The Defiance of August Landmesser
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ In this famous photograph, a man identified as Landmesser refuses to give the Nazi salute, defiantly crossing his arms. It was taken on the 13 th June 1936. It shows a large gathering of workers at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, for the launching of the navy training ship Horst Wessel. August Landmesser was a worker at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. In 1931, hoping it would help him get a job, he joined the Nazi Party. In 1935, when he became engaged to Irma Eckler, a Jewish woman, he was expelled from the party. They registered their marriage in Hamburg. However, the Nuremberg Laws enacted a month later prevented it. On 29 th October 1935, Landmesser and Eckler's first daughter, Ingrid, was born. In 1937, the couple tried to flee to Denmark but were caught. She was pregnant again, and he was charged and found guilty in July 1937 of “dishonour...