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Helmut Hirsch (January 27, 1916 in Stuttgart – June 4, 1937 in Berlin) was a German Jew who was executed for his part in a bombing plot intended to destabilize the German Reich. Although a full and accurate account of the plot is unknown, his targets were understood to be the Nazi party headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and/or the plant where the antisemitic weekly propaganda newspaper ''Der Stürmer'' was printed.〔The day after his execution, the ''New York Times'' put the story on its front page. The 2000-word article, datelined Berlin, June 4, gives a detailed summary of the case. "Germans Execute Hirsch, U. S. Citizen; Youth of 21 Guillotined Despite Repeated American Appeals to Hitler for Clemency." ''New York Times'', June 5, 1937, page 1. In addition, William Shirer provides an account in ''Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934–1941'' (New York: Knopf, 1941; pp. 74–76.) Many of the details reported by the ''Times'' and Shirer are at odds with other sources, including the dossier containing the "Case of Helmut Hirsch." (note 6) and the recollections of Hirsch's sister (note 2), as well as documents written by or related to Hirsch held in the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department at Brandeis University. () No one reporting the story had access to these sources at the time. Nonetheless, the contemporary version of the events was for many years all that was available in English. In 2004, the German weekly magazine ''Stern'' ran a cover story about the von Stauffenberg plot and other attempts on Hitler's life. A timeline (page 66) of failed plots to kill or unseat Hitler begins with Hirsch: "December 1936: The Jewish student Helmut Hirsch plans to blow up the Nürnberg Party headquarters. He was executed on June 4, 1937." "''20. Juli 1944: Das Attentat auf Hitler: Operation Walküre. ''" ''Stern.'' July 1, 2004, pages 47–68. ()〕 Hirsch was the elder of the two children of Marta Neuburger Hirsch and Siegfried Hirsch. In 1935, after the newly introduced antisemitic Nuremberg Laws excluded the Jews from German universities, he moved to Prague, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia. He was nineteen when he enrolled as a student of architecture at the ''Deutsche Technische Hochschule'' (German Institute of Technology) there.〔Details of Helmut Hirsch's family, his life prior to his arrest, and subsequent efforts to save his life were obtained from his sister, Kaete (Katie Sugarman), through a series of interviews and an account she wrote in 1962. Documents, including Hirsch's journal and letters he wrote before his arrest and, from prison, after he was sentenced to death, are in the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department at Brandeis University. Most are in German; some have been translated into English. ()〕 ==The Black Front== Shortly after arriving in Prague, Hirsch became involved in the Black Front, a group of anti-Hitler German expatriates. He was encouraged to introduce himself to its head, Otto Strasser, by his mentor, Tusk (Eberhard Köbel). Tusk had been a leader of ''Deutsche Jungenschaft'', a branch of the German youth movement ''(Bündische Jugend'') to which Hirsch belonged. The ''Jungenschaft'' itself was outlawed in 1935 and Tusk escaped arrest by fleeing to London.〔Correspondence between Helmut Hirsch (in Prague) and Tusk (Eberhard Köbel; in London), July 1935. Helmut Hirsch Collection, Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass.〕 Hirsch's family joined him in Prague in 1936, after his sister, Kaete, graduated from ''gymnasium'' (high school) and, like him, was forbidden to attend a German university. By then, he was deeply enmeshed in clandestine Black Front activities, which he kept secret from his family.〔 On December 20, 1936, after telling his family he was going skiing with friends, he returned to Germany with a travel permit obtained on the false premise that he was visiting his mother, who he claimed was ill. In his naiveté, he did not realize German authorities knew his family had moved to Prague. It is likely that German agents in Prague had been watching him for some months, but were unable to arrest him while he remained on Czech soil.〔 Hirsch's handler was Strasser's right-hand man, Heinrich Grunov, who used the ''nom de guerre'' Dr. Beer. According to the plan, Hirsch was to place two suitcases containing explosives at one or two sites in Nuremberg. The suggested targets were the Nazi party headquarters and the office or printing plant of ''Der Stürmer''. Grunov instructed Hirsch to buy a round-trip ticket from Prague to his hometown, Stuttgart, but to travel only as far as Nuremberg. There he was to meet a contact, who would give him baggage claim tickets for the two suitcases, which had been smuggled into Germany. Instead, he went on to Stuttgart, where he had arranged to meet an old friend.〔Letter from Helmut Hirsch, December 10, 1936. Helmut Hirsch Collection, Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass.〕 According to letters he wrote to his family from prison, he was wavering in his commitment to the plot and hoped his friend would talk him out of it.〔Hirsch wrote five letters to his family from Plötzensee Prison, dated March 20, April 10, May 3, May 22, and June 3, 1937. Helmut Hirsch Collection, Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Helmut Hirsch」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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