Peter Gingold (8 March 1916 – 29 October 2006) was a figure in the German Resistance and the

National Committee for a Free Germany The National Committee for a Free Germany (, or NKFD) was an Anti-fascism, anti-fascist political and military organisation formed in the Soviet Union during World War II, composed mostly of German defectors from the ranks of German prisoners of ...

. He was born in a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish family in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. He was a member 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) and its successor the

German Communist Party The German Communist Party (, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports far-left positions and was an observer member of the European Left before leaving in February 2016. History The DKP considered itself a reconstitution of the C ...

(DKP). He also won the

Carl von Ossietzky Medal The (ILMR) has awarded the Carl von Ossietzky Medal since 1962. The league has honored personalities, initiatives or organizations who have worked with civil courage and outstanding commitment to the realization of human rights annually since 1962 ...

Biographical details

Gingold was born

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (, ) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. It consists of nine districts and 308 municipalities (including three cities). History After ...

. He fled Germany and went to

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 ...

, where he became active in the German exile movement. After the occupation of Paris, Gingold had to flee again, this time heading to Dijon, where he became active in the

Résistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the Nazi occupation and the collaborationist Vichy regime in France during the Second World War. Resistance cells were small groups of armed men and women (called the Maquis ...

. He 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, but managed to escape. In August 1944, he took part in the uprising to liberate Paris. After that, he went to

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

, to help liberate that city. He returned to Frankfurt am Main in August 1945 and resumed his activities with the Communist Party. Though he was honored in both France and Italy for his anti-fascist work, in Germany, he was vilified in his own country because of his political affiliation. He even had to fight to have his German citizenship recognized.Biography of Peter Gingold
Wollheim Memorial official website. Retrieved 3 April 2010 He was politically active in the

Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

, the Association of Germans in the Résistance and the

International Auschwitz Committee The International Auschwitz Committee was formed by survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz death camp in 1952 for the support of the survivors and to fight racism and anti-Semitism. The committee's mission was to maintain contac ...

. He was also active in protests against

IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...

, related to their use of slave labor 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 ...

era."Ford rejects Auschwitz allegations"
BBC News (19 August 1999). Retrieved 3 April 2010 Gingold died in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

in 2006 and is buried in Paris.

References

1916 births 2006 deaths People from Aschaffenburg Politicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria Jews in the German resistance Communist Party of Germany politicians German Communist Party politicians Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime members International Auschwitz Committee members Jewish concentration camp survivors Communists in the German Resistance Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany in the Soviet Union {{Germany-activist-stub