The Tragic Story Of The German Man Who Refused To Perform The Nazi Salute
The ordinary yet brave shipyard worker chose love over loyalty.
In the year 1936, in Nazi Germany, hundreds and hundreds of people had gathered in the port city of Hamburg to witness the grand launch of the new navy ship. To capture the moment, photographs were clicked, among which one particularly drew massive attention. All the workers were seen doing the infamous Nazi salute except one man.
The guy was eventually identified as August Landmesser, who joined the Nazi party in 1931, believing it would help him find work in a bad economy. However, in 1934, as fate would have it, Landmesser fell in love with a Jewish woman named Irma Eckler.
They got engaged a year later, but their marriage application was refused because newly passed Nuremberg Laws prohibited marriages between Jews and non-Jews. This did not stop them from having children, and Eckler gave birth to their first child, Ingrid, in 1935.
Two years later, Landmesser, his wife, and daughter attempted to flee Germany to Denmark but were apprehended by authorities. Landmesser was charged with “dishonoring the race” but was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence and was just ordered to end his relationship with Eckler.
He refused to abandon his wife, however, and was imprisoned again in 1938. This time he was sentenced to hard labor for 3 years at a nearby concentration camp. It was the last time he would see his wife and daughter.
Eckler was sent to prison, where she gave birth to their second daughter, Irene. She was then sent to a concentration camp, where she was murdered in 1942.
Landmesser was dismissed from his duties in 1941 and eventually recruited to fight the Allies. Due to his “criminal past”, he was sent on the most dangerous missions. Yep, just imagine a German Suicide Squad where criminals were sent where the loss of life didn’t matter. In 1944, he was killed in a battle in Croatia. The two daughters were placed with foster parents and survived through the war.
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