Theodor Haubach (15 September 1896 in

Frankfurt am Main 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 ...

– 23 January 1945 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 ...

) was a German

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, SPD

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and resistance fighter against 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 ...

régime. Theodor Haubach spent his

childhood A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

and

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

. In 1914, right after his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'', he took part in 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 ...

as a volunteer, and was wounded repeatedly. After the horror of his wartime experiences, Haubach resumed studying. From 1919 to 1923, he studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, and

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and eventually graduated. As of 1920, Haubach, like his friend Carlo Mierendorff, was an SPD member and worked together actively with the Young Socialists. From 1924 to 1929 he was editor of the

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

''Hamburger Echo'', and later (1929-1933) an associate at the Reich Interior Ministry and with the Berlin

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

President. From 1924 Haubach was the leading member of the ''

Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold The (, , simply in short) was an organization in Weimar Republic, Germany during the Weimar Republic with the goal to defend German parliamentary democracy against internal subversion and extremism from the left and right and to compel the ...

'', an association that campaigned fiercely for the

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

and actively struggled under the emblem of the "Three Arrows" against the Nazis, who were grasping for power. Beginning in February 1933, Haubach, like many SPD members, was persecuted by the Nazi régime. After his first arrest in 1934, he was detained in Esterwegen concentration camp. From 1935, he worked as an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

representative, and later established contacts with the

Kreisau Circle The Kreisau Circle (German: ''Kreisauer Kreis'', ) (1940–1944) was a group of about twenty-five German dissidents in Nazi Germany led by Helmuth James von Moltke, who met at his estate in the rural town of Kreisau, Silesia. The circle was co ...

. After the failed

attempt An attempt to commit a crime occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur.''Criminal Law - ...

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 ...

's life at the

Wolf's Lair The Wolf's Lair (; ) was Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the village of Görlitz (now Gierłoż, Kętrzyn County, ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

on 20 July 1944, Haubach was arrested and sentenced to death by the Nazi "People's Court" (''Volksgerichtshof''). Now very ill, Theodor Haubach was hanged on 23 January 1945 along with

Helmuth James Graf von Moltke Helmuth James Graf von Moltke (11 March 1907 – 23 January 1945) was a German jurist who, as a draftee in the German Abwehr, acted to subvert German human-rights abuses of people in territories occupied by Germany during World War II. He w ...

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.

Literature

*Peter Zimmermann: ''Theodor Haubach (1896-1945) - Eine politische Biographie''. Hamburg 2004, 454 pages, , 30,00 Euro *Der militante Sozialdemokrat. Carlo Mierendorff 1897 bis 1943. Eine Biografie von Richard Albrecht (JHW Dietz Nachf., 1987, 464 p., ) *"Symbolkrieg" in Deutschland; historisch-biografische Skizze von Richard Albrecht (MuK/Universität Siegen, 1986, 52 p.; )

External links

*
Haubach's biography
on the pages of the Theodor Haubach Secondary School, Berlin-Tempelhof

on the pages of the Theodor Haubach School, Hamburg-Altona. *Th
Kreisau-Initiative Berlin e.V.
which concerns itself with memorializing the Kreisau Circle. :(all in German) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haubach, Theodor 1896 births 1945 deaths German Army personnel of World War I Journalists from Frankfurt German male journalists 20th-century German journalists People from Hesse executed at Plötzensee Prison People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison Members of the Kreisau Circle Politicians from Frankfurt People from Hesse-Nassau German male writers Executed members of the 20 July plot Executed politicians