Reinhold Bechtle

Reinhold Bechtle (born March 28, 1907 in Löchgau ; † January 13, 1938 in the Welzheim protective custody camp ) was a KPD member and resistance fighter against National Socialism .

Life

Reinhold Bechtle was born as one of seven children to the married couple Wilhelm and Luise Rosine Bechtle. He learned the trade of tailor and started his own business early on. In 1935 he married Johanna Kauz. The couple had a daughter who was born in 1937. She lives in the USA today.

After the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists, Reinhold Bechtle was arrested by the Gestapo on April 20, 1933 because of his membership of the KPD and because of his anti-fascist attitude, as were his brothers Emil and Wilhelm . He was taken to the Heuberg concentration camp near Stetten on the cold market. When this camp was closed in the winter of 1933, he and other prisoners were brought to the newly established Oberer Kuhberg protective custody camp in Ulm. After his release from the Oberer Kuhberg concentration camp on March 20, 1934, Reinhold Bechtle continued the fight against the fascist dictatorship. He was head of a resistance group that enabled Jews to flee to Switzerland. As a helper for the " Otto Transport Column ", he smuggled anti-fascist writings from Switzerland across the Black Forest into the Stuttgart area.

Reinhold Bechtle was arrested again on December 28, 1937. A Jewish couple, whom Reinhold Bechtle's group had helped to flee to Switzerland, had been caught and, after being tortured by the Gestapo, had disclosed the name of their escape helper, Bechtle. Until January 12, 1938, Bechtle was subjected to severe torture by the Gestapo in the Hotel Silber police prison in Stuttgart. Nevertheless, he did not disclose the names of his comrades and the other members of his group of escape helpers. Badly mistreated, he was transferred to the Welzheim protective custody camp on January 12, 1938. The following night he was killed in unknown circumstances.

Honors

As early as 1945, a street in Löchgau was renamed Reinholdstrasse in his honor. This street is renamed Reinhold-Bechtle-Straße due to a municipal council resolution of December 2006.

literature

• Thomas Schulz (Ed.): Löchgau - Contributions to local history. Community of Löchgau, Löchgau 2004, pp. 222, 224, 239f. DNB 1006970916

Web links

• Article Resistance and persecution of a Württemberg family : page 8 and page 9 in bulletin no. 42 of the documentation center of the memorial of the former Oberer Kuhberg concentration camp in Ulm (dzok-ulm.de)