Mildred Fish-Harnack: Germany`s Secret Hero (Level 1)

Mildred Fish-Harnack
Germany’s Secret Hero
Biography written by:
Becky Marburger
Educational Producer
Wisconsin Media Lab
Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Early Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Getting an Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Living in Germany. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Captured! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Introduction
Most laws are created to help keep people safe. Would
you follow laws if they hurt people?
Mildred Fish-Harnack lived in Germany when Adolf
Hitler was its leader. His laws led to war and the deaths
of millions of people. Mildred chose to stand up to
Hitler. Her actions helped save people’s lives.
Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin
Digital Collections Center. UW.MFH0021.bib.
Mildred Fish-Harnack
(1923)
2
Early Life
Mildred Fish was born on September 16, 1902, to
Georgina and William Fish. Mildred had three older
siblings: Harriette and twins Marion and Marbeau.
The family lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fearless
Mildred enjoyed being the center of attention.
Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.
UW.MFH004.bib.
Mildred (top row, second from the left) showing her silly side in a photo with
family and friends (August 1917).
3
Mildred was 12 years old when World War I began
in Europe. The war pitted Germany against other
countries. The United States (US) disagreed with
Germany.
Liberty Cabbage
During World War I, people in
Milwaukee removed German
poetry from school lessons
and stopped printing the city’s
German newspaper. They even
renamed sauerkraut “liberty
cabbage.”
Kobako. 2006. Wikimedia Commons.
Sauerkraut, sausage, and potatoes are a
traditional German meal.
4
Getting an Education
Mildred’s parents separated when she was in high
school. She moved with her mother Georgina in 1918
to Washington, DC. Georgina taught herself how to
type and became a secretary. Mildred admired how
hard her mother worked.
Courtesy of the University of
Wisconsin Digital Collections
Center.
Mildred (right) used her
mother’s work ethic and
self-reliance as a model for
her own life (1917).
Mildred began college in
Washington, DC, in 1920. After one
year she switched schools and went
to the University of WisconsinMadison (UW-Madison). Mildred
studied books and poems.
Mildred graduated from UWMadison in 1925. She stayed to
teach and get another college
degree. One day a lost German
student named Arvid Harnack came
into her classroom. He soon fell in
love with Mildred.
5
The couple married at her brother’s farm on August 7,
1926.
Arvid finished his classes in 1928 and moved back
to Germany. Mildred stayed in the US to teach at a
Maryland college.
Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin
Digital Collections Center. UW.MFH0020.bib.
As a progressive woman, Mildred kept her name after
she got married and went by Mildred Fish-Harnack.
6
Life in Germany
Mildred moved to Germany a year later. She taught
classes and worked to get a third college degree.
As Mildred studied, Hitler and the Nazi Party grew
strong. The group wanted others to join the Nazi Party
and share their beliefs. Mildred refused to do so, which
caused her to lose her job.
Mildred, Arvid, and other scholars from Berlin went
to the Soviet Union in 1932 to learn more about the
country.
Soviet Union
Mildred admired the Soviet Union because women had the right
to choose where to work. Her experiences in the country fueled
her desire to gain equal rights in Germany and the rest of the
world.
In 1991, the Soviet Union broke apart into 15 new countries, the largest
being Russia.
7
Resistance
Hitler led the Nazis. In 1933 he became the leader of
Germany. The Harnacks hated the laws Hitler created.
They formed a resistance group the German
secret police called the Red
Hoops. 2011. Wikimedia Commons.
Orchestra. The group
wanted to force Hitler
from power and return
peace to Germany. The
Red Orchestra told the
truth about the Nazis in
handouts and on the radio.
The Nazis hated this.
Adolf Hitler was the political leader of
Arvid and Mildred went
Germany from 1933 to 1945.
back to Wisconsin in 1937
to visit the Fishes. The family thought Mildred was
secretly a Nazi because she had grown quiet and shy.
They asked her and Arvid to emigrate from Germany.
The couple said no because they wanted to keep
working against Hitler.
8
In 1939, World War II began in Europe. Mildred
kept working within the Red Orchestra to tell the
truth about the Nazis. She also helped people escape
Germany and the Nazis. Arvid bought Mildred a boat
ticket to the US because he felt Germany was too
dangerous. But Mildred refused to go. She wanted to
stay with Arvid and continue her work in Germany.
Courtesy of the German Resistance Memorial Center.
Despite the war, Mildred completed her PhD on November 20,
1941. This is her degree from the University of Giessen.
9
Captured!
Arvid went outside alone on September 7, 1942. He
returned with three German secret policemen. The
men took Arvid and Mildred to prison.
The couple went on trial. Arvid knew he would be
found guilty. He said he hated the Nazi Party and it
was his fault that Mildred had worked against it. He
hoped to save Mildred’s life.
Both were found guilty on December 19, 1942.
Mildred’s sentence was six years in prison. Arvid’s
sentence was death. He was hanged three days later.
Arvid died believing his wife would live.
Hitler learned of Mildred’s sentence and called for a
second trial. This time her sentence was death.
Courtesy of the German Resistance Memorial Center.
10
Mildred and Arvid were kept in this Berlin prison
before their five-day trial.
Red Orchestra
Kobako. 2006. Wikimedia Commons.
The Red Orchestra was a resistance
group that worked against Hitler and the
Nazis. The organization gave Nazi secrets
to countries such as the Soviet Union and
the US so that they could work to defeat
Hitler. The Red Orchestra also helped
people flee from the Nazis. The members
were so secretive that they often did not
A Soviet soldier waving a flag
know each other. They did this because
after they beat the Nazis at the
they feared they could be jailed or
Battle of Stalingrad (1943).
executed if discovered.
A pastor visited Mildred on
February 16, 1943. He gave her
a picture of her mother. Mildred
kissed it and wrote on the back
about her love for her mother.
Ihle, T. 2004. Wikimedia Commons.
Mildred Fish-Harnack was put
to death that night.
Mildred was beheaded using a
guillotine.
11
Conclusion
The Harnacks risked their
lives sharing Nazi secrets
with the US and Soviet
Union so Hitler could be
defeated. World War II
ended in 1945.
Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin
Digital Collections Center.
Mildred Fish-Harnack
was a fearless woman
who challenged laws
In 1986, Wisconsin declared
September 16 Mildred Fish-Harnack
that harmed people. She
Day to honor her selfless actions.
How do you hope to be remembered?
believed in doing what
(1938)
she thought right. Mildred
showed how the actions
of one person can help save people’s lives.
12
Glossary
emigrate (v): . . . . . . . . . . . .
to move from one country to live in another
equal rights (n): . . . . . . . . .
the same treatment for all people
guillotine (n): . . . . . . . . . . .
a machine used to behead people as
punishment
Nazi (n): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a nickname for the National Socialist German
Workers Party; political party led by Adolf
Hitler whose goal was to make Germany the
most powerful country in the world
progressive (adj): . . . . . . . .
in favor of improvement, progress, and new
ideas
resistance group (n): . . . .
a n organization formed to fight back against
authority
sauerkraut (n): . . . . . . . . . .
s hredded cabbage that is salted and fermented
to make it sour; means sour cabbage in German
university (n): . . . . . . . . . . .
a school for higher education; usually after
high school
World War I (WWI) (n): . .
a war fought from 1914 to 1918 mainly in
Europe; France, Great Britain, the Soviet
Union, the United States, and other allied
countries defeated Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Bulgaria, and Turkey
World War II (WWII) (n): .a war fought from 1939 to 1945 in Europe
and eastern Asia; France, Great Britain, the
Soviet Union, the United States, and other
allied countries defeated Germany, Italy, and
Japan
13
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Level 1