Jakob Schmid
Jakob Schmid (born 25 July 1886 in Traunstein;[1] died 16 August 1964) was a German janitor of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). On 18th February 1943, he turned the siblings Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl, members of the resistance group White Rose, when they gave out pamphlets against Nazi-Germany.
Schmid and the Scholl siblings
Schmid worked since 1926 as janitor on the university. Since 1 November 1933 he was member of Storm Detachment (Sturmabteilung) and since 1 May 1937 member of the NSDAP.[1]
On the 18th February around 11:15 am, he noticed that the Scholl siblings gave out pamphlets on the yard and turned them as they intented to leave the building. He turned them to the secretary Albert Scheithammer. Since the principal Walther Wüst was absent, Schmid and Scheithammer delivered the Siblings Scholl to the consoul of the university, Ernst Haeffner, who delivered them to the Gestapo.
In the progress of arrest of the Scholl siblings, they and other members of the White Rose were sentences to death in Show trial and hree of them – Christoph Probst, Sophie Scholl and Hans Scholl – executed by guillotine on the very day of the sentencing on 22 February 1943 in Stadelheim Prison.
For arresting the Scholl siblings, Scholl received a reward in amount of 3,000 Reichsmark and was evelated from a worker to an employee.[2] Hundreds of students cheered Jakob Schmid at a thank-you ceremony organized by the University of Munich to successfully crush student resistance, who replied with a Nazi salute.[3]
After the war
Three days after the end of the Second World War 11 May 1945, Schmid was arrested by US-Americans.[1] In a process, under the chairmanship of Karl Mayer, he was classified as one of the "Main-Culprits" and sentenced to five years of Labor camp. Furthermore, he lost his claim of public earnings and lost his right to perform a public office. He appealed the sentence twie without success, one with the reason, he just "did his duty". It was not about the content of the pamphlets but it was forbidden to give out pamphlets on university. He was released from arrest in 1951 and his pension was renewed.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Sönke Zankel: Vom Helden zum Hauptschuldigen – Der Mann, der die Geschwister Scholl festnahm. (PDF-Datei; 372 kB) In: Elisabeth Kraus (Hrsg.): Die Universität München im Dritten Reich. Aufsätze. Teil I. S. 581ff.
- ^ a b Gedächtnisvorlesung von Bundespräsident Johannes Rau aus Anlass des sechzigsten Jahrestags der Hinrichtung der Mitglieder der „Weißen Rose“ am 30. Januar 2003. In: bundespraesident.de. Abgerufen am 2. Januar 2018.
- ^ Dietmar Süß (2013-07-26), "Nationalsozialismus: Der Spion nebenan", Die Zeit (in German), Hamburg, ISSN 0044-2070, retrieved 2017-01-13