Theodor Korselt
Encyclopedia
Ernst Julius Theodor Korselt (24 November 1891, Annaberg-Buchholz
, Kingdom of Saxony
– 25 August 1943) was a German
jurist
, genealogist
, and "homeland researcher" ("Heimatforscher
"). The government councillor was sentenced to death for negatively influencing Germany's fighting forces – an offence called Wehrkraftzersetzung
in German
– after he publicly uttered his opinion that Hitler's resignation was the only way to avoid defeat.
in Zittau
. His mother Elisabeth, née Koch, was Theodor Koch's daughter. He himself was a jurist, a member of the Landtag
, the mayor and a freeman
of Buchholz
, Kingdom of Saxony
.
Theodor Korselt was the eldest of four siblings and his parents' only son. He grew up in Buchholz and went to the Realgymnasium in the neighbourhood of Annaberg, where his father had been teaching since 1886. After finishing school, he studied law
and economics
at the universities of Leipzig
and Geneva
. After his father's appointment as headteacher at the Realgymnasium in Zittau, his parents and sisters moved back to his father's hometown in 1911.
After graduating with a doctorate, he had himself trained as an infantry
man in Zittau, and fought as a volunteer in the First World War on the Western Front
, where he was gravely wounded. Later, Korselt was employed in the administrative service. After the War, the jurist worked as an official of the higher state service in various government offices in Berlin, Leipzig
, Chemnitz
, Dresden
, Freiberg
and Rostock
, where he was a government councillor in the war damage office.
Besides his professional activities, Korselt had fostered since his time in university an interest in his family's and his homeland's history, and he published many written works.
After the Nazis seized power
in 1933, it became apparent to Korselt that to further his career, he would need to join the NSDAP. In his 1934 application to join the Party, Korselt wrote that he would undertake "to further represent his conservative, aristocratic view of the state and the furthering of individualism." His application to join the Party was turned down.
After Germany occupied France
came Korselt's deployment in the war administration service, from which he was soon recalled after allegations of fraternizing with the local people
.
was deposed on 25 July 1943, Korselt openly said that "The German people's and the fatherland's salvation from the present difficult situation lies only in a similar reversal to the one in Italy
...". This did not sit well with Rostock's mayor, Walter Volgmann, who had reached his position by being, as Korselt put it, a "pure" Party man. The mayor declared that Korselt belonged in a concentration camp.
. On 18 August, he was transferred from the court prison in Rostock to the detention centre in Berlin
-Moabit
. On 23 August, Korselt's case was heard by the First Senate of the Volksgerichtshof, presided over by the president Roland Freisler
and judges Storbeck, Canabis, Aumüller and Bodinus as well as the accuser Dr. Schultze. Korselt was found guilty of Wehrkraftzersetzung for uttering his remark on a tram
in Rostock as to how Hitler needed to step down owing to the unlikelihood of Germany's winning the war with him in charge. The sentence was the loss of his civil rights, and death. On 25 August at 19:15, the sentence was carried out at Plötzensee Prison
in Berlin.
After the Second World War, in August 1946, Georgstraße in Zittau was given the new name "Theodor-Korselt-Straße". Another street in Annaberg-Buchholz also bears his name.
Annaberg-Buchholz
Annaberg-Buchholz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, in the Erzgebirge, capital of the district Erzgebirgskreis.The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the Pöhlberg . It has three Protestant churches, among them that of St...
, Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
– 25 August 1943) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, genealogist
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
, and "homeland researcher" ("Heimatforscher
Heimatforscher
Heimatforscher, also called Heimatkundler, is a German language description for somebody researching his homeland, home town or region.Most of them are amateurs and autodidacts, covering history-related fields like genealogy, archaeology, geography, meteorology, zoology or botany.See...
"). The government councillor was sentenced to death for negatively influencing Germany's fighting forces – an offence called Wehrkraftzersetzung
Wehrkraftzersetzung
Wehrkraftzersetzung is a term from German military law during the Third Reich. In 1938, with Adolf Hitler moving Germany closer to war, the Nazi government issued a decree for the purpose of suppressing any expression or activity opposed to the Nazi regime or the Wehrmacht...
in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
– after he publicly uttered his opinion that Hitler's resignation was the only way to avoid defeat.
Life
Korselt came from a long-established family from Mittelherwigsdorf. His father, Prof. Dr. Ernst Julius Korselt, was the headteacher at the RealgymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Zittau
Zittau
Zittau is a city in the south east of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, close to the border tripoint of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. , there are 28,638 people in the city. It is part of the Görlitz district....
. His mother Elisabeth, née Koch, was Theodor Koch's daughter. He himself was a jurist, a member of the Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
, the mayor and a freeman
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Buchholz
Annaberg-Buchholz
Annaberg-Buchholz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, in the Erzgebirge, capital of the district Erzgebirgskreis.The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the Pöhlberg . It has three Protestant churches, among them that of St...
, Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
.
Theodor Korselt was the eldest of four siblings and his parents' only son. He grew up in Buchholz and went to the Realgymnasium in the neighbourhood of Annaberg, where his father had been teaching since 1886. After finishing school, he studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at the universities of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
and Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
. After his father's appointment as headteacher at the Realgymnasium in Zittau, his parents and sisters moved back to his father's hometown in 1911.
After graduating with a doctorate, he had himself trained as an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
man in Zittau, and fought as a volunteer in the First World War on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, where he was gravely wounded. Later, Korselt was employed in the administrative service. After the War, the jurist worked as an official of the higher state service in various government offices in Berlin, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Freiberg
Freiberg, Saxony
Freiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, where he was a government councillor in the war damage office.
Besides his professional activities, Korselt had fostered since his time in university an interest in his family's and his homeland's history, and he published many written works.
After the Nazis seized power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in 1933, it became apparent to Korselt that to further his career, he would need to join the NSDAP. In his 1934 application to join the Party, Korselt wrote that he would undertake "to further represent his conservative, aristocratic view of the state and the furthering of individualism." His application to join the Party was turned down.
After Germany occupied France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
came Korselt's deployment in the war administration service, from which he was soon recalled after allegations of fraternizing with the local people
Fraternization
Fraternization is "turning people into brothers"—conducting social relations with people who are actually unrelated and/or of a different class as though they were siblings, family members, personal friends or lovers....
.
The "Crime"
After Benito MussoliniBenito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
was deposed on 25 July 1943, Korselt openly said that "The German people's and the fatherland's salvation from the present difficult situation lies only in a similar reversal to the one in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
...". This did not sit well with Rostock's mayor, Walter Volgmann, who had reached his position by being, as Korselt put it, a "pure" Party man. The mayor declared that Korselt belonged in a concentration camp.
Arrest, trial, and death
The month had not even ended when Korselt was arrested by the GestapoGestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. On 18 August, he was transferred from the court prison in Rostock to the detention centre in Berlin
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...
-Moabit
Moabit
Moabit is an inner city locality of Berlin. Since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it belongs to the newly regrouped governmental borough of Mitte. Previously, from 1920 to 2001, it belonged to the borough of Tiergarten. Moabit's borders are defined by three watercourses, the Spree, the...
. On 23 August, Korselt's case was heard by the First Senate of the Volksgerichtshof, presided over by the president Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
and judges Storbeck, Canabis, Aumüller and Bodinus as well as the accuser Dr. Schultze. Korselt was found guilty of Wehrkraftzersetzung for uttering his remark on a tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
in Rostock as to how Hitler needed to step down owing to the unlikelihood of Germany's winning the war with him in charge. The sentence was the loss of his civil rights, and death. On 25 August at 19:15, the sentence was carried out at Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
in Berlin.
After the Second World War, in August 1946, Georgstraße in Zittau was given the new name "Theodor-Korselt-Straße". Another street in Annaberg-Buchholz also bears his name.