Charlotte Bischoff
Encyclopedia
Charlotte Bischoff, née Charlotte Wielepp, (October 5, 1901, Berlin
– November 4, 1994) was a German Communist and Resistance
fighter against National Socialism.
and Berlin from 1915-1930. She joined the Freie Sozialistische Jugend (Free Socialist Youth) and the Young Communist League of Germany
. In 1923, she joined the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) and the same year, married Fritz Bischoff, a founding member of the KPD, then working as a clerk with the Soviet trade mission. After 1930, Charlotte Bischoff was a steno-typist and publicist in the Prussian Landtag
faction and in the Central Committee
of the KPD.
pushed by Adolf Hitler
in response to the Reichstag Fire
on February 27, 1933 and signed into law by President Paul von Hindenburg
withdrew civil liberties and enabled the Nazis, then in key positions in government, to arrest anyone they deemed to be an enemy. This became first and foremost a confrontation with the KPD, but in effect, outlawed all political parties in Germany, other than the Nazi Party. The Enabling Act of March 27, 1933 consolidated their power and authority. In the first weeks of March 1933, there were 11,000 Communists arrested and by June 1933, more than half of the KPD district leaders were in detention.
In this environment, Bischoff went to work for the propaganda department of the KPD. In 1934, her husband was arrested by the Nazis and sentenced to eight years at hard labor in a Zuchthaus, then afterward held in "protective custody" at Sachsenhausen concentration camp
and finally, at Neuengamme concentration camp. He was shot on May 3, 1945 by the SS
, as he tried to save himself on the Cap Arcona.
Charlotte Bischoff went to Moscow in 1934, where till 1937, she worked for the International Relations department of the Communist International. This involved travel abroad to Denmark and the Netherlands. In 1938, she requested to be allowed to carry out illegal work in Germany. She was sent to Stockholm
, where important leaders of the KPD were then in exile. She was arrested there in 1939 as an illegal and was threatened with deportation to Germany, but was soon released. The Third Reich then withdrew her German citizenship. Bischoff then worked for the International Red Aid
taking care of emigrated German Communists, collecting money and having discussions with unionized construction workers on construction sites in Sweden.
In 1941, on behalf of the exiled leadership of the KPD, then under Herbert Wehner
, Bischoff was successful in entering Germany illegally on board a freight ship. The trip took a month, from June 29 to the end of July. Bischoff then worked in Berlin with various resistance groups, especially with Red Orchestra-connected groups, such as with people involved with Kurt
and Elisabeth Schumacher
, with the group around Wilhelm Knöchel and around Robert Uhrig
. She also worked on the magazine, Die Innere Front ("The Internal Front") with the Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization
. Acting as a courier, she gave "micro materials" to contact people in these groups.
Bischoff was one of the few members of the German Resistance who was able to evade arrest and she remained in Berlin, unknown, till the war's end. Die Innere Front was able to continue publication and distribution, even after numerous resistance fighters had been arrested, because of the work of Bischoff, Otto Grabowski and Ernst Siebert
Nach dem Krieg übte Bischoff verschiedene Tätigkeiten im Freien Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbund der DDR aus und wurde Mitglied der Socialist Unity Party of Germany
(SED). Nach Auseinandersetzungen innerhalb des FDGB arbeitete sie in den folgenden Jahren für die „Sozialhilfe Groß-Berlin“, eine in ganz Berlin tätige, der SED nahestehende Wohlfahrtsorganisation. Ab 1957 war sie ehrenamtliche freie Mitarbeiterin am Institut für Marxismus-Leninismus beim ZK der SED. Dort war sie an der Erarbeitung einer DDR-offiziellen „Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung“ beteiligt; ihr Name taucht in diesem Band wiederholt als „Beauftragte des ZK“ auf. Bischoffs für diese Arbeit erstellte Aufzeichnungen und gesammelte Dokumente sind zu DDR-Zeiten unveröffentlicht geblieben – wie Eva-Maria Siegel vermutet, weil sie „diverse Richtigstellungen zur offiziösen Geschichtsideologie“ enthalten, insbesondere was die Rolle von Karl Mewis angeht.
Bischoff was in the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) for 90 years.
described the Resistance activity of Charlotte Bischoff in exile and in Germany in his novel, Die Ästhetik des Widerstands ("The Aesthetic of the Resistance"). In particular, in the third volume of his novel, which tells of the Red Orchestra, she is the central protagonist. Weiss drew upon conversations he had with Bischoff in 1972, as well as a correspondence with her between 1974 and 1976.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
– November 4, 1994) was a German Communist and Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
fighter against National Socialism.
Biography
Charlotte Wielepp attended a commercial school and then worked as a clerk and steno-typist in Halle, HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Berlin from 1915-1930. She joined the Freie Sozialistische Jugend (Free Socialist Youth) and the Young Communist League of Germany
Young Communist League of Germany
The Young Communist League of Germany was a political youth organization in Germany. It was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth of the Communist Party of Germany, which itself was formed in October 1918, with support from the Spartacus League . The KJVD was created in 1925...
. In 1923, she joined the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD) and the same year, married Fritz Bischoff, a founding member of the KPD, then working as a clerk with the Soviet trade mission. After 1930, Charlotte Bischoff was a steno-typist and publicist in the Prussian Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
faction and in the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the KPD.
The Nazi era
The Reichstag Fire DecreeReichstag Fire Decree
The Reichstag Fire Decree is the common name of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg in direct response to the Reichstag fire of 27 February 1933. The decree nullified many of the key civil liberties of German...
pushed by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in response to the Reichstag Fire
Reichstag fire
The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany....
on February 27, 1933 and signed into law by President Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
withdrew civil liberties and enabled the Nazis, then in key positions in government, to arrest anyone they deemed to be an enemy. This became first and foremost a confrontation with the KPD, but in effect, outlawed all political parties in Germany, other than the Nazi Party. The Enabling Act of March 27, 1933 consolidated their power and authority. In the first weeks of March 1933, there were 11,000 Communists arrested and by June 1933, more than half of the KPD district leaders were in detention.
In this environment, Bischoff went to work for the propaganda department of the KPD. In 1934, her husband was arrested by the Nazis and sentenced to eight years at hard labor in a Zuchthaus, then afterward held in "protective custody" at Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
and finally, at Neuengamme concentration camp. He was shot on May 3, 1945 by the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
, as he tried to save himself on the Cap Arcona.
Charlotte Bischoff went to Moscow in 1934, where till 1937, she worked for the International Relations department of the Communist International. This involved travel abroad to Denmark and the Netherlands. In 1938, she requested to be allowed to carry out illegal work in Germany. She was sent to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where important leaders of the KPD were then in exile. She was arrested there in 1939 as an illegal and was threatened with deportation to Germany, but was soon released. The Third Reich then withdrew her German citizenship. Bischoff then worked for the International Red Aid
International Red Aid
International Red Aid was an international social service organization established by the Communist International...
taking care of emigrated German Communists, collecting money and having discussions with unionized construction workers on construction sites in Sweden.
In 1941, on behalf of the exiled leadership of the KPD, then under Herbert Wehner
Herbert Wehner
Herbert Richard Wehner was a German politician. A former member of the Communist Party, he joined the Social Democrats after World War II...
, Bischoff was successful in entering Germany illegally on board a freight ship. The trip took a month, from June 29 to the end of July. Bischoff then worked in Berlin with various resistance groups, especially with Red Orchestra-connected groups, such as with people involved with Kurt
Kurt Schumacher (sculptor)
Kurt Schumacher was a sculptor and Communist member of the German Resistance against National Socialism. He was married to the painter and graphic designer, Elisabeth Schumacher and was in the Red Orchestra.- Biography :...
and Elisabeth Schumacher
Elisabeth Schumacher
Elisabeth Schumacher, née Hohenemser, was an artist and resistance fighter in the Third Reich. She belonged to the Red Orchestra resistance group.- Life :...
, with the group around Wilhelm Knöchel and around Robert Uhrig
Robert Uhrig
Robert Uhrig was a German communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism.- Background :Born in Leipzig, the son of a metalworker, Uhrig grew up to become a journeyman toolmaker. He joined the Communist Party of Germany in 1920 and took several courses at the Marxist Workers' School...
. She also worked on the magazine, Die Innere Front ("The Internal Front") with the Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization
Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization
The Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization was an underground German resistance movement acting during the Second World War, that published the illegal magazine, Die Innere Front ....
. Acting as a courier, she gave "micro materials" to contact people in these groups.
Bischoff was one of the few members of the German Resistance who was able to evade arrest and she remained in Berlin, unknown, till the war's end. Die Innere Front was able to continue publication and distribution, even after numerous resistance fighters had been arrested, because of the work of Bischoff, Otto Grabowski and Ernst Siebert
Nach dem Krieg übte Bischoff verschiedene Tätigkeiten im Freien Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbund der DDR aus und wurde Mitglied der Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED). Nach Auseinandersetzungen innerhalb des FDGB arbeitete sie in den folgenden Jahren für die „Sozialhilfe Groß-Berlin“, eine in ganz Berlin tätige, der SED nahestehende Wohlfahrtsorganisation. Ab 1957 war sie ehrenamtliche freie Mitarbeiterin am Institut für Marxismus-Leninismus beim ZK der SED. Dort war sie an der Erarbeitung einer DDR-offiziellen „Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung“ beteiligt; ihr Name taucht in diesem Band wiederholt als „Beauftragte des ZK“ auf. Bischoffs für diese Arbeit erstellte Aufzeichnungen und gesammelte Dokumente sind zu DDR-Zeiten unveröffentlicht geblieben – wie Eva-Maria Siegel vermutet, weil sie „diverse Richtigstellungen zur offiziösen Geschichtsideologie“ enthalten, insbesondere was die Rolle von Karl Mewis angeht.
Bischoff was in the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) for 90 years.
Legacy
Peter WeissPeter Weiss
Peter Ulrich Weiss was a German writer, painter, and artist of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays Marat/Sade and The Investigation and his novel The Aesthetics of Resistance....
described the Resistance activity of Charlotte Bischoff in exile and in Germany in his novel, Die Ästhetik des Widerstands ("The Aesthetic of the Resistance"). In particular, in the third volume of his novel, which tells of the Red Orchestra, she is the central protagonist. Weiss drew upon conversations he had with Bischoff in 1972, as well as a correspondence with her between 1974 and 1976.