Wolfgang Thiess

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Wolfgang Thiess (born October 30, 1911 in Berlin , † September 9, 1943 in Berlin-Plötzensee ) was a German communist resistance fighter with contacts to the Red Orchestra .

Life

Sticky notes against the exhibition "The Soviet Paradise"

Thiess learned the trade of a businessman. At first he was apprentice spokesman in the Kreuzberg Hitler Youth until he converted to the Communist Youth Association in 1931 in a spectacular action with other Hitler Youths and has since worked actively there.

Even after 1933 he remained true to his convictions, painting slogans on the walls of houses, designing leaflets and then distributing them. For example, in 1934 he and a friend dropped leaflets from the last carriage of an elevated train at the intersection of Gitschiner Strasse and Mehringdamm . Both escaped unnoticed at the next stop on the subway. In 1937 he was arrested and two years prison sentenced, he in Luckau spent.

After his release, he met his friends and comrades again. They discussed in illegal circles, listened to foreign stations and made contact with opponents of Hitler in factories and other resistance groups. Through John Sieg and Hans Coppi he got in touch with the group around Arvid Harnack and Harro Schulze-Boysen in 1939 . He also met Ruthild Hahne , with whom he later lived. In mid-May 1942 he was involved in the sticky note campaign against the anti-Soviet propaganda exhibition The Soviet Paradise .

Plaque

Wolfgang Thiess was arrested on October 21, 1942 and sentenced to death on August 21, 1943 by the 2nd Senate of the People's Court for “preparing for high treason”. In a last letter to his partner he wrote: "... sleep well, Ruthild, dear little woman and good comrade."

souvenir

  • At the Hallesches Tor underground station , where Thiess had thrown leaflets from the train, a memorial plaque designed by Gerhard Moritzen has been hanging since 1988. On the occasion of Wolfgang Thiess's 100th birthday, it was cleaned and attached to the entrance area of ​​the underground station.
  • A torpedo speedboat of the National People's Army was named after Wolfgang Thiess.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Good bye, Thälmann in Der Tagesspiegel November 8, 2004
personal data
SURNAME Thiess, Wolfgang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German communist resistance fighter
DATE OF BIRTH October 30, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH September 9, 1943
Place of death Berlin-Plötzensee