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German court lifts ban on Ernst Thalmann activities

8 August 2019

We have received news today of the great victory by the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany and the 24 related organisations of the International List in having the ban on memorial events for Ernst Thalmann overturned by a German court.

Leader of the German Communist Party, Thalmann had been imprisoned for 11 years by Hitler, and was unrelenting in his opposition to fascism.  He was executed by the Nazis at Buchenwald in 1944.

MLPD spokesperson Monika Gartner-Engel has confirmed that events planned at the former Buchenwald concentration camp for August 17 would proceed without further obstruction by the camp authorities.

“Protest and solidarity declarations were received from many countries on the occasion of the ban of the memorial event for Ernst Thälmann by the administration of the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial and against the horrendous murder threats against Stefan Engel, Gabi Fechtner, Monika Gärtner-Engel, Lisa Gärtner,” she said.  “The comrades concerned and we all thank you very much for this moving international solidarity!”

“An important success is that the Administrative Court has now declared the ban on the memorial event to be inadmissible!”

The MLPD has invited international friends to take part in the memorial event on 17 August in Buchenwald by sending greetings and declarations of solidarity and protest! Messages can be sent to info@mlpd.de .
 
Historical footnote:

At midday on 8 April, whilst large-scale evacuations were taking place all around, Russian prisoner Konstantin Ivanovich Leonov sent a message prepared in Morse code by leaders of the camp’s resistance. It read:

‘To the Allies. To the army of General Patton. This is the Buchenwald concentration camp. SOS. We request help. They want to evacuate us. The SS wants to destroy us.’

The message was sent out in English, German and Russian and repeated several times. Some minutes later, the headquarters of the US Third Army responded with: ‘KZ Bu. Hold out. Rushing to your aid. Staff of Third Army.’ When news of the American response spread, Communist inmates stormed the watchtowers of the camp and killed the remaining Nazi guards, using arms they had secretly been storing since 1942.  The photo shows Jewish inmates released by the US Army.