Ludwig Gehm

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Ludwig Gehm (born February 23, 1905 in Kaiserslautern ; † August 13, 2002 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German social democratic resistance fighter during the Nazi era and a survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp , who did educational work against right-wing radicalism and fascism well into old age .

Life

In 1911, at the age of six, Ludwig Gehm moved to Frankfurt / Main with his parents, as his father had been expelled as a strike leader from Bavaria, to which the Palatinate still belonged at the time. At the age of 14 he joined the socialist youth workers and did an apprenticeship as a lathe operator . After joining the SPD in 1921, he was just as active there from the start as he was in the union. In 1927 Ludwig went to the International Socialist Combat League (ISK). In contrast to the SPD, the ISK began preparing intensively for work in the underground against the National Socialists as early as 1932.

Gehm participated equally from the " seizure " of Adolf Hitler in 1933 actively participated in resistance activities, such as the failure of Nazi rallies by technical sabotage, rescue political refugees and the establishment of a resistance circuit (camouflage as a vegetarian restaurant). He was arrested for the first time in 1936. Due to the good camouflage of the actions of the former ISK, however, only a fraction of the actions carried out could be detected.

Ludwig Gehm was finally sentenced in 1938 to two years in prison for preparation for high treason. However , after his release (crediting the remand detention since 1936), the Gestapo demanded further punishment and so in 1939 he was transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp . There he suffered appalling conditions of detention for four years. Since every man was needed as a soldier in 1943, he was drafted into the notorious 999 Penalty Battalion immediately after his release from Buchenwald . When he was deployed in Greece in 1944, he deserted and fought with the Greek resistance ( ELAS ) against the SS . He became a member of the Anti-Fascist Committee Free Germany . He was then captured by the British military and taken to North Africa.

After his release from captivity in 1947, Ludwig Gehm rejoined the SPD and made it to the subdistrict secretary within the party by 1970. In 1958 he was elected city councilor in Frankfurt am Main and held this post until 1972. In recognition of his work in the resistance against the National Socialists, Ludwig Gehm received the Wilhelm Leuschner Medal in 1970 . The city of Frankfurt am Main awarded him the Johanna Kirchner Medal in 1991 .

In 1983, Gehm was interviewed for the first time about his time in Buchenwald and in the resistance ( ZDF TV film ). At this point he spoke for the first time since the experiences he had repressed from prison and the concentration camp. After the interview, he decided to actively use his experience to raise awareness among young people and in the 80s and 90s carried out several hundred events as a contemporary witness all over Germany and became the deputy federal chairman of the working group of formerly persecuted social democrats .

In 2002 Ludwig Gehm died at the age of 97 in Frankfurt am Main.

Works about Ludwig Gehm

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gehm, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION social democratic resistance fighter
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Kaiserslautern
DATE OF DEATH August 13, 2002
Place of death Frankfurt am Main