Helene Glatzer

Helene Glatzer (8 February 1902 – 31 January 1935) was a young Communist politician who after 1933 became a German anti-government resistance activist. She died - some sources state simply that she was murdered - following several days of questioning and torture at the police facility in the Hallmarkt district of central Halle.

Life Helene "Lene" Glatzer was born into a working-class family in Weinböhla, a small town that had grown prosperous thanks to its limestone extraction operations. Weinböhla is located on the edge of Meissen, a short distance to the north-west of Dresden. Her parents became members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1905, some years before, in the eyes of the political establishment of that time, the young party became mainstream. After her father's early death her mother was left to bring up two daughters as a single parent. Money was short. Helene was still young when they moved to Berlin where in 1908 she enrolled at a "Volksschule" (state backed compulsory secondary school). By the time she successfully completed her school career, in 1916, the family had moved back to Weinböhla. Glatzer was arrested along with the others present: Wilhelm Künzler, Albert Kayser and the owner of the apartment, Hans Lehnert. Grounds for the arrests were "treasonable communication" ("hochverräterische Beratung"). The detainees were initially taken to the police station in the Merseburgerstraße where their personal details were logged. Then they were then taken to the police facility in the city's Hallmarkt district for investigatory detention, which involved several days of questioning and torture. Helene Glatzer succumbed to the mistreatment and died - effectively murdered - on 31 January 1935. Her physical remains were buried in Halle on 6 February 1935.