Kurt Adams
Kurt Adams (born December 15, 1889 in Hamburg ; † October 7, 1944 in Buchenwald concentration camp ) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and a victim of National Socialism .
Life and Politics (until 1933)
Adams was born the son of a Hamburg merchant. He attended the secondary school "Vor dem Lübeckertor" and graduated from the secondary secondary school "on the Uhlenhorst". There he passed his school leaving examination. He then studied German, French and history at the universities in Göttingen , Freiburg im Breisgau , Berlin and Greifswald . 1912 doctorate he became Dr. phil. In 1913 he got a job in the Hamburg school service. He was a teacher at the Albrecht Thaer School and a staunch reform pedagogue . In October 1928 he took over the management of the Hamburg Adult Education Center from Rudolf Ross .
Adams joined the SPD while studying. He was a member of the Hamburg citizenship from 1924 to 1933. In addition to his parliamentary work, he was chairman of the working group of social democratic teachers and one of the leading school experts within his party. In addition, he was the head of the "Hamburg Children's Friends Movement" and in the meantime also belonged to the Reich leadership of the Children's Friends .
Politics and National Socialism
After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, he was in danger of losing his job in the school through the “ Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service ”. He resigned from the party on the advice of the party leadership, but was released on June 23, 1933. The request of the NS - Gauleiter of Hamburg , Karl Kaufmann , to revoke his political convictions, he did not follow. Heinrich Haselmayer succeeded him as director of the Hamburg Adult Education Center .
After his discharge from the civil service, he worked for a while as an advertisement for a cinema magazine and operated a coffee mail order business (at Holzbrücke 2 at Nikolaifleet ). Through the operation in the coffee shop he came into contact with like-minded people, and the place became a contact point for members of the social democratic and communist resistance of the Hanseatic city. He helped other persecuted people like Hermann Hoefer or Rudolf Klug, among other things, with a job in his shop.
After the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944 , Adams was also arrested in Greiz on August 24, 1944 as part of the subsequent “ thunderstorm campaign ” of the National Socialists (spa stay). On August 28th he was brought to Buchenwald concentration camp . He got sick quickly during the inhuman detention. Although he was able to survive pneumonia thanks to the illegal camp organization in the camp hospital , he never fully recovered. Adams died of meningitis on October 7, 1944 .
Honors
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- Kurt-Adams-Platz in Hamburg-Lohbrügge was named after him in his honor.
- A postage stamp with his portrait was issued in the GDR .
- In Hamburg, on June 8, 2012, stumbling blocks were laid in front of the town hall for the murdered members of the Hamburg parliament, including Kurt Adams. Another stumbling block is at the entrance to Terminal 2 at Hamburg Airport .
Works
- Kurt Adams: Otto Ludwig's theory of drama. With an appendix: Attempt at critical appraisal . At the same time dissertation at the University of Greifswald , Greifswald 1912.
- Kurt Adams: The Hamburg adult education center in the judgment of its audience . Frankfurt am Main 1931.
literature
- Kurt Adams . In: Franz Osterroth : Biographical Lexicon of Socialism. Deceased personalities . Vol. 1. JHW Dietz Nachf., Hanover 1960, p. 9.
- Manfred Asendorf: Paths to Democracy. 75 years of democratically elected Hamburg citizenship. Hamburg 1994, p. 55.
- Jörg Bohn: Dr. Kurt Adams. Teacher and Member of Parliament in Hamburg. Hamburg 1982.
- John Hopp: Kurt Adams. This is where our end begins. In: Ursel Hochmuth and Hans-Peter de Lorent (eds.): Hamburg. School under the swastika. Hamburg 1985, pp. 152-158.
- Luise Kraushaar : German resistance fighters 1933 to 1945. Berlin 1970, volume 1, p. 40f.
- Frank Müller: Members of the Citizenship. Victim of totalitarian persecution. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Published by the citizens of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Hamburg 1995, DNB 944894100 , p. 8ff.
- SPD-Hamburg: For freedom and democracy. Hamburg Social Democrats in Persecution and Resistance 1933–1945. P. 23/24.
Web links
- Resistance of the SPD Hamburg between 1933 and 1945 (pdf) (1.64 MB)
- Life data on the website of the Ernst Thälmann memorial in Hamburg. Archived from the original on July 24, 2002 ; Retrieved February 22, 2013 .
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Adams, Kurt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German politician (SPD), MdHB, victim of National Socialism |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 15, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 7, 1944 |
| Place of death | Buchenwald concentration camp |