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Fritz Wendt * 1891

Greifswalder Straße / Baumeisterstraße (11) (Hamburg-Mitte, St. Georg)

HIER WOHNTE
FRITZ WENDT
JG. 1891
VERHAFTET 1938
KZ FUHLSBÜTTEL
SACHSENHAUSEN
ERMORDET 5.8.1940

Fritz Wilhelm Wendt, b. 9.9.1891, imprisoned 1922 and 1937, died 8.5.1940 in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Baumeisterstraße 11/corner of Greifswalder Straße

Born in Wusterhausen/Dosse in Brandenburg, Fritz Wendt initally lived in Magdeburg, where he settled as an independent lady’s tailor. He had been twice penalized for property crimes before March 1922 when he was tried before the Altona District Court for "general nuisance” and violations of §175 of the Reich Penal Code. Fritz Wendt was punished with three months and three weeks in jail and five years’ loss of civil rights on 8 and 24 October. In November 1923, two more trials took place in the Altona District Court. In both cases, Fritz Wendt was convicted for violations of §175 of the Reich Penal Code; the first with two years in jail and five years’ loss of civil rights; a month later to six months in jail and five years’ loss of civil rights.

On 20 February 1924, yet another trial took place against him in the Hamburg District Court for violation of §175. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to three months in jail.

Im November 1937, the Hamburg criminal police once again began investigations of Fritz Wendt because of same-sex dealings. From 24 November 1937 until 5 January 1938, he was under "protective custody” in the Fuhlsbüttel concentration camp. The proceedings were abandoned for lack of evidence.

After accosting a soldier who reported Fritz Wendt to the police, he was imprisoned from 8 to 14 June 1938 in the Fuhlsbüttel concentration camp. On 18 August 1938, the Hamburg District Court sentenced Fritz Wendt to a year and nine months in prison according to §§175, 185, and 73 of the Reich Penal Code. From the judgment of District Court Judge Dr. Joachim Lohse: "... and because a uniformed member of the German Armed force [was involved] ... the accused merits a longer loss of freedom, not because an improvement of the accused is to be expected, but rather because the public must be safeguarded.”

The end of the sentence was dated 4 March 1940. Yet Fritz Wendt did not go free; he was placed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp where since 15 April 1940 was recorded for the firt time the "provisional preventive detention of the prisoner.” Fritz Wendt died in Sachsenhausen on 5 August 1940.


Translator: Richard Levy
Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

Stand: May 2019
© Bernhard Rosenkranz/Ulf Bollmann

Quellen: StaHH, 213-11 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht – Strafsachen, 8509/38; StaHH, 242-1II Gefängnisverwaltung II, Ablieferungen 13 und 16; StaHH, 213-8 Staatsanwaltschaft Oberlandesgericht – Verwaltung, Ablieferung 2, 451 a E 1, 1 b und 451 a E 1, 1 c.