Gertrud Luckner

Gertrud Luckner (; born Jane Hartmann; 26 September 1900 – 31 August 1995) was a Christian social worker involved in the German resistance to Nazism.

A member of the banned German Catholics' Peace Association, she organised food packages for Jews deported to Poland and travelled in Germany to give assistance to Jewish families. On one such journey, she was arrested, and she spent the remainder of the war in Ravensbrück concentration camp. She was named as righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1966.

Early life and education Born Jane Hartmann in Liverpool, England, on 26 September 1900 to Robert Hartman, a marine engineer, and his wife Gertrude (née Miller). The family lived at 116 Salisbury Road, Wavertree, Liverpool. Her parents were from Germany and returned there when she was still a young child. She had no siblings and was orphaned in early childhood.

Social work and resistance to Nazism Upon the death of her adoptive parents, Gertrud moved to Freiburg im Breisgau. A pacifist, she joined the German Catholics' Peace Association. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, she worked freelance with the Catholic aid organisation Caritas, in Freiburg, Among German Catholic laity, Luckner was among the first to sense the genocidal inclinations of the Hitler regime and to attempt national action.

After Kristallnacht, on the night of 9 November 1938, when Jewish businesses, synagogues and homes were burned all over Germany, Gertrud cycled around Freiburg and visited Jewish neighbours in friendship and solidarity. She organized aid circles for Jews, assisted many to escape, sent food parcels and clothing to internees, founded addresses where Jews could hide On 15 February 1966, she was recognised as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem. She remained active in the cause until her death,

In spring 2007, the readers of the Badische Zeitung, choose Gertrud Luckner as the most significant person from Freiburg.

The Gertrud-Luckner-Realschule is located in Rheinfelden, Switzerland. Gertrud-Luckner-Gewerbeschule is in Freiburg.