Search for Names, Places and Biographies

Otto Gromball * 1891

Grumbrechtstraße 32 (Harburg, Heimfeld)

HIER WOHNTE
OTTO GROMBALL
JG. 1891
IM WIDERSTAND
MEHRFACH VERHAFTET
ZUCHTHAUS RENDSBURG
TOT 30.4.1944

Otto Gromball, born on 27 Feb. 1891 in Wogram, perished on 30 Apr. 1944 in the Rendsburg penitentiary

District of Heimfeld, Grumbrechtstrasse 32

Otto Gromball was born in Wogram, District of Pillau (East Prussia). He got married but we do not know the name of his wife. The marriage, which was later divorced, produced three children: Christa (on 29 Jan. 1921), Gerd (on 19 Oct. 1922), and Elli (on 19 June 1925), all of them born in Harburg. From 1936 onward, the family lived at Grumbrechtstrasse 32 and before that at Lange Strasse 10 (today: Goldschmidtstrasse). After the divorce, Otto Gromball temporarily lived with the Löll family at Hohlweg 8 (today: Nobleestrasse).

Otto Gromball was a Communist and member of the Communist "Revolutionary Union Opposition” ("Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts-Opposition” – RGO) (see entry on Georg Einhaus). He joined the resistance in 1933. He encouraged several RGO colleagues to sign up for the SA in order to find out information about the "auxiliary police” ("Hilfspolizei”). At the time, the police had been reinforced by "auxiliary policemen” from the SA and SS.

In Aug. 1933, the police searched Otto Gromball’s apartment, discovering a copy of the illegally produced RGO organ entitled Der Industriearbeiter ("The Industrial Worker”). As far as we know, however, he was not arrested. Illegal RGO materials continued to be distributed as late as mid-June 1934. The persons detained in 1934, when about 800 RGO members were arrested in Hamburg and environs, did not include Otto Gromball either.

Yet he must have continued to be active in the resistance, probably outside of Hamburg. At some point, he was taken into custody and sentenced to a prison term for "preparation to high treason” ("Vorbereitung zum Hochverrat”), though we have no details concerning the trial. He was committed to the Rendsburg penitentiary. On 30 Apr. 1944, he died there in circumstances as yet unexplained.

Translator: Erwin Fink

Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

© Hans-Joachim Meyer

Quellen: VVN-BdA Harburg (Hrsg.), Die anderen, s. Personenverzeichnis; StaH, 351-11, AfW, Otto Gromball; VVN, Komitee-Akten.