Dora Fabian (née Heinemann; 1901– 31 March or 1 April 1935) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

socialist and

anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

activist. She was the daughter of Else Levy Heinemann and Hugo Heinemann, a socialist lawyer who defended

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

s and political activists in court. This environment nurtured her interest in politics and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she became a member of the

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...

. In 1924 she married

Walter Fabian Walter Fabian (24 August 1902 – 15 February 1992) was a German socialist politician, journalist and translator. During the Nazi years he became a resistance activist and political exile. Life Early years Walter Max Fabian was born in ...

, a fellow social democratic activist. She became disillusioned with the politics of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

and joined the

Socialist Workers' Party of Germany The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, SAPD) was a centrist Marxist political party in Germany. It was formed as a left-wing party with around 20,000 members which split off from the SPD in ...

Exile

After being detained by the Nazis in March 1933, she decided to leave Germany rather than risk re-arrest. She fled first to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, then

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, finally arriving in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 8 September 1933. She had an invitation from John Paton, a leading figure in the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

. She had sufficient funds to be allowed to stay for a month with the proviso she did not work.

Death

Fabian was found dead alongside Mathilde Wurm in their flat at 12,

Great Ormond Street Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, on 4 April 1935, and were found to have died either on 31 March or on 1 April 1935. While suicide was suspected, the deaths were treated as suspicious.James J. Barnes, Patience P. Barnes, ''Nazi Refugee Turned Gestapo Spy: The Life of Hans Wesemann, 1895-1971'' (2001) “Sometime on Sunday, 31 March, or Monday, 1 April 1935, two German refugees died in their flat at 12 Great Ormond Street in London. Their bodies were not discovered until Thursday, 4 April…” The

coronial inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

attracted a great deal of interest and was attended by

Fenner Brockway Archibald Fenner Brockway, Baron Brockway (1 November 1888 – 28 April 1988) was a British socialist politician, humanist campaigner and anti-war activist. Early life and career Brockway was born to W. G. Brockway and Frances Elizabeth Abbey in ...

James Maxton James Maxton (22 June 1885 – 23 July 1946) was a British left-wing politician, and leader of the Independent Labour Party. He was a pacifist who opposed both world wars. A prominent proponent of Home Rule for Scotland, he is remembered as on ...

Ben Riley Benjamin Alexander Riley Jr. (July 17, 1933 – November 18, 2017) was an American jazz drummer known for his work with Thelonious Monk, as well as Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ahmad Jamal, and as a member of the group Sp ...

as well as by

Ernst Toller Ernst Toller (1 December 1893 – 22 May 1939) was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionism (theatre), Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived B ...

, who travelled from Paris to attend.

Karl Korsch Karl Korsch (; August 15, 1886 – October 21, 1961) was a German Marxist theoretician and political philosopher. Along with György Lukács, Korsch is considered to be one of the major figures responsible for laying the groundwork for Western ...

was a witness, having been in a relationship with Fabian. Indeed, he had ended the relationship and this was used as an argument to suggest that Fabian was suffering from depression. When the verdict came it was that the two women had "committed suicide while of unsound mind". However, this was not accepted by many members of the German anti-Nazi refugee community or their British supporters.

In literature

Fabian's life, her dangerous secret activist work in London, and the circumstances around her suspicious death and the inadequate coronial inquest that follows, feature in the novel '' All That I Am'' by Australian author

Anna Funder Anna Funder (born 1966) is an Australian author. She is the author of '' Stasiland'' and '' All That I Am'' and the novella ''The Girl With the Dogs''. Life Funder went to primary school in Melbourne and Paris; she attended Star of the Sea Co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabian, Dora German socialists German activists German women activists 1901 births 1935 deaths 20th-century German women Joint suicides Suicides in Bloomsbury Drug-related suicides in England