Hermann Falck

Hermann Falck (born August 23, 1917 in Hanover , † April 9, 1943 in Brandenburg ) was a commercial employee and a victim of National Socialism.

Life

Hermann Falck was born the son of an art collector in Hanover. He came to Darmstadt with his family at the age of eight , where his father was director of the Julius Glückert court furniture factory in Darmstadt. Later, his father went into business for himself and ran an antique shop at Karlstrasse 20. Hermann attended the Ludwig-Georgs-Gymnasium in Darmstadt, where he graduated from high school in 1935. He then began a commercial apprenticeship at E. Merck ( Merck KGaA ) in Darmstadt, which he completed after two and a half years. Because of his diverse language skills, he was also assigned to Merck's department for Portuguese-speaking countries - he was fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Italian. Because of his diverse language skills, after being drafted for military service in February 1940, he was transferred to an interpreter unit in occupied France in Laon . Depressed by the worsening warfare and the interrogations he experienced as an interpreter, he confided his critical thoughts on the Nazi regime in his diary. He confided this to a French acquaintance, which led to the denunciation . The diary with the entries has not been preserved; the exact wording is unknown.

Hermann Falck was arrested on September 8, 1942. The Reich Court Martial sentenced him to death on January 16, 1943 for “ undermining military strength ” . He was executed on April 9, 1943 in the Brandenburg (Havel) -Görden prison . The court of the Wehrmacht Commandantur in Berlin informed the parents on May 5, 1943 that “the release of your son's body for burial can only take place if you undertake to have the funeral without celebrations such as laying out, sermon, bell ringing, altar boys , as well as wanting to carry out all other church honors ”. The letter is signed by Dietz, Army Justice Inspector and Doenicke, Captain, Army Judge kr. A. After Hermann Falck's father had issued this insurance, the corpse was released by letter dated May 12, 1943. Hermann Falck's grave with the urn of his ashes was in the old cemetery in Darmstadt. The grave was dissolved in 2001.

Honors

• On June 2, 2011, a Stolperstein was laid in Darmstadt, Karlstrasse 20, in honor of Hermann Falck.
• On January 8, 2014, a memorial stone for Hermann Falck was placed at the entrance to the old cemetery in Darmstadt.

literature

• Hermann Falck , in: Darmstädter Stadtlexikon, Stuttgart 2006, p. 237.
• Fritz Deppert, Peter Engels: Firestorm and Resistance . Darmstadt 1944, Darmstadt 2004, p. 89f.