Suzanne Wesse
Suzanne Vasseur Wesse | |
|---|---|
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| Born | January 16, 1914 |
| Died | August 18, 1942 (aged 28) |
Cause of death | Execution |
_Suzanne_Wesse.jpg)
Suzanne Vasseur Wesse (January 16, 1914 – August 18, 1942) was a French member of the resistance during World War II. She was a member of the Baum Group, a collaborative anti-Nazi resistance organization.[1][2]
Wesse was executed by the Nazis in 1942 for her activities.[1][2]
Life
[edit]Wesse was born Suzanne Vasseur in Calais, France. Her father owned a lace-making company. She had three brothers, Amand, Auguste and André. Wesse attended school in England, Spain and Berlin.[2]
In 1934, Wesse worked at a Jewish-owned clothing company in Berlin where she met Richard Wesse, an engineer.[1] Richard was half Jewish. The two married in 1936 and their daughter, Katharina, was born on April 15, 1937.[2]
Wesse worked as a freelance translator until 1937.[2]
Wesse met Herbert Baum through her husband's cousin. Baum was the Jewish leader of a communist-leaning anti-Nazi organization known as the Baum Group. The group printed and distributed anti-Nazi literature and organized activities. Wesse joined the group and helped to design, print, and distribute posters, pamphlets, and literature. She was one of just a few group members who were not Jewish.[2]
When her brother August was arrested and imprisoned in Berlin, Wesse visited him and distributed anti-Nazi materials to other prisoners. She also used her language skills to share information with them.[2]
On May 18, 1942, Wesse and other members of the Baum Group along others from another anti-Nazi group set fire to Das Sowjetparadies (The Soviet Paradise), an anti-Soviet exhibit in Berlin's Lustgarten. Wesse and her husband, Richard, were arrested by the Gestapo on May 23, 1942. Richard was released after three weeks. Wesse was sentenced to death and was executed at Plötzensee Prison on August 18, 1942.[2] There is a Stolperstein in Suzanne Wesse's memory in Berlin.[2]