Lothar Salinger

Lothar Salinger (born May 8, 1919 in Berlin , † March 4, 1943 in Plötzensee prison , Berlin) was a German worker and resistance fighter against National Socialism. He was executed in 1943 as a victim of the Nazi war justice system.

Life and activity

Lothar Salinger was the son of a businessman. After attending elementary and secondary schools from 1925 to 1936, he worked in his father's shop until 1938. From 1935 he was politically active in the left-wing socialist Jewish youth association Habonim .

From 1939 Salinger worked as a gardener, transport worker and road construction worker. Since July 1940 he had to do forced labor in Köpenick. From 1941 he was employed in the Vogel wire and cable factory on Friedrichshagener Strasse.

Since 1940 Salinger has been active in the anti-Nazi resistance group led by the former communist youth functionary Herbert Baum (so-called "Herbert Baum Group"). This tried to make a contribution to the military defeat of the German Reich in World War II (and thus to the overthrow of the National Socialist regime) by supplementing the (external) war efforts of the Allied powers - and in particular the Soviet Union - from within. This was done through internal acts of sabotage: for example, they distributed anti-Nazi leaflets and flyers. The most important action of the group was an arson attack carried out in the early summer of 1942 on the anti-Soviet propaganda exhibition The Soviet Paradise in Berlin's Lustgarten .

In the course of the breaking up of the Baum group by the Secret State Police following the arson attack, Salinger was also arrested on July 15, 1942. Together with Heinz Birnbaum, Edith Fraenkel, Alice Hirsch, Hella Hirsch , Marianne Joachim, Hildegard Loewy , Hanni Meyer , Helmut Neumann, Heinz Rotholz, Lotte Rotholz and Siegbert Rotholz , he was indicted in the 2nd Senate of the People's Court on charges of high treason . In the judgment of December 10, 1942, he was found guilty and, like Birnbaum, Hella Hisch, Joachim, Loewy, Meyer, Neumann, Rotholz, was sentenced to death; Alice Hirsch, Edith Fraenkel and Lotte Rotholz received prison sentences. The execution took place in March 1943 in the Plötzensee prison by guillotine.

arrest

Members of the Baum group carried out an arson attack on the National Socialist propaganda exhibition " The Soviet Paradise " in Berlin on May 17, 1942 . After the attack, the group was uncovered by the Gestapo .

judgment

“On December 10, 1942, the trial of 12 more members of the Baum group took place before the Second Senate of the People's Court (Heinz Rotholz, Werner Birnbaum, Hella Hirsch, Alice Hirsch, Edith Fraenkel, Hanni Meyer, Marianne Joachim, Lothar Salinger, Helmuth Neumann, Hildegard Loewy, Siegbert Rotholz, Sara Rotholz). Prosecutor Wittmann demanded the death penalty for these members of the Baum group, who were not involved in the attack themselves, because they were guilty of “preparing for high treason and favoring the enemy”. The court under the chairman and vice-president of the People's Court Dr. Crohne and the assessor, District Judge Preussner, agreed with the prosecutor's request. 9 members were sentenced to death. In the grounds of the judgment it was pointed out that the defendants were Jews and as such had every reason to keep quiet and not, as in 1914/18, to stab the dagger in Germany's back. "

execution

“The conviction and execution of these young people, they were between 20 and 23 years old, were communicated to the population on a bright red poster. Their names were provided with the legally required additional first names Sara and Israel. "

" Notice

sentenced to death by the People's Court on December 10, 1942 for preparation for high treason and treasonous favoring the enemy

Heinz Israel Rotholz , 21 years old,

Heinz Israel Birnbaum , 22 years old,

Lothar Israel Salinger, 23 years old,

Helmuth Israel Neumann , 21 years old,

Siegbert Israel Rotholz , 23 years old,

Hella Sara Hirsch , 21 years old,

Hanni Sara Mayer , 23 years old,

Marianna Sara Joachim , 21 years old and

Hildegard Sara Loewy , 20 years old,

all from Berlin were executed today.

Berlin, March 4, 1943

The senior Reich attorney at the People's Court "

with the subtext

"Announcement about the execution of the death sentences on Heinz Rotholz and his companions"

Memorial stones

The Berlin memorial stone in the Lustgarten

Today, two memorial stones in Berlin dedicated to the Baum group also remember Lothar Salinger by name.

• Memorial plaque in Berlin at the Weissensee Jewish Cemetery (entrance: Markus-Reich-Platz)
• This by sculptor Jürgen Raue designed memorial in 1981 on behalf of the municipal authorities of Berlin (East) without further information on the resistance action in the Lustgarten set

literature

• Christiane Hoss, Martin Schönfeld: memorial plaques in Berlin. Places of remembrance of those persecuted by National Socialism, 1991–2001 (= series of publications by the Active Museum Fascism and Resistance in Berlin eV, Vol. 9, ZDB -ID 2215929-0 ). Active Museum Association, Berlin 2002, p. 131.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Page 151 at Margot Pikarski: Youth in Berlin's resistance. Herbert Baum and comrade in arms. Military Publishing House of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1978,
2. ↑ They were young, Jewish and left wing. taz , March 3, 2010.
3. ^ The Berlin group Baum and the Jewish resistance. ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 9. 
4. ^ The Berlin group Baum and the Jewish resistance. ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 9.  
5. ↑ Photo at Margot Pikarski: Youth in Berlin's resistance. Herbert Baum and comrade in arms. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1978.
6. ^ Resistance group around Herbert Baum, "Memorial plaque in Berlin at the Jewish cemetery in Weißensee (entrance: Markus-Reich-Platz)"
7. ^ Resistance group around Herbert Baum. "This memorial stone designed by the sculptor Jürgen Raue was erected in 1981 on behalf of the magistrate of Berlin (East) without any further information about the resistance action in the Lustgarten"