John Schehr | |||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Schehr c. 1932 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman of the Communist Party of Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 3 March 1933 – 1 February 1934 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ernst Thälmann | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wilhelm Pieck | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 9 February 1896 Altona-Ottensen, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Altona, Hamburg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1 February 1934 (aged 37) Schäferberg, Berlin-Wannsee, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Communist Party of Germany (1918–1934) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Independent Social Democratic Party (1917–1919) Social Democratic Party (1912–1917) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Anna | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation |
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Central institution membership
Other offices held
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John Schehr (9 February 1896 – 1 February 1934) was a German political activist who became a Communist Party politician and ultimately, chairman (leader) of the Communist Party of Germany, following the arrest on 3 March 1933 of Ernst Thälmann. By this time the country was very rapidly being transformed into a one-party dictatorship, meaning that the party John Schehr led was outlawed, with those members of the leadership team who had not escaped abroad now living "underground" (unregistered) and in hiding. Schehr was nevertheless arrested on 13 November 1933 and taken to a Berlin concentration camp. He died when he was one of four men shot by Gestapo officials, reportedly "while escaping" during an overnight transport, following arrest.[1][2][3]
After the Nazi regime ended, Schehr and his three murdered comrades became celebrated, for the benefit of a new generation, in the German Democratic Republic by means of a poem written, probably, shortly after the killing, by Erich Weinert.[4]
- ^ Hermann Weber; Andreas Herbst. "Schehr, John * 9.2.1896 † 1.2.1934". Handbuch der Deutschen Kommunisten. Karl Dietz Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "John Schehr: February 09, 1896 - February 01, 1934". Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand (German Resistance Memorial Center), Berlin. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "John Schehr (1896 – 1934)". Freundeskreis „Ernst Thälmann“ e.V., Ziegenhals-Berlin. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ "John Schehr und Genossen". Ein Mord, ein Mythos und die Folgen. MDR ("Figaro"), Leipzig. 2 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-03-04. Retrieved 22 April 2020.