, he organized an illegal remembrance service for Edgar André and as a result was given another two years of imprisonment.

Resistance

Released from detention in July 1939, Saefkow went back to the illegal political work. He divorced Thea Saefkow and married Anna Thiebes (Änne) in 1941. In Berlin, after the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, he built up the biggest KPD resistance group, called the "Operative Leadership of the KPD". In 1944, he,

Bernhard Bästlein Bernhard Bästlein (; 3 December 1894 – 18 September 1944) was a German Communist and German resistance to Nazism, resistance fighter against the Nazism, Nazi régime. He was imprisoned very shortly after the Nazis seized power in 1933 and was i ...

and Franz Jacob led the

Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization The Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization was an underground German resistance movement acting during the Second World War, that published the illegal magazine, ''Die Innere Front'' ("The Internal Front"). In the 1940s, the Communist Party of German ...

which agitated against the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

in Berlin

munitions Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of ...

plants, and called on people to commit

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

. In April 1944, the

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

Adolf Reichwein Adolf Reichwein (3 October 1898 – 20 October 1944) was a German educator, economist, and cultural policymaker for the SPD, who resisted the policies of Nazi Germany. Biography Reichwein was born in Bad Ems. He took part in the First World W ...

made contact with Saefkow with a view to involve him with the KPD group in the

20 July Plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...

which sought to

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

or otherwise overthrow

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. It eventually took the form of the well-known 20 July bomb attack on the Führer at the latter's HQ, the

Wolf's Lair The Wolf's Lair (; ) was Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the village of Görlitz (now Gierłoż, Kętrzyn County, ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. It famously failed with dire consequences for the plotters.

Arrest and execution

In July 1944, Saefkow was arrested, sentenced to death by the "People's Court" '' Volksgerichtshof'' on 5 September and executed on 18 September by guillotine at

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 ...

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

. Saefkow left behind a wife and two daughters. Shortly before his death, he wrote to his wife Änne:

Memorials

On 2 February 1975, a square in Berlin was named after Anton Saefkow. Franz Jacob and Bernhard Bästlein were also honoured by having streets in the same neighbourhood named after them.Map link to Bernhard-Bästlein-Str., Berlin.
Google Maps. Retrieved March 22, 2010 In

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right ...

, a greenspace called Anton-Saefkow-Park is not only named for Saefkow, but also features a bust of him. In

, the street running in front of the very

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

where Saefkow and many other members of the antifascist resistance were executed has been named Anton-Saefkow-Allee.

References

External links

*
Page about Anton-Saefkow-Platz in Berlin-Fennpfuhl

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saefkow, Anton 1903 births 1944 deaths Politicians from Berlin Executed members of the 20 July plot People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine Dachau concentration camp survivors Communist Party of Germany politicians Executed communists in the German Resistance Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization