Baum Group Nine Executed (1943)

Thu Mar 04, 1943

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Image: Monument to the Baum Gruppe in the Weissensee cemetery, East Berlin. The text reads (top): “To the members of the Herbert Baum group executed in 1942/43”; (bottom): “They fell in the battle for peace and freedom.” [jwa.org]

On this day in 1943, nine members of the German anti-Nazi resistance Baum Group were executed by the state following an arson attack on an anti-Semitic and anti-Communist event prepared by Joseph Goebbels at the Berliner Lustgarten.

The Baum Group (“Baum Gruppe” in German) was formed by Jewish anti-fascists Herbert and Marianne Baum and their friends Martin and Sala Kochmann after the seizure of power by the National Socialists. Together, they organized meetings dealing with the threat of Nazism, meeting in the residences of various members. Up to 100 youths attended these meetings at various times, engaging in political debates and cultural discussions. The group openly distributed leaflets arguing against National Socialism.

On May 18th, 1942, the Baum Group set fire to the anti-Soviet exhibit “Das Sowjetparadies” (The Soviet Paradise), held in the Lustgarten in Berlin. The attempted arson was not successful and the exhibition was re-opened the following day. Nine days later, the Gestapo arrested an unspecified number of Jews and incarcerated them in the internment camp at the Lewetzowstrasse Synagogue.

On March 6th, 1943, nine captured members were executed: Heinz Rotholz (1922–1943), Heinz Birnbaum (1920–1943), Hella Hirsch (1921–1943), Hanni Meyer (1921–1943), Marianne Joachim (1922–1943), Lothar Salinger (1920–1943), Helmut Neumann (1922–1943), Hildegard Löwy, and Siegbert Rotholz (1922–1943).

Both Herbert and Marianne Baum were executed by the state separately in 1942.