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Kurt Beusse * 1920

Bahrenfelder Straße 205 (Altona, Ottensen)

Zuchthaus Brandenburg-Görden
enthauptet 13.09.1943

Kurt Beusse, born on 7 Dec. 1920 in Altona, executed at the Brandenburg-Görde prison on 13 Sept. 1943

Bahrenfelder Straße 205

Kurt Beusse was born on 7 Dec. 1920 in Altona, the son of Carl and Christine Beusse. His father, Carl Beusse, born on 7 Mar. 1891, was a worker in the beverage industry and a union member. The family was traditionally Social Democratic. Kurt Beusse lived with his parents on the second floor of the apartment house at Bahrenfelder Straße 205, in the working-class neighborhood of Altona-Ottensen.

When he was a boy, Kurt Beusse was kicked out of the Hitler Youth because he had apparently not obeyed service regulations and because of "frequent non-appearances.” He earned money as an errand boy. At the age of 17, he was drafted into the Reich Labor Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst). Later, he worked as a truck driver and chauffeur. On 18 June 1940, he came to the Wehrmacht and was deployed to the Eastern Front as an artillerist, with the military rank of gunner.

What became known of him is that he took a stance against the war. Twice he refused to take part in the shootings of comrades sentenced to death. During his last home leave, he mentioned to his mother that he "did not” want "to go along with this entire razzmatazz anymore.” He attempted to desert but was arrested and taken to the Brandenburg/Havel-Görden prison. The court of the Wehrmacht Commander (Wehrkommandantur) in Berlin sentenced him to death on charges of "desertion” ("Fahnenflucht”). Kurt Beusse was decapitated on 13 Sept. 1943 in Brandenburg/Havel-Görden at the age of 22.

Translator: Erwin Fink
Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

© Birgit Gewehr

Quellen: VVN-BdA Hamburg, Archiv, Dokumente des Sonderhilfsausschusses und des Komitees ehemaliger politischer Gefangene; Deutsche Dienststelle für die Benachrichtigung von Angehörigen von Gefallenen der ehemaligen Wehrmacht, Dokumente zu Kurt Beusse; Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, Auszug aus dem Totenbuch der Gedenkstätte Brandenburg-Görden; Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv 5739/13, Reg. 29 Zuchthaus Brandenburg (H), Nr. 100, S. 106 und 107; Ursel Hochmuth, Niemand, S. 40.