Hermann Willibald Fischer

Hermann Willibald Fischer
Born	(1896-02-06)6 February 1896 Florence,Kingdom of Italy
Died	17 July 1922(1922-07-17)(aged 26) Saaleck Castle,Naumburg,Weimar Republic
Cause of death	Suicide by gunshot
Organization	Organisation Consul
Criminal status	Deceased

Hermann Willibald Fischer(6 February 1896 – 17 July 1922) was a German mechanical engineer. He was a member of an extreme right-wing terror groupOrganisation Consul(OC) and was one of the assassins of the German minister of foreign affairs,Walther Rathenau,on 24 June 1922.

Life

Fischer was the son of a painter and professor in Dresden. He was a volunteer inWorld War Iand at the end of the war was a company commander with the rank of lieutenant. After the war he studied mechanical engineering inChemnitz,successfully completing his studies in March 1922. Periodically he interrupted his studies to join variousFreikorps,initially during the Chemnitz food riots in August 1919. As a member of theMarine-Brigade Ehrhardthe participated in theKapp-Putschand fought in early summer 1921 with theUpper SilesianSelf-Protection Organisation. He was a member of various extreme right-wing organisations, among them theDeutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund.

It is not exactly known when Fischer joined the OC. According toErnst von Salomon,Fischer was the commander of the actions of Organisation Consul inSaxony.He smuggled weapons to theSudeten GermansinCzechoslovakia.During the escape of the convicted war criminal Ludwig Dithmar from prison inNaumburg/Saalehe met his later co-assassin Erwin Kern. Kern, Salomon, and Fischer were members of a terror cell of Organisation Consul for sabotage and murder, under the leadership ofKarl Tillessen.According to statements from men from the OC in Hamburg, this group was also responsible for the still unsolved murder of a Jewish merchant Sina Aronsfrau inMannheim,who was found shot in May 1922.

During the assassination of Rathenau, Fischer sat in the back of the car that was driven byErnst Werner Techow.As the assassins overtook the foreign minister's car inBerlin-Grunewald,Kern fired with a machine pistol and Fischer threw a hand-grenade into the open car.

After the attack, Kern and Fischer succeeded in fleeing and ultimately reachedSaaleck Castle.The owner of the car, OC-member Hans Wilhelm Stein, went toMunich,to prepare their onward flight. Two travellers staying nearby on 16 July 1922 saw a light on in Saaleck Castle, although the owner had legally registered his absence because of his journey. (This relates to the requirement in Germany to register/deregister one’s presence with the local authority.) Two police officers found Fischer and Kern on the morning of the following day. When Fischer took aim at one of them, they opened fire immediately, fatally hitting Kern. Fischer carried him to a bed, then shot himself.

During the period of Nazi rule (1933–45), the Rathenau murderers were revered as heroes. On 17 July 1933Der Stahlhelm('The Steel Helmet, League of Front-Line Soldiers'),Hermann Ehrhardt,and members of theSAandSSunveiled a memorial plaque in the castle. On 29 October 1933 a memorial stone was erected at the cemetery ofSaaleckin the presence ofErnst Werner Techow,Heinrich Tillessen,Hanns Hustert and Ludwig Dithmar. The stone was removed and destroyed in 2000.

Literature

• Martin Sabrow:Der Rathenaumord. Rekonstruktion einer Verschwörung gegen die Republik von Weimar.Oldenbourg, München 1994,ISBN3-486-64569-2.