Jadwiga Neumann

JADWIGA NEUMANN

nee Kasperska

*21.9.1890 in Bickern

+27.1.1944 in Berlin-Plötzensee

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, industrialisation brought many Polish women and men to the German Reich in search of work. The Kasperski family settled in Bickern, in the Ruhr region, now a residential area in the Wanne district of Herne. Jadwiga was born there and grew up with relatives in Opalenica. In 1913, she moved to Berlin and began working for AEG. She later married the building contractor Max Neumann; the marriage ended in divorce in 1923. She was part of the Polish minority in Germany and a member of the Union of Poles in Germany and the Polish educational association “Oświata”.

Jadwiga moved to Martin-Luther-Straße 24 in Schöneberg, today Grunewaldstraße, and earned a living by renting out rooms. She looked after her nephew Marian Foremski, whom she sent to the Polish school in Beuthen; he later lived with her together with school friends. Her home was always open and full of people. Even before the war, a circle of opponents of the Nazi regime met there. They listened to banned broadcasts from Radio London and discussed the political situation. Women of different backgrounds – Polish, Russian and Jewish – lived there and formed an informal network for exchanging information.

After 1939, the situation of Poles deteriorated dramatically. Thousands were arrested, Polish organisations were banned and their assets confiscated. Jadwiga provided shelter to Polish newcomers to Berlin, young people without means, refugees, former embassy staff and others facing persecution. Her flat became a place of refuge, exchange and mutual support. Through her extensive network within the Polish community, she helped people find accommodation and food and put them in contact with others who could assist them. The same network also helped a Jewish woman remain in hiding.

In the autumn of 1941, these activities developed into intelligence work. Jadwiga’s flat became a contact point for the Polish underground movement in Berlin. Marta Rachel, a courier for the ZWZ–AK intelligence network “Stragan”, recommended Jadwiga Neumann to liaison officer Zygmunt Witczak as a trusted contact. From then on, Jadwiga gathered information on bomb damage, armaments factories and public attitudes in the city and recruited potential collaborators, including her friend Helena Maćkowiak. At the same time, she worked at the Reichsbriefprüfstelle, the Wehrmacht censorship office responsible for monitoring foreign mail.

On 23 February 1942, the Gestapo arrested Neumann for “anti-state activities” and listening to foreign radio broadcasts; as the investigation progressed, the charges were expanded to include espionage for “Stragan”. The People’s Court sentenced her to death. She was executed at Plötzensee on 27 January 1944.

Almost no trace of these women of the resistance remains in Berlin’s urban landscape.

Martin-Luther-Str. 24

The building at Martin-Luther-Straße 24 (corner Grunewald Str. 39) no longer exists; today, a public square occupies the site.

Contact:
ANNA KRENZ
krenzarch(at)gmail.com
+491772725096