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Wessel soon impressed Goebbels, and in January 1928, a period in which the Berlin city authorities had banned the SA in an effort to curb political street violence, Wessel was sent to [[Vienna]] to study the National Socialist Youth Group, as well as the organisational and tactical methods of the Nazi Party there.{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}<ref name=reuth101>{{harvnb|Reuth|1993|p=101}}</ref> He returned to Berlin in July 1928 to recruit local youths, and was involved in helping to implement a reorganisation of the NSDAP in the city into a cell-structure similar to that used by the German Communist Party (KPD). Wessel did this despite SA rules forbidding its members from working for the party.<ref name=reuth101 />
Wessel soon impressed Goebbels, and in January 1928, a period in which the Berlin city authorities had banned the SA in an effort to curb political street violence, Wessel was sent to [[Vienna]] to study the National Socialist Youth Group, as well as the organisational and tactical methods of the Nazi Party there.{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}<ref name=reuth101>{{harvnb|Reuth|1993|p=101}}</ref> He returned to Berlin in July 1928 to recruit local youths, and was involved in helping to implement a reorganisation of the NSDAP in the city into a cell-structure similar to that used by the German Communist Party (KPD). Wessel did this despite SA rules forbidding its members from working for the party.<ref name=reuth101 />


In 1929, Wessel became the Street Cell Leader of the [[Alexanderplatz]] Storm Section of the SA.<ref name=reuth101 /> In May, he was appointed district leader of the SA for [[Friedrichshain]] where he lived,{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=73}}, SA-Sturm 5.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=xiii}} with the rank of ''Sturmführer''.{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|pp=116-120}} In October 1929, Wessel dropped out of university to devote himself full-time to the Nazi movement.{{sfn|Quinn|2009|p=89}} In that same year, Wessel wrote the lyrics to "Raise the Flag!", which would later be known as the "Horst Wessel Song".{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=xiii}} Wessel wrote songs for the SA in conscious imitation of the Communist paramilitary, the Red Front Fighters' League, to provoke them into attacking his troops, and to keep up the spirits of his men.{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|pp=116-120}}
In 1929, Wessel became the Street Cell Leader of the [[Alexanderplatz]] Storm Section of the SA.<ref name=reuth101 /> In May, he was appointed district leader of the SA for [[Friedrichshain]] where he lived,{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=73}}, SA-Sturm 5.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=xiii}} with the rank of ''Sturmführer''.{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|pp=116-120}} In October 1929, Wessel dropped out of university to devote himself full-time to the Nazi movement.{{sfn|Quinn|2009|p=89}} In that same year, Wessel wrote the lyrics to ''"Die Fahne hoch!"'' ("Raise the Flag!"), which would later be known as the "Horst Wessel Song".{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=3}} Wessel wrote songs for the SA in conscious imitation of the Communist paramilitary, the Red Front Fighters' League, to provoke them into attacking his troops, and to keep up the spirits of his men.{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|pp=116-120}}


Wessel became well-known among the Communists when &ndash; on orders from Goebbels{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=107–108}} &ndash; he led a number of SA incursions into the Fischerkiez, an extremely poor Berlin district where Communists mingled with underworld figures. Several of these agitations were only minor altercations, but one took place outside the tavern which the local Communist Party (KPD) used as its headquarters. As a result of that melee, five Communists were injured, four of them seriously. The Communist newspaper accused the police of letting the Nazis get away, while arresting the injured Communists, while the Nazi newspaper claimed that Wessel had been trying to give a speech when shadowy figures emerged and began the fight.{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=107–108}} Wessel was marked for death by the KPD, with his face and address featured on street posters,{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|pp=116-120}} and the slogan of the KPD and the Red Front Fighters' League became "Strike the fascists wherever you find them."{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=107–108}}
Wessel became well-known among the Communists when &ndash; on orders from Goebbels{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=107–108}} &ndash; he led a number of SA incursions into the Fischerkiez, an extremely poor Berlin district where Communists mingled with underworld figures. Several of these agitations were only minor altercations, but one took place outside the tavern which the local Communist Party (KPD) used as its headquarters. As a result of that melee, five Communists were injured, four of them seriously. The Communist newspaper accused the police of letting the Nazis get away, while arresting the injured Communists, while the Nazi newspaper claimed that Wessel had been trying to give a speech when shadowy figures emerged and began the fight.{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=107–108}} Wessel was marked for death by the KPD, with his face and address featured on street posters,{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|pp=116-120}} and the slogan of the KPD and the Red Front Fighters' League became "Strike the fascists wherever you find them."{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=107–108}}


=== Erna Jänicke ===
=== Erna Jänicke ===
In September 1929, Wessel met Erna Jänicke, an 18-year-old ex-prostitute, in a bar.{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}{{sfn|Mann 1938}} Soon he moved into her apartment in 62 Große Frankfurter Straße (today [[Karl-Marx-Allee]]).{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=111=113}} The landlady was Elisabeth Salm, whose late husband had been an active Communist.{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=138}} Some sources claim Wessel earned money as Jänicke's procurer.{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}{{sfn|Mann 1938}} After a few months, there was a dispute between Salm and Wessel over unpaid rent, and Salm appealed to the Communists for help.{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}
In September 1929, Wessel met Erna Jänicke, a 23-year-old ex-prostitute, in a tavern not far from Alexanderplatz.{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}{{sfn|Mann 1938}} In 1 November she moved into his room in 62 Große Frankfurter Straße (today [[Karl-Marx-Allee]]),{{sfn|Reuth|1993|pp=111=113}} which he sub-let from 29-year old Elisabeth Salm,{{sfn|Siemens|2013|pp=4-7}} whose late husband had been an active Communist Red Freedom Fighter, although she described herself as apolitical.{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|Siemens|2013|pp=4-7}} Some sources claim Wessel earned money as Jänicke's procurer.{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}{{sfn|Mann 1938}} After a few months, there was a dispute between Salm and Wessel over unpaid rent, Salm wanted Jänicke to leave, but she wouldn't, and Salm appealed to Communist friends of her late husband for help on the evening of 14 January 1930.{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|Jewish Virtual Library 2015}}{{sfn|Siemens|2013|pp=4-7}} At first the Communists were not interested in helping her, as she had refused to allow the KPD to give her husband the standard burial rite used for members of the Red Freedom Fighters League, but when they realixed that Horst Wessel was involved, they agreed to give Wessel a beating and get him out of Salm's flat by force.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=7}}


== Death ==
== Death ==
[[File:Mug shot of Albrecht Höhler, active communist member and the man who murdered Horst Wessel, 1933.gif|thumb|left|337px|Mug shot of Albrecht Höhler, the man arrested and later killed for Wessel's murder, 1933]]
[[File:Mug shot of Albrecht Höhler, active communist member and the man who murdered Horst Wessel, 1933.gif|thumb|left|337px|Mug shot of Albrecht Höhler, the man arrested and later killed for Wessel's murder, 1933]]


In the evening of 14 January 1930, at around ten o'clock, Wessel was shot in the face at point-blank range by two members of the KPD in [[Friedrichshain]].{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=3}}{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=123}} The attack occurred in the building where Wessel and Jänicke lived. As he was lying seriously wounded in hospital, Goebbels was already releasing reports asserting that those who had carried out the attack were "degenerate communist subhumans".{{sfn|Baird|1992|p=82}} Wessel later died in hospital on 23 February from [[blood poisoning]] he contracted during his hospitalisation.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=3}}{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=123}}
At around ten o'clock that night, 14 January 1930, Wessel was shot at point-blank range by two members of the KPD {{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=3}}{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=123}} on the third floor of the building where Wessel and Jänicke lived. The two were part of a gang of at least a dozen men who had headed off to beat up Wessel. They went to the flat, where Wessel, who was expecting a visit from the leader of another SA Sturm group, let them in. Wessel was shot almost immediately upon opening the door, although Albrecht Hölhler later claimed that Wessel had attempted to pull out a gun, and he had shot Wessel in self defense. The attackers searched the room, removed a pistol from the wardrobe and a rubber truncheon, and then fled the scene, meeting up with the rest of the men in the street, and then the entire group returned to their usual nighttime activities.{{sfn|2013|Siemens|pp=7-9}}


Even as Wessel was lying seriously wounded in hospital, Goebbels was already releasing reports asserting that those who had carried out the attack were "degenerate communist subhumans".{{sfn|Baird|1992|p=82}} Wessel later died in hospital on 23 February from [[blood poisoning]] he contracted during his hospitalisation.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=3}}{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=123}}
Following his death, the Nazis and Communists offered different accounts of the events.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=4}} The police (led by Chief Inspector Teichmann) and several courts determined that both political and private reasons had led to Wessel's assassination.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=4}} By 17 January 1930, the police announced their manhunt for their prime suspect: KPD member Albrecht Höhler.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} Jänicke identified Höhler as the gunman.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} It was then reported by a democratic-minded newspaper that Jänicke knew about the existence of Höhler prior to the murder because Wessel had used her for espionage.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} Jänicke responded by saying she had never been a spy for Wessel, and that she only knew Höhler as an "acquaintance from the streets".{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} The police and courts believed Jänicke, and Höhler was quickly arrested.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} He was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the shooting;{{sfn|Siemens|2013|pp=15–16}} the light sentence the result of the court finding that there were extenuating circumstances. Seven accomplices were also found guilty and sentenced to jail.<ref name=schumann />


Following his death, the Nazis and Communists offered different accounts of the events.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=4}} The police &ndash; led by Chief Inspector Teichmann &ndash; and several courts determined that both political and private reasons had led to Wessel's assassination.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=4}} By 17 January 1930, the police announced their manhunt for their prime suspect, KPD member Albrecht Höhler.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} Jänicke identified Höhler as the gunman.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} It was then reported by a democratic-minded newspaper that Jänicke knew about the existence of Höhler prior to the murder because Wessel had used her for espionage.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} Jänicke responded by saying she had never been a spy for Wessel, and that she only knew Höhler as an "acquaintance from the streets".{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} The police and courts believed Jänicke, and Höhler was quickly arrested.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=14}} He was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the shooting;{{sfn|Siemens|2013|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Reuth|1993|p=178}}{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=120}} the light sentence the result of the court finding that there were extenuating circumstances. Seven accomplices were also found guilty and sentenced to jail.<ref name=schumann />
Three years later, after the Nazi accession to power in 1933, Höhler was executed for murder by the SA.{{sfn|Reuth|1993|p=178}}{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=120}}

=== Executions ===
Three years later, after the Nazi accession to power, Höhler was taken out of prison under false pretenses by the SA and illegally executed.{{sfn|Reuth|1993|p=178}}{{sfn|Burleigh|2012|p=120}}

On April 10, 1935, five years after Wessel's assassination, and two years after the SA murder of Wessel's killer, Albrecht Höhler, two persons accused of being involved in Wessel's killing were put on trial and subsequently beheaded in Berlin's [[Plotzensee Prison]]: Solly Epstein, a Jewish painter, and Hans Ziegler, a barber. The two had been arrested in August 1933, and were put on trial in May 1934 with a third defendant, Peter Stoll, a tailor.<ref name=schumann>Schumann (1936), p.367</ref> In 2009 the sentences against them were rescinded by the German government.


=== Funeral ===
=== Funeral ===
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Wessel played the ''[[Shawm|schalmei]]'' (shawm), a double-reed [[woodwind instrument]]{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=27}} which was played in groups called ''Schalmeienkapellen'' ("Schalmeien orchestras or bands"), and are still used in folk celebrations.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=27}} Wessel founded an "SA Schalmeienkapelle" band, which provided music during SA events.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=27}} In early 1929, Wessel wrote the lyrics for a new Nazi fight song ''Kampflied'' ("fight song"), which was first published in Goebbels's newspaper ''[[Der Angriff]]'' in September, under the title ''Der Unbekannte SA-Mann'' ("The Unknown SA-Man").{{sfn|Mann 1938}} The song later became known as ''Die Fahne Hoch'' ("Raise the Flag") and finally the "[[Horst-Wessel-Lied]]" ("Horst Wessel Song").{{sfn|Mann 1938}} The Nazis made it a co-national anthem of [[Nazi Germany]], along with the first stanza of the ''[[Deutschlandlied]]''.{{sfn|Bonney|2009|p=116}} It was later claimed by the Nazis that Wessel also wrote the music, but it was considered more likely that the tune was in reality adapted from a [[World War I]] [[Kaiserliche Marine|German Imperial Navy]] song, and was probably originally a folk song.{{sfn|Mann 1938}} The authorship of the melody was finally determined by a German court in 1937 as not by Wessel.{{sfn|Mann 1938}}
Wessel played the ''[[Shawm|schalmei]]'' (shawm), a double-reed [[woodwind instrument]]{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=27}} which was played in groups called ''Schalmeienkapellen'' ("Schalmeien orchestras or bands"), and are still used in folk celebrations.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=27}} Wessel founded an "SA Schalmeienkapelle" band, which provided music during SA events.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=27}} In early 1929, Wessel wrote the lyrics for a new Nazi fight song ''Kampflied'' ("fight song"), which was first published in Goebbels's newspaper ''[[Der Angriff]]'' in September, under the title ''Der Unbekannte SA-Mann'' ("The Unknown SA-Man").{{sfn|Mann 1938}} The song later became known as ''Die Fahne Hoch'' ("Raise the Flag") and finally the "[[Horst-Wessel-Lied]]" ("Horst Wessel Song").{{sfn|Mann 1938}} The Nazis made it a co-national anthem of [[Nazi Germany]], along with the first stanza of the ''[[Deutschlandlied]]''.{{sfn|Bonney|2009|p=116}} It was later claimed by the Nazis that Wessel also wrote the music, but it was considered more likely that the tune was in reality adapted from a [[World War I]] [[Kaiserliche Marine|German Imperial Navy]] song, and was probably originally a folk song.{{sfn|Mann 1938}} The authorship of the melody was finally determined by a German court in 1937 as not by Wessel.{{sfn|Mann 1938}}

=== Executions ===
On April 10, 1935, five years after Wessel's assassination, and two years after the SA murder of Wessel's killer, Albrecht Höhler, two persons accused of being involved in Wessel's killing were put on trial and subsequently beheaded in Berlin's [[Plotzensee Prison]]: Solly Epstein, a Jewish painter, and Hans Ziegler, a barber. The two had been arrested in August 1933, and were put on trial in May 1934 with a third defendant, Peter Stoll, a tailor.<ref name=schumann>Schumann (1936), p.367</ref> In 2009 the sentences against them were rescinded by the German government.


=== Posthumous notability ===
=== Posthumous notability ===
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In 1936, Nazi Germany's ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' commissioned a three-masted training ship and named her the [[Horst Wessel (ship)|''Horst Wessel'']].{{sfn|German Propaganda Archive 2015}} The ship was taken as a war prize by the United States after World War II.{{sfn|German Propaganda Archive 2015}} After repairs and modifications, she was commissioned on 15 May 1946 into the [[United States Coast Guard]] as the [[USCGC Eagle (WIX-327)|USCGC ''Eagle'' (WIX-327)]]. She remains in service to this day.{{sfn|German Propaganda Archive 2015}}
In 1936, Nazi Germany's ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' commissioned a three-masted training ship and named her the [[Horst Wessel (ship)|''Horst Wessel'']].{{sfn|German Propaganda Archive 2015}} The ship was taken as a war prize by the United States after World War II.{{sfn|German Propaganda Archive 2015}} After repairs and modifications, she was commissioned on 15 May 1946 into the [[United States Coast Guard]] as the [[USCGC Eagle (WIX-327)|USCGC ''Eagle'' (WIX-327)]]. She remains in service to this day.{{sfn|German Propaganda Archive 2015}}

In 1938, an area of reclaimed land in the rural area of [[Eiderstedt]] in [[Schleswig-Holstein]] was named the "Horst Wessel polder".{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=3}}


Examples of German military units adopting the name of this Nazi-era "martyr" in World War II include the [[18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel|18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division]], known as the "Horst Wessel" Division, and the Luftwaffe's 26th Destroyer (or heavy fighter) Wing ''[[Zerstörergeschwader 26]]'', as well as its successor day fighter unit ''[[Jagdgeschwader 6]]'', which was similarly named the "Horst Wessel" wing.{{sfn|Baird|1975|p=127}}
Examples of German military units adopting the name of this Nazi-era "martyr" in World War II include the [[18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel|18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division]], known as the "Horst Wessel" Division, and the Luftwaffe's 26th Destroyer (or heavy fighter) Wing ''[[Zerstörergeschwader 26]]'', as well as its successor day fighter unit ''[[Jagdgeschwader 6]]'', which was similarly named the "Horst Wessel" wing.{{sfn|Baird|1975|p=127}}


=== Post-Third Reich ===
==== Post-Third Reich ====
In the modern era, some ultra-right-wing groups had attempted to revive Wessel's name as a symbol. For instance, the Young National Democrats (JN), which is the youth wing of the [[National Democratic Party of Germany]] (NPD} use his name and his "history" to attempt to inspire their members.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=xiv}}
In the modern era, some ultra-right-wing groups had attempted to revive Wessel's name as a symbol. For instance, the Young National Democrats (JN), which is the youth wing of the [[National Democratic Party of Germany]] (NPD), use his name and his "history" to attempt to inspire their members.{{sfn|Siemens|2013|p=xiv}}


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 20:54, 4 February 2017

Horst Wessel
Born
Horst Ludwig Georg Erich Wessel

(1907-10-09)9 October 1907
Died23 February 1930(1930-02-23) (aged 22)
Political partyNazi Party 1926-33

Horst Ludwig Georg Erich Wessel (9 October 1907 – 23 February 1930) was a local leader of the Nazi Party's "stormtroopers" – the Sturmabteilung or "SA" – in Berlin, who is best known for being made into a martyr for the Nazi cause by Josef Goebbels after Wessel's murder in 1930.

Wessel first joined a number of youth groups and extreme right-wing paramilitary groups, but later resigned from them and joined the SA, the brownshirted street-fighting stormtroopers of the Nazi Party. He rose to command several SA squads and districts. On 14 January 1930, he was shot in the head by two members of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Albrecht Höhler was arrested and charged with his murder. He was initially sentenced to six years in prison, but was forcibly taken out of jail and assassinated by the SA after the Nazis came to power.

Wessel's funeral was given wide attention in Berlin, with many of the Nazi elite in attendance. After his death, he became a major Nazi propaganda symbol in the Third Reich. The march he had written the lyrics to was re-named the "Horst-Wessel-Lied" ("Horst Wessel Song"), and became the official anthem of the Nazi Party. After Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, the song became the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first verse of the "Deutschlandlied" (also known as "Deutschland über alles").

Early life

Wessel as an infant with his mother and father, 1907

Horst Ludwig Georg Erich Wessel was born on 9 October 1907 in Bielefeld, Westphalia, the son of Wilhelm Ludwig Georg Wessel (born 15 July 1879), a Lutheran minister in Bielefeld, and later in Mülheim an der Ruhr, then at the Nikolai Church,[1] one of Berlin's oldest churches. Wessel's mother, Bertha Luise Margarete Wessel (neé Richter), also came from a family of Lutheran pastors.[1] Wessel's parents were married on 1 May 1906.[1] He grew up alongside his sister Ingeborg Paula Margarethe (born 19 May 1909) and his brother Werner Georg Erich Ludwig (born 22 August 1910).[1] When they moved from Mülheim to Berlin, the family lived in the Judenstraße[2] ("Street of the Jews"), which in medieval times had been the centre of Berlin's Jewish community. Wessel's refusal to follow his father into the ministry was the subject of many father and son conflicts.[citation needed]

Wessel attended Volksschule (primary school) in Cölln from 1914 to 1922, and thereafter attended high school at the Königstädtisches Gymnasium, briefly at the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster ("Protestant Grey Cloister Gymnasium"), and for his final two years at the Luisenstädtisches Gymnasium,[3] where he passed his Abitur examination.[4] On 19 April 1926, Wessel enrolled in Friedrich Wilhelm University to study law.[5][6]

The Wessel family, influenced by the politics of the father, avidly supported the monarchist German National People's Party (DNVP), and when he was 15, Wessel joined the DNVP's youth group Bismarckjugend ("Bismarck Youth"), from which he resigned in 1925.[7] Near the end of this time, he also founded his own youth group, the Knappschaft, the purpose of which was to "raise our boys to be real German men."[8] He also joined the Wiking League ("Viking League"), a paramilitary group founded by Hermann Erhardt – the stated goal of which was to effect "the revival of Germany on a national and ethnic basis through the spiritual education of its members" – near the end of 1923.[9][10] He soon became a local leader, engaging in street battles with youth members of their adversarial groups,[8] such as the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Communist Party (KPD). Later, Wessel joined groups with a more sinister reputation, including the Black Reichswehr[11][12] and the "Olympia German Association for Physical Training", a powerful paramilitary group which was the successor of the disbanded Reinhard Regiment.[13]

In the Nazi Party

Wessel in his Sturmführer uniform leading an SA unit at a Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, 1929

Joining the SA

The Viking League and the Olympia Association were banned in Prussia in May 1926, when it was discovered they were planning a putsch against the government. Wessel, realizing that the League would not achieve its self-defined mission, resigned from it on 23 November 1926.[14] Two weeks later, on 7 December, he joined the paramilitary Sturmabteilung ("Storm Detachment" or SA) of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party)[6] Part of the attraction to Wessel was Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Party's newly-appointed Gauleiter (regional leader) of Berlin, about whom he would later say "There was nothing [Goebbels] couldn't handle. The party comrades clung to him with great devotion. The SA would have let itself be cut to pieces for him. Goebbels – he was like Hitler himself. Goebbels – he was our Goebbels."[5]

For a few years, Wessel lived a double life, as a middle-class university law student, and as a member of the primarily working-class SA, but in some ways the two worlds were converging in ideology. At university, Wessel joined a dueling society dedicated to "steeling and testing physical and moral fitness" through personal combat, while with the brownshirted SA, which was always interested in a good street fight, he was immersed in the anti-Semitic attitudes typical of the extreme right-wing paramilitary culture of the time. His study of jurisprudence at school was seen through the filter of his belief that the application of the law was primarily an instrument of power, and his personal beliefs, already geared toward anti-Jewish attitudes, were heavily influenced by the novel From Double Eagle to Red Flag, by the Russian Cossack general Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov, which was published in Germany in 1922. The anti-Semitic Krasnov accepted as fact The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a hoax which purported to show the plans of "International Jewry" to control the world. According to Wessel's sister, Krasnov's book was tremendously influential with her brother.[15]

Activities

In August 1927, Wessel traveled in a group of fifty SA men to the Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, joining other Berlin-based Nazis to make a group of 400, led by Goebbels. At the time, the SA was banned in Berlin. When they returned, the brownshirts were arrested.[16]

Wessel soon impressed Goebbels, and in January 1928, a period in which the Berlin city authorities had banned the SA in an effort to curb political street violence, Wessel was sent to Vienna to study the National Socialist Youth Group, as well as the organisational and tactical methods of the Nazi Party there.[17][18] He returned to Berlin in July 1928 to recruit local youths, and was involved in helping to implement a reorganisation of the NSDAP in the city into a cell-structure similar to that used by the German Communist Party (KPD). Wessel did this despite SA rules forbidding its members from working for the party.[18]

In 1929, Wessel became the Street Cell Leader of the Alexanderplatz Storm Section of the SA.[18] In May, he was appointed district leader of the SA for Friedrichshain where he lived,[19], SA-Sturm 5.[20] with the rank of Sturmführer.[21] In October 1929, Wessel dropped out of university to devote himself full-time to the Nazi movement.[22] In that same year, Wessel wrote the lyrics to "Die Fahne hoch!" ("Raise the Flag!"), which would later be known as the "Horst Wessel Song".[23] Wessel wrote songs for the SA in conscious imitation of the Communist paramilitary, the Red Front Fighters' League, to provoke them into attacking his troops, and to keep up the spirits of his men.[21]

Wessel became well-known among the Communists when – on orders from Goebbels[24] – he led a number of SA incursions into the Fischerkiez, an extremely poor Berlin district where Communists mingled with underworld figures. Several of these agitations were only minor altercations, but one took place outside the tavern which the local Communist Party (KPD) used as its headquarters. As a result of that melee, five Communists were injured, four of them seriously. The Communist newspaper accused the police of letting the Nazis get away, while arresting the injured Communists, while the Nazi newspaper claimed that Wessel had been trying to give a speech when shadowy figures emerged and began the fight.[24] Wessel was marked for death by the KPD, with his face and address featured on street posters,[21] and the slogan of the KPD and the Red Front Fighters' League became "Strike the fascists wherever you find them."[24]

Erna Jänicke

In September 1929, Wessel met Erna Jänicke, a 23-year-old ex-prostitute, in a tavern not far from Alexanderplatz.[25][17][11] In 1 November she moved into his room in 62 Große Frankfurter Straße (today Karl-Marx-Allee),[26] which he sub-let from 29-year old Elisabeth Salm,[27] whose late husband had been an active Communist Red Freedom Fighter, although she described herself as apolitical.[17][25][27] Some sources claim Wessel earned money as Jänicke's procurer.[17][11] After a few months, there was a dispute between Salm and Wessel over unpaid rent, Salm wanted Jänicke to leave, but she wouldn't, and Salm appealed to Communist friends of her late husband for help on the evening of 14 January 1930.[25][17][27] At first the Communists were not interested in helping her, as she had refused to allow the KPD to give her husband the standard burial rite used for members of the Red Freedom Fighters League, but when they realixed that Horst Wessel was involved, they agreed to give Wessel a beating and get him out of Salm's flat by force.[28]

Death

Mug shot of Albrecht Höhler, the man arrested and later killed for Wessel's murder, 1933

At around ten o'clock that night, 14 January 1930, Wessel was shot at point-blank range by two members of the KPD [23][29] on the third floor of the building where Wessel and Jänicke lived. The two were part of a gang of at least a dozen men who had headed off to beat up Wessel. They went to the flat, where Wessel, who was expecting a visit from the leader of another SA Sturm group, let them in. Wessel was shot almost immediately upon opening the door, although Albrecht Hölhler later claimed that Wessel had attempted to pull out a gun, and he had shot Wessel in self defense. The attackers searched the room, removed a pistol from the wardrobe and a rubber truncheon, and then fled the scene, meeting up with the rest of the men in the street, and then the entire group returned to their usual nighttime activities.[30]

Even as Wessel was lying seriously wounded in hospital, Goebbels was already releasing reports asserting that those who had carried out the attack were "degenerate communist subhumans".[31] Wessel later died in hospital on 23 February from blood poisoning he contracted during his hospitalisation.[23][29]

Following his death, the Nazis and Communists offered different accounts of the events.[32] The police – led by Chief Inspector Teichmann – and several courts determined that both political and private reasons had led to Wessel's assassination.[32] By 17 January 1930, the police announced their manhunt for their prime suspect, KPD member Albrecht Höhler.[33] Jänicke identified Höhler as the gunman.[33] It was then reported by a democratic-minded newspaper that Jänicke knew about the existence of Höhler prior to the murder because Wessel had used her for espionage.[33] Jänicke responded by saying she had never been a spy for Wessel, and that she only knew Höhler as an "acquaintance from the streets".[33] The police and courts believed Jänicke, and Höhler was quickly arrested.[33] He was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the shooting;[34][35][36] the light sentence the result of the court finding that there were extenuating circumstances. Seven accomplices were also found guilty and sentenced to jail.[37]

Executions

Three years later, after the Nazi accession to power, Höhler was taken out of prison under false pretenses by the SA and illegally executed.[35][36]

On April 10, 1935, five years after Wessel's assassination, and two years after the SA murder of Wessel's killer, Albrecht Höhler, two persons accused of being involved in Wessel's killing were put on trial and subsequently beheaded in Berlin's Plotzensee Prison: Solly Epstein, a Jewish painter, and Hans Ziegler, a barber. The two had been arrested in August 1933, and were put on trial in May 1934 with a third defendant, Peter Stoll, a tailor.[37] In 2009 the sentences against them were rescinded by the German government.

Funeral

Goebbels' plan was to turn Wessel's funeral into a mass demonstration full of speeches and processions of SA men in uniform, but he could not get the necessary police permits to do so, even after Wessel's sister requested Hindenburg to relent.[38]

Wessel was buried in Berlin on 1 March 1930.[39][40] Contrary to Nazi claims, there were no attacks on the funeral procession.[39] His funeral was filmed and turned into a major propaganda event by the NSDAP.[39] Wessel was elevated by Goebbels' propaganda apparatus to the status of leading martyr of the Nazi movement.[41] Many of Goebbels's most effective propaganda speeches were made at gravesides, but Wessel received unusual attention among the many unremembered storm troopers.[42] In an editorial in the Völkischer Beobachter ("People's Observer"), Alfred Rosenberg wrote of how Wessel was not dead, but had joined a combat group that still struggled with them; afterwards, Nazis spoke of how a man who died in conflict had joined "Horst Wessel's combat group" or were "summoned to Horst Wessel's standard."[43] The Prussian police had outlawed public gatherings and the display of swastikas at the funeral procession, with the exception of a few Nazi Party vehicles.[39] Wessel's coffin was paraded through large parts of the center of Berlin in a procession that took many hours.[39]

As the coffin reached Bülowplatz (now Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz), KPD members began singing "The Internationale" in an attempt to disrupt the event.[39] The police were unable to prevent abusive shouts and, at some points, flying rocks.[39] No major clashes occurred,[39] although someone had written "To Wessel the pimp, a last Heil Hitler" in white paint on the cemetery wall.[44]

In attendance of Wessel's funeral was Goebbels (who delivered the eulogy), Franz Pfeffer von Salomon, Hermann Göring, and Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, referred to as the "Nazi prince."[45][40] Prior to the event, Goebbels and Göring had discussed the possibility of Hitler attending.[39] In his diary entry on the day of the funeral, Goebbels recalled: "Hitler isn't coming. Had the situation explained to him over the telephone and he actually declined. Oh well" [39] Goebbels blamed Rudolf Hess for preventing Hitler from coming.[38]

Goebbels continue to use the "martyrdom" of Wessel as a propaganda device for years, including in January 1933, when "an enormous procession ... led by Hitler, Goebbels, Röhm, and other top officials of the NSDAP,... marched to the St. Nicholas Cemetery ... [where] Hitler spoke of Wessel's death as a symbolic sacrifice, and dedicated a memorial to him.[46] Wessel's name was frequently invoked by the Nazis to bolster core tenets of National Socialist ideology during the remaining existence of the Third Reich. For example, a wartime article from the Nazi-owned Völkischer Beobachter newspaper called Wessel "the hero of the Brown Revolution" and referred to his "sacrificial death" that "passionately inflamed millions who followed". The paper further referred to Wessel as "the driving force behind the struggle for freedom of the armed services and the homeland of the Greater German Reich".[47]

After World War II, Wessel's memorial was vandalized and his remains were destroyed.[48] Such activity became common for buried Nazis in East Germany.[40] The grave site was long marked only by part of the headstone of Wessel's father, Ludwig, from which the surname "Wessel" had been removed.[48] This, too, was destroyed around 2005 and the site was marked only by a raised mound of earth bounded by ivy, with two iceplants in the center.[48] Later in 2011, a group of anti-Nazi activists attacked Wessel's grave and sprayed the words Keine Ruhe für Nazis! (English: "No Rest For Nazis!") on his headstone.[49] In August 2013, the grave of Wessel's father was levelled as well, as the church wished to stop the site from being a rally point for Neo-Nazis.[50]

Aftermath

Horst Wessel Song

Wessel played the schalmei (shawm), a double-reed woodwind instrument[51] which was played in groups called Schalmeienkapellen ("Schalmeien orchestras or bands"), and are still used in folk celebrations.[51] Wessel founded an "SA Schalmeienkapelle" band, which provided music during SA events.[51] In early 1929, Wessel wrote the lyrics for a new Nazi fight song Kampflied ("fight song"), which was first published in Goebbels's newspaper Der Angriff in September, under the title Der Unbekannte SA-Mann ("The Unknown SA-Man").[11] The song later became known as Die Fahne Hoch ("Raise the Flag") and finally the "Horst-Wessel-Lied" ("Horst Wessel Song").[11] The Nazis made it a co-national anthem of Nazi Germany, along with the first stanza of the Deutschlandlied.[52] It was later claimed by the Nazis that Wessel also wrote the music, but it was considered more likely that the tune was in reality adapted from a World War I German Imperial Navy song, and was probably originally a folk song.[11] The authorship of the melody was finally determined by a German court in 1937 as not by Wessel.[11]

Posthumous notability

Hans Westmar

Hans Westmar was one of the first films of the Nazi era to idealise a version of his life.[53] Goebbels, however, disliked the film and temporarily banned it, eventually allowing its release with alterations and with the main character's name changed to the fictional "Hans Westmar".[53] Part of the problem was the authentic depiction of storm trooper brutality, including violent clashes with Communists, did not fit the more reasonable tone the Nazis attempted to present initially, after coming to power; unlike Wessel, Westmar preaches class reconciliation and does not alienate his family.[54] It was among the first films to depict dying for Hitler as a glorious death for Germany, resulting in his spirit inspiring his comrades.[55]

Memorial namings

Passau named a street Horst-Wessel-Straße.[56]

The Berlin district of Friedrichshain, where Wessel died, was renamed "Horst Wessel Stadt", and a square in the Mitte district was renamed "Horst-Wessel-Platz".[57] The U-Bahn station nearby was also renamed.[57] After the war, the name Friedrichshain was restored and Horst-Wessel-Platz (which was in East Berlin) became "Liebknechtplatz" (after Karl Liebknecht).[57] In 1947 it was renamed "Luxemburg-Platz" after Rosa Luxemburg (it has been called Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz since 1969).[57]

In 1936, Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine commissioned a three-masted training ship and named her the Horst Wessel.[58] The ship was taken as a war prize by the United States after World War II.[58] After repairs and modifications, she was commissioned on 15 May 1946 into the United States Coast Guard as the USCGC Eagle (WIX-327). She remains in service to this day.[58]

In 1938, an area of reclaimed land in the rural area of Eiderstedt in Schleswig-Holstein was named the "Horst Wessel polder".[23]

Examples of German military units adopting the name of this Nazi-era "martyr" in World War II include the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division, known as the "Horst Wessel" Division, and the Luftwaffe's 26th Destroyer (or heavy fighter) Wing Zerstörergeschwader 26, as well as its successor day fighter unit Jagdgeschwader 6, which was similarly named the "Horst Wessel" wing.[59]

Post-Third Reich

In the modern era, some ultra-right-wing groups had attempted to revive Wessel's name as a symbol. For instance, the Young National Democrats (JN), which is the youth wing of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), use his name and his "history" to attempt to inspire their members.[60]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Siemens 2013, p. 22.
  2. ^ Siemens 2013, p. 24.
  3. ^ Siemens 2013, p. 30.
  4. ^ Siemens 2013, p. 35.
  5. ^ a b Reuth 1993, p. 82.
  6. ^ a b Siemens 2013, p. 41.
  7. ^ Siemens 2013, pp. 30–34.
  8. ^ a b Siemens 2013, pp. 34–35.
  9. ^ Friedrich, Thomas (2013) Hitler's Berlin: Abused City Spencer, Stewart (trans). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16670-5. pp. 61, 69.
  10. ^ Siemens 2013, pp. 35–39.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Mann 1938.
  12. ^ Siemens 2013, pp. 35–37.
  13. ^ Siemens 2013, p. 38.
  14. ^ Siemens 2013, p. 39.
  15. ^ Siemens 2013, pp. 42–44.
  16. ^ Reuth 1993, p. 93.
  17. ^ a b c d e Jewish Virtual Library 2015.
  18. ^ a b c Reuth 1993, p. 101
  19. ^ Siemens 2013, p. 73.
  20. ^ Siemens 2013, p. xiii.
  21. ^ a b c Burleigh 2000, pp. 116–120.
  22. ^ Quinn 2009, p. 89.
  23. ^ a b c d Siemens 2013, p. 3.
  24. ^ a b c Reuth 1993, pp. 107–108.
  25. ^ a b c Burleigh 2012, p. 138.
  26. ^ Reuth 1993, pp. 111=113.
  27. ^ a b c Siemens 2013, pp. 4–7.
  28. ^ Siemens 2013, p. 7.
  29. ^ a b Longerich 2015, p. 123.
  30. ^ 2013 & Siemens, pp. 7–9.
  31. ^ Baird 1992, p. 82.
  32. ^ a b Siemens 2013, p. 4.
  33. ^ a b c d e Siemens 2013, p. 14.
  34. ^ Siemens 2013, pp. 15–16.
  35. ^ a b Reuth 1993, p. 178.
  36. ^ a b Burleigh 2012, p. 120.
  37. ^ a b Schumann (1936), p.367
  38. ^ a b Reuth 1993, p. 112.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Siemens 2013, p. 17.
  40. ^ a b c World War II Graves 2015.
  41. ^ Siemens 2013, pp. 3, 14.
  42. ^ Baird 1975, p. 14.
  43. ^ Cecil 1972, p. 97.
  44. ^ Reuth 1993, p. 113.
  45. ^ Siemens 2013, pp. 15, 17.
  46. ^ Reuth 1993, p. 160.
  47. ^ Baird 1992, p. 106.
  48. ^ a b c Walden 2015.
  49. ^ Linksunten Indymedia 2015.
  50. ^ Kurier 2013.
  51. ^ a b c Siemens 2013, p. 27.
  52. ^ Bonney 2009, p. 116.
  53. ^ a b Welch 2001, pp. 66–67.
  54. ^ Koonz 2005, p. 85.
  55. ^ Erwin 1975, p. 24.
  56. ^ Rosmus, Anna Hitlers Nibelungen, Samples Grafenau 2015, pp. 249f. ISBN 393840132X
  57. ^ a b c d Luisenstadt 2015.
  58. ^ a b c German Propaganda Archive 2015.
  59. ^ Baird 1975, p. 127.
  60. ^ Siemens 2013, p. xiv.

Bibliography

Printed
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  • Baird, Jay (1992). To Die for Germany: Heroes in the Nazi Pantheon. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0253207579. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Bonney, Richard (2009). Confronting the Nazi War on Christianity: The Kulturkampf Newsletters, 1936–1939. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3039119042. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Burleigh, Michael (2012). The Third Reich: A New History. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330475501. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Cecil, Robert (1972). The Myth of the Master Race: Alfred Rosenberg and Nazi Ideology. Mead Dodd. ISBN 978-0396065777. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Erwin, Leiser (1975). Nazi Cinema. MacMillan. ISBN 978-0025702301. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Koonz, Claudia (2005). The Nazi Conscience. Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0674018426. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Longerich, Peter (2015). Goebbels: A Biography. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1400067510. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Quinn, Gabriele (2009). Hidden Beneath the Thorns: Growing Up Under Nazi Rule: a Memoir of Ingeborg E. Tismer. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1440178696. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Reuth, Ralf Georg (1993) [Originally published in German in 1990]. Goebbels. Winston, Krishna (trans.). New York: Harcourt, Brace. ISBN 0-15-136076-6.
  • Schumann, Frederick L. (1936) Hitler and the Nazi Dictatorship: A Study in Social Pathology and the Politics of Fascism. London: Robert Hale & Co.
  • Siemens, Daniel (2013). The Making of a Nazi Hero: The Murder and Myth of Horst Wessel. London: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-0857733139. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Welch, David (2001). Propaganda and the German Cinema, 1933–1945. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1860645204. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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