Description:

CARL FRIEDRICH GOERDELER
(1884-1945) Conservative German politician, Mayor of Liepzig and opponent of the Nazi regime. Had the July 20, 1944 plot on Hitler's life f 1944 succeeded, Goerdeler would have served as the Chancellor of the new government. Goerdeler had resisted Hitler's dictatorship from the start, and grew increasingly disillusioned following Germany's increasing military defeats and the ongoing persecution of the Jews in occupied territories, and joined in von Stauffenburg's plot. On July 16, 1944 Goerdeler saw his wife and children for the last time in Leipzig, and then departed for Berlin to prepare for the putsch planned for later that month. Of course, the takeover failed, and Goerdeler was soon arrested and his family placed in concentration camps. Under Gestapo interrogation and torture, Goerdeler claimed that the Holocaust was the major reason for his seeking to overthrow the Nazi regime. After a trial at the People's Court, he was sentenced to death and was tortured for months by the Gestapo, which hoped to find out the names of other conspirators. During his time in prison, Goerdeler was overwhelmed with despair over what he considered to be the triumph of evil and the destruction of all that he loved. While on death row, he wrote a letter which called the Holocaust the very worst of Nazi crimes. Goerdeler was hanged on Feb. 2, 1945, but only after writing: "I ask the world to accept our martyrdom as penance for the German people". Very rare, large and bold signature on a page removed from a 1933 guest book. Four letters slightly blurred, else fine condition.

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December 16, 2010 11:00 AM EST
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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