Libertas Schulze-Boysen

Libertas Schulze-Boysen, born Libertas Viktoria Haas-Heye (20 November 1913 in Paris – 22 December 1942 in Berlin-Plötzensee) was a German opponent of the Nazis who belonged to the Red Orchestra (Rote Kapelle) resistance group during the Third Reich.

Libertas Schulze-Boysen

Early years

Schulze-Boysen spent her childhood at the estate of her grandfather Philip, Prince of Eulenburg and Hertefeld (1857–1921) in Liebenberg near Berlin.[1][2] She was a granddaughter of Prussian diplomat Philip, Prince of Eulenburg through his youngest daughter Viktoria.

After her abitur at a girls' secondary school in Zurich and a stay in the United Kingdom, she was hired by the motion picture company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Berlin branch office as a press officer. She joined the Nazi Party in March 1933.[1][2] In 1934, she became acquainted with Harro Schulze-Boysen, whom she married on 16 July 1936 in Liebenberg. Early in 1937, she left the Nazi Party.[1][2]

In the period that followed, she wrote a play with Günther Weisenborn, Die guten Feinde ("The Good Enemies"). In 1940, she wrote film reviews for the Essener Zeitung while also gathering pictorial evidence of Nazi war crimes in the Reich Propaganda Ministry. She supported her husband in the quest for like-minded opponents of the Nazi régime.[1]

Arrest and trial

In late October 1941 she was visited by a Soviet military intelligence officer and put him in contact with her husband. The Gestapo discovered their Resistance group in summer 1942 and her husband was arrested on 31 August 1942. Schulze-Boysen warned friends and disposed of their own illegal documents, but was arrested anyway on 8 September 1942.[2] While in prison, she wrote a number of remarkable letters and poems to her mother.[3]

She and her husband were brought before the Reichskriegsgericht ("Reich Court Martial"), where they were charged. She was charged with "preparation" to commit high treason, helping the enemy and espionage. Her husband was charged with preparation to commit high treason, wartime treason, military sabotage and espionage.[4] The trial ended on 19 December 1942 with death sentences for both her husband and her. Libertas Schulze-Boysen and her husband were executed on 22 December 1942 at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin.[1][5][6]

Honours

In the Berlin borough of Lichtenberg in 1972, a street was named after the Schulze-Boysens.[6]

The full name of her niece, Rosita, Duchess of Marlborough (b. 1943), is Dagmar Rosita Astrid Libertas.

Her grandniece is Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein.

See also

Bibliography
  • Silke Kettelhake, 'Erzähl allen, allen von mir!' – Das schöne kurze Leben der Libertas Schulze-Boysen 1913-1942 (Tell everyone, everyone about me!' – The beautiful, short life of Libertas Schulze-Boysen, 1913-1942) Publisher: Droemer Verlag (2008) ISBN 978-3-426-27437-8 (in German)

References
  1. Short biography of Libertas Schulze-Boysen. German Resistance Memorial Center, Berlin. Retrieved April 13, 2010
  2. List German Resistance fighters Biography of Libertas Schulze-Boysen. Retrieved April 13, 2010 (in German)
  3. Libertas: "Our Death must be a Beacon" Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Notice regarding program about Libertas Schulze-Boysen sponsored by the Leo Baeck Institute and Elysium. February 26, 2003. Retrieved April 13, 2010
  4. Nazi Feldurteil. Nazi "field" verdict sentencing the Schulze-Boysens and other members of the Red Orchestra. Retrieved April 13, 2010 (in German)
  5. Official Nazi document of execution Retrieved April 13, 2010 (in German)
  6. Background on Schulze-Boysen-Straße Retrieved April 13, 2010 (in German)
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