Richard Hüttig (

Pronounced Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. To This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or all language in a specific dialect—"correct" or "standard" pronunciation—or si ...

OO-teg; 18 March 1908 in Roßleben-Bottendorf – 14 June 1934 in

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, executed) was a prewar

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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 ...

who was put to death, apparently more for his political convictions than for any crime he committed.

Life

Richard Hüttig's family worked the land. At the age of 20, he moved to Berlin, where he eventually joined the ''Rote Jungfront'' and eventually also 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). By 1930, Hüttig was leader of the ''Häuserschutzstaffeln'' ("house protection squad") in his neighbourhood in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, which had been set up to ward off Brown Shirt terror raids. It was in a way a kind of self-help organization. Not officially connected to the KPD, it nonetheless received advice from the KPD local "Tietz" at Nehringstraße 4a in Berlin (nowadays there is a driving school there). When the SA was in sight, the ''Häuserschutzstaffeln'' could be alerted by acoustic signals.

Arrest, trial, and death

Richard Hüttig was arrested during a crackdown on anti-régime elements on 14 September 1933, after Hitler had seized power, whereafter he spent several months in the

Columbia-Haus Columbia concentration camp (also known as Columbia-Haus) was a Nazi concentration camp situated in the Tempelhof area of Berlin. It was one of the first such institutions established by the regime. Development Originally called ''Strafgefängni ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

. Eventually, he was brought before the court. Hüttig and those tried along with him were accused of having shot SS-

Scharführer ''Scharführer'' (, ) was a title or rank used in early 20th century German military terminology. In German, ''Schar'' was one term for the smallest sub-unit, equivalent to (for example) a "troop", "squad", or " section". The word ''führer'' ...

Kurt von der Ahé dead during a joint SA-SS raid on his neighbourhood on 17 February 1933. Nothing could be proved on that point, however, and the court even admitted that it was not credible to suggest that Hüttig had done this crime, especially as there were eyewitnesses who swore that Kurt von der Ahé had been shot by his own people. Moreover, Hüttig had had no gun. This, however, did not stop the court from convicting Hüttig of severe breach of the public peace and attempted murder, or from sentencing him to death. He 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 ...

in the courtyard at Plötzensee

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 ...

in Berlin with an axe. He was one of many Communists put to death at Plötzensee at around this time.

Memorials to Hüttig

The laneway leading to the Plötzensee Memorial is now named Hüttigpfad after him. It was given the name in 1950. There is also a plaque in Hüttig's memory at Seelingstraße 21, near

Schloss Charlottenburg Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough, and is among the largest palaces in the world. The palace was built at the end of th ...

. A square in Hüttig's birthplace Roßleben, formerly named "Schenkenplatz" (except during 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 ...

, when it was named for

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 ...

), is now named "Richard-Hüttig-Platz". Some local people in Roßleben, however, have tried to have the square's old name restored, saying that they don't want to remember a "murderer". There was another memorial plaque to him at the local

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

, the "Thüringer Hof", placed by the ''Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes'' ("Association of Persecution Victims of the Nazi Régime"). The old inn is gone now, but the plaque has been relocated to a savings bank near its original site.

External links

About Hüttig memorials in Roßleben
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Huttig, Richard 1908 births 1934 deaths People from Roßleben People from the Province of Saxony Communist Party of Germany politicians Rotfrontkämpferbund members Communists executed by Nazi Germany German people convicted of attempted murder People from Thuringia executed at Plötzensee Prison People executed by Germany by decapitation People executed for attempted murder