Wilhelm Weiß (resistance fighter)

Wilhelm Weiß (born February 7, 1901 in Kurtschlag , Templin district ; † October 13, 1946 in Schwanebeck ) was a German communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism . He belonged to the Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein organization .

Life

Weiß, a trained pipe fitter, was initially organized in the German Metalworkers' Association and later in the Revolutionary Trade Union Opposition . During the Weimar Republic he was also a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). In 1927 he married Anna ("Änne") Thiebes, in 1928 their daughter Edith was born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1938.

After the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists , Weiss participated in the KPD's resistance struggle against the Nazi regime. As early as 1933 he was taken into “ protective custody ” and imprisoned in the Oranienburg concentration camp . After his release he was an advisor to the Berlin district leadership of the illegal KPD until 1936. From 1938 he worked at the Brandenburg Motor Works (Bramo) in Basdorf . Weiß took part in weekend meetings of communists and other Nazi opponents at the Gorinsee near Schönwalde . At the beginning of 1944 Anton Saefkow brought him together with Franz Jacob and was able to advertise the Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein-Organization. White received writings from the National Committee for Free Germany and met with Gustav Wegener . Together with his colleagues Heinz Hartwig and Hans Schwarze , he set up a new company cell at Bramo. Weiss was also in contact with forced laborers in the foreigners' camp , where he worked as a pipe fitter. In Berlin and Brandenburg he kept in touch with Paul Junius , Hans Paucka , Franz Peplinski and Elli Voigt .

On August 1, 1944, Weiß was arrested. Accused in the matter White, he was the " People's Court " on October 6, 1944, ten years prison sentenced. At the end of April 1945 he was freed by the Red Army in Brandenburg-Görden prison .

After the end of the war, Weiss and Franz Peplinski founded antifa committees and local groups of the KPD in Schwanebeck, Schönow , Schönwalde and Zepernick . White himself was head of the KPD's regional leadership in the Zepernick commandant district.

literature

• Ursel Hochmuth : Illegal KPD and movement “Free Germany” in Berlin and Brandenburg 1942–1945 . Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-933471-08-7 , p. 253.
• Hans-Joachim Fieber et al. (Ed.): Resistance in Berlin against the Nazi regime 1933 to 1945. A biographical lexicon. Volume 8 [T-Z]. Trafo-Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89626-358-7 , p. 167.