Dora Fabian ( Heinemann; 28 May 1901 – 31 March or 1 April 1935) 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 ...

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 were op ...

activist, 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 ...

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

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

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

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

she became a member of the

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...

. In 1924 she married Walter Fabian, a fellow social democratic activist. She became disillusioned with the politics of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

and joined the

Socialist Workers' Party of Germany The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (, 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 the autumn of 1931. In 1931, the remnants of the ...

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 ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, then

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, finally arriving in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

. 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, 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 for Children NHS Foun ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, London, on 4 April 1935, and both 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 Rev. William George Brockway and Frances Eliz ...

James Maxton James Maxton (22 June 1885 – 23 July 1946) was a Scottish 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 Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, ...

, who travelled from Paris to attend.

Karl Korsch Karl Korsch (; August 15, 1886 – October 21, 1961) was a German Marxist theoretician and political philosopher. He is recognized as one of the "dissidents" that challenged the Marxism of the Second International of Karl Kautsky, Georgi Plekhan ...

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'', ''All That I Am (novel), All That I Am'', ''Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life'' and the novella ''The Girl With the Dogs.'' Anna’s book ''Wifedom'' w ...

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