Helmut Himpel

Helmut Himpel (14 September 1907 - 13 May 1943) was a German dentist and resistance fighter against Nazism. He was a member of the anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra by the Abwehr. Himpel along with his fiancé Maria Terwiel were notable for distributing leaflets and pamphlets for the group. Specifically this included the July and August 1941 sermons of Clemens August Graf von Galen. He also treated Jewish patients living far away who could not visit his doctor's office in their home.

On 17 February 1942, Himpel and Terwiel distributed several hundred copies of the pamphlet, a polemic Die Sorge um Deutsch-lands Zukunft geht durch das Volk (Concern for Germany's Future Goes Through the People)

Himpel and Terwiel were also actively involved in protesting clandestinely. in the Lustgarten. This was an exhibition that had been arranged by the Nazis with the express purpose of justifying the invasion of the Soviet Union to the German people. During the night of 17 May 1942, the couple along with 17 other members of the group including Schulze-Boysen, Ursula Goetze, Liane Berkowitz, Otto Gollnow and Friedrich Rehmer travelled across five Berlin neighbourhoods to post stickers bearing the inscription:

Permanent Exhibition The Nazi Paradise War, Hunger, Lies, Gestapo How much longer?

Arrest On 17 September 1942, Himpel and Terwiel were arrested in Berlin. Himpel was tried by the 2nd Senate of the Reichskriegsgericht, who announced on 26 January 1943 the death penalty because of preparation for high treason and enemy favouritism. On 13 May 1943, he was executed by hanging in Plötzensee Prison. Terwiel was tried on 26 January 1943 by the 2nd Senate of the Reichskriegsgericht who announced the death penalty for the preparation of a treasonous enterprise and enemy favouritism. She was guillotined in Plötzensee Prison in Berlin on 5 August 1943.