Elli Hatschek (July 2, 1901 – December 8, 1944) was a member of the German Resistance 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 ...

. She was married to Paul Hatschek, a leading member of the resistance group, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and who 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 ...

in 1943. Under heavy interrogation, he gave up the names of others in his group, who were then arrested. His wife was also arrested. Though she was not heavily involved, she was charged with "undermining the morale of the military" and was sentenced to death. She was executed by the Nazis at

Plötzensee Prison Plötzensee Prison (, JVA Plötzensee) is a men's prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The detention centre established in 1868 has a lon ...

Biography

Elli Hatschek, née Lotz, was born in

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

, Germany. She was the second wife of Paul Hatschek, a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

and engineer of

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

and film technology. They lived in Berlin, where he was one of the leading members of the German Resistance group, the

Werner Theuer and Bernd Florath
''Robert Havemann Bibliographie: mit unveröffentlichten Texten aus dem Nachlass''
Robert Havemann Gesellschaft. Akademie Verlag (2007), p. 271. Retrieved August 15, 2011 and worked to bring about the downfall of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. He was recruited by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

's military intelligence and tried to provide important information to the Soviets to assist them in expelling their Nazi invaders. He was arrested in 1942 as a member of the Robert Uhrig Group and according to

Robert Havemann Robert Havemann (; 11 March 1910 – 9 April 1982) was an East German chemist and dissident. Life and career He studied chemistry in Berlin and Munich from 1929 to 1933, and then later received a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Kaiser ...

, had been under Gestapo surveillance for years. Hatschek was told of her husband's activities and she was supportive. In 1943, the Gestapo observed Paul Hatschek meeting two parachutists. After investigating, the Gestapo arrested Hatschek on September 3, 1943, subjecting him to intensive interrogation that same day. He named fellow Resistance fighters and two days later, the Gestapo arrested every person Hatschek had named. After weeks of interrogation, sometimes brutal, they had over 40 members of the European Union.Bernd Florath, "Die Europäische Union," essay in: Johannes Tuchel, ''Der vergessene Widerstand — zu Realgeschichte und Wahrnehmung des Kampfes gegen die NS-Diktatur'', pp. 114-139. (2001) Wallstein Verlag. Elli Hatschek was arrested with her husband.Photo (by the Gestapo) and short biography of Elli Hatschek
Gedenkstätte-Plötzensee. Retrieved August 14, 2011 Her husband's daughter, Krista Lavíčková was also arrested.List of inmates who were executed
Das Frauengefängnis in der Barnimstraße. Retrieved August 14, 2011 All three were brought before the Nazi court, her husband and his daughter together; Elli Hatschek, some months later. All three were sentenced to death and executed by guillotine,The Nazis executed people by firing squad, gallows and guillotine. Death by firing squad was considered to be the most honorable and was used for military personnel. Hanging was the most preferred for its value as a public spectacle, but beheading was used for crimes of treason and related crimes
(See "The execution of women by the Nazis during World War II".)
/ref> her husband on May 15, 1944, 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 ...

, his daughter at Plötzensee on August 11, 1944.Paragraph in English under Krista Lavíčková's handwritten farewell letter in German
Gedenkstätte-Plötzensee. Retrieved August 16, 2011 In November 1944, Elli Hatschek was charged with being connected with the European Union and with ''

Wehrkraftzersetzung ''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' or ''Zersetzung der Wehrkraft'' ( German for "corroding of defensive strength") was a sedition offence in German military law during the Nazi Germany era from 1938 to 1945. ''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' was enacted in 1938 b ...

'', a term that means "subversion of the military" and under the Nazis, was a crime that included undermining the war effort.The term "Wehrkraftzersetzung" is also translated a
"undermining military morale"
and a

as in the 1944 conviction of

Oskar Kusch Oskar Heinz Kusch (6 April 1918 – 12 May 1944) was a German naval officer and U-boat commander in World War II who was executed for comments critical of the Nazi state. Early life From 1928 to 1936, Kusch attended the Hohenzollern Gymnasium in ...

, one of two

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

commanders to be condemned to death. According to the ''Oxford Companion to World War II'', the term was also used with deserters. She was convicted and sentenced to death. She was incarcerated at the

Barnimstrasse women's prison Barnimstrasse women's prison was a women's prison that existed between 1868 and 1974 in Barnimstraße in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin, which belonged first to the Königsstadt and from 1920 to the Friedrichshain district. Building ...

, where she was one of the 300 prisoners who were executed. She was guillotined on December 8, 1944, at the Plötzensee Prison in Berlin. Her name is listed in the memorial book of Plötzensee victims.''Ehrenbuch der Opfer von Berlin-Plötzensee'', VVN, Berlin (1974)

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatschek, Elli 1901 births 1944 deaths People from Wetzlar Female resistance members of World War II Executed German Resistance members People executed by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison People from Hesse executed at Plötzensee Prison Executed German people

Biography

See also

Footnotes

References