Betti Gertrud Käthe Hilda Coppi ( Rake; 30 May 1909 – 5 August 1943), known as Hilde Coppi, 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 the Nazi regime. She was a member of the

anti-fascist 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 ...

resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra by the

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

, during the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

period.

Life

Betti Gertrud Käthe Hilda Rake 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 ...

, and grew up in

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

area of Berlin. Her mother ran a small

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

shop. After finishing vocational school, she worked as a general practitioner's assistant through much of the 1930s.

Career

Coppi was working in Berlin as a clerk at the Reich Insurance Institute for Clerical Workers when she got to know

Hans Coppi Hans-Wedigo Robert Coppi (25 January 1916 – 22 December 1942) was a German resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was a member of a Berlin-based anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra by the Gestapo. Life ...

, who had only just been released from

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 ...

. By 1933, Rake had contact with members 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).

Resistance

Together, Hilde and Hans Coppi – who wed on 14 June 1941 – hid persecution victims of the Nazi régime. During the war, Hilde Coppi listened to "Voice of Russia" (''ie''

Radio Moscow Radio Moscow (), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993, when it was reorganized into Voice of Russia, which was subsequently reorga ...

) and shared the information broadcast over the radio with the Red Orchestra and other resistance groups. She also relayed greetings and any other signs of continued life heard on Radio Moscow from German

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

to their kin. This was especially important, as Nazi propaganda had it that Soviet troops shot their enemies out of hand, and did not take prisoners. Moreover, she busied herself by broadcasting her group's messages through leaflets and stickers. She conducted a sticker campaign against the Nazis' anti-

Soviet 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 ...

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

exhibition called '' The Soviet Paradise''.

Arrest

Coppi and her husband were both arrested on 12 September 1942, along with Hans' parents and brother, and Hilde's mother. Hilde was

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

by this time, later giving birth to the couple's

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

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 ...

on 27 November. On 22 December 1942, her husband was put to death, and Hilde, too, was sentenced to death in the new year, on 20 January. A petition for clemency was made in her case in July, but

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 ...

refused to grant it. The execution was delayed until August, so that she could nurse her child, Hans. On 5 August 1943, Hilde Coppi was

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin seven months after her husband. After the end of the war, her son was raised by her husband's parents, Freda and Robert Coppi, in the garden colony ''Am Waldessaum''. In 1950, the family moved to

Karlshorst Karlshorst (, ; ; literally meaning ''Karl's nest'') is a locality in the borough of Lichtenberg in Berlin. It is home to a harness racing track, the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (''HTW''), the largest University of Applied Scien ...

Literature

* Gilles Perrault: ''Auf den Spuren der Roten Kapelle''. Rowohlt 1994. * Rosiejka, Gert: Die Rote Kapelle. ''„Landesverrat“ als antifaschistischer Widerstand.'' – Mit einer Einführung von Heinrich Scheel. ergebnisse, Hamburg 1986, . *

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and '' The Investigation'' and h ...

setzte Hans und Hilde Coppi in seinem autobiographischen Roman '' ie Ästhetik des Widerstands'' (1975–1981) ein literarisches Denkmal. * Elfriede Brüning: ''… damit Du weiterlebst.'' Neues Leben, Berlin 1949, über die Geburt von Hans Coppi junior
Nemesis – Sozialistisches Archiv für Belletristik
* von Gélieu, Claudia: ''Frauen in Haft – Gefängnis Barnimstraße; eine Justizgeschichte.'' Elefanten-Press, Berlin 1994, . (Nachdruck: ''Frauen in Haft. Gefängnis Barnimstraße. Eine Justizgeschichte.'' Espresso-Verlag, )

In popular culture

A film based on events of her life titled as ''From Hilde, With Love'' directed by Andreas Dresen was screened at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, and scheduled for theatrical release on 17 October 2024 in Germany.

Awards and honours

* In the autobiographical novel, The Aesthetics of Resistance (1975-1981), German author

offers a portrayal a literary monument, in honour of the Coppi's.

Gallery

Hilde Coppi im Treptower Park.jpg, Hilde Coppi in happier times, walking in Treptower Park Gedenktafel Seidelstr 20 (Tegel) Hans und Hilde Coppi.JPG, A memorial plaque for the couple Hans und Hilde Coppi at 23 Seidelstraße,

Tegel Tegel () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') in the Berlin borough of Reinickendorf on the shore of Lake Tegel. The Tegel locality, the second largest in area (after Köpenick) of the 96 Berlin districts, also includes the neighbourhood of ''Saatwinke ...

Stumbling block Coppi Seidelstr 20 Weg 5 Parz 107.jpg, Stumbling block at the allotment gardens "Am Waldessaum" (close to lane 5) at 20 Seidelstraße,

Stolperstein Seidelstr 23 (Tegel) Hilde Coppi.jpg, A closer look at the stumbling block 2006-02 Frankfurt (Oder) 18.jpg, ''The fox'' by the sculptor Stephan Horota. It is located in front of the Hilde Coppi daycare centre in Rosengasse, Frankfurt. The sculpture, commission by the city council in the 1950s, is the only one the artist in Frankfurt Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0116-007, VEB Bekleidung Sternberg, Näherinnen.jpg, Andrea Schröter, one of the best seamstresses of the youth collective known as "Hilde Coppi" Treskowallee Roemerweg Schule.jpg, The Hans and Hilde High School ("Hans-und-Hilde-Coppi-Gymnasium") which was renamed in their honour in 1958

References

External links

Biography
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Coppi, Hilde 1909 births 1943 deaths Executed Red Orchestra members Executed communists in the German Resistance People executed by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison People from Berlin executed at Plötzensee Prison Executed German women