Carl von Ossietzky | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Ossietzky taken in 1915 | |
| Born | 3 October 1889 Hamburg, German Empire |
| Died | 4 May 1938 (aged 48) Berlin, Nazi Germany |
| Occupation(s) | journalist, political activist |
| Spouse | Maud Lichfield-Woods (British) |
| Children | Rosalinde von Ossietzky-Palm |
| Awards | Nobel Peace Prize (1935) |
Carl von Ossietzky (German pronunciation: [ˈkaʁl fɔn ʔɔˈsi̯ɛtskiː] ; 3 October 1889 – 4 May 1938) was a German journalist and pacifist. He was the recipient of the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in exposing the clandestine German rearmament.[1]
As editor-in-chief of the magazine Die Weltbühne, Ossietzky published a series of exposés in the late 1920s, detailing Germany's violation of the Treaty of Versailles by rebuilding an air force (the predecessor of the Luftwaffe) and training pilots in the Soviet Union. He was convicted of treason and espionage in 1931 and sentenced to eighteen months in prison but was granted amnesty in December 1932.
Ossietzky continued to be a vocal critic against German militarism after the Nazis' rise to power. Following the 1933 Reichstag fire, Ossietzky was again arrested and sent to the Esterwegen concentration camp near Oldenburg. His brutal torture after his arrest was attested by International Red Cross. In 1936, he was awarded the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize but was forbidden from travelling to Norway and accepting the prize. After enduring years of mistreatment in Nazi concentration camps, Ossietzky died of tuberculosis in 1938 in a Berlin hospital after more than five years of imprisonment.
- ^ Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power 1933–1939, Penguin Books, p. 153; ISBN 978-1-59420-074-8.