Otto Hermann Hampel -

- blev født den 21. juni 1897 i Mühlbock/Posen.
Han arbejder efter militærtjeneste i Første Verdenskrig -
- på Siemens-Schuckert-kabelfabrikken -
- i Berlin-Reinickendorf - senest som montør.
Fra 1928 til 1933 var han medlem af Stahlhelm.
I 1935 giftede han sig med Elise Lemme.
Elise Hampels brors død -
- under det tyske angreb på Frankrig -
- gør Otto Hampel og hans kone -
- til modstandere af nazistregimet.
Mellem september 1940 -
- og deres arrestation i slutningen af september 1942 -
- skriver de postkort -
- og mere end 200 håndskrevne flyveblade -
- som de lægger rundt i byen -
- i postkasser og trappeopgange.
Ofte i nærheden af deres hjem -
- i Berlin-distriktet Wedding.
I dem opfordrer de til ikke at deltage -
-  i nationalsocialisternes gadeoptog -
- at nægte at deltage i krigen - og vælte Hitler.
Hr. og fru Hampel bliver afsløret -
- og arresteres den 20. oktober 1942.
Foran politiet erklærer Otto Hampel -
- at være "glad ved tanken" over -
- at kunne protestere mod Hitler og hans regime.
Otto og Elise Hampel bliver den 22. januar 1943 -
- af "Folkedomstolen" -
- på grund af "nedbrydning af de væbnede styrker" -
- og "forberedelse til højforræderi" -
- dømt til døden -
- og myrdet den 8. april 1943 i Berlin- Plötzensee.
Deres skæbne er grundlaget -
- for Hans Falladas roman -

"JEDER STIRBT FÜR SICH ALEIN"
"Alle dør alene".

Wedding

The constant migration of country-dwellers into the city
at the end of the 19th century
converted Wedding into a working-class district.
The labourers lived in cramped tenement blocks,
many in the Wilhelmine Ring.
After World War I, Wedding was known as "Red Wedding" as it was renowned for its militant, largely Communist working class;
it was the scene of violent clashes between paramilitary groups such as the KPD's Roter Frontkämpferbund 
and the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung in the late 1920s, including the Blutmai riots of 1929
in which the Social Democratic-controlled Berlin Police killed 33 Communists.

After World War II, Wedding and Reinickendorf together made up the French sector of Berlin.
The buildings on the north side
of Wedding's Bernauer Straße and the street,
including sidewalks, were in the French sector,
while the buildings along the southern side
were in Soviet territory.

When the Berlin Wall was being built in August 1961,
many who lived in these buildings
frantically jumped from their windows
before the buildings could be evacuated
and their windows bricked up.

Wedding was also the western terminus
of one of the first refugee tunnels
dug underneath the Berlin Wall.
It extended from the basement of an abandoned factory
on Schönholzer Straße in the Soviet sector
underneath Bernauer Straße
to another building in the west.
Though marvelously well constructed and kept secret,
the tunnel was plagued by water from leaking pipes,
and had to be shut down after only a few days of operation.

Today, Wedding is one of the poorest areas of Berlin,
with a high unemployment rate (almost 26%).
Almost 17% of the population live on social welfare;
27% live below the poverty line.
Foreigners make up 30% of the population.
Low rental costs accompany the poverty in Wedding. Therefore, like many inexpensive areas in large cities,
it is home to a vibrant artists' community. Many galleries have been founded by artists
to provide a space for themselves and their peers
to showcase their works.

 Along with Kreuzberg, Wedding is one of the most ethnically diverse localities of Berlin. The multicultural atmosphere is visible
in the bilingual shop signs
(predominantly German and Turkish 
or German and Arabic).

In recent years Wedding has seen
a significant influx of Africans,
many of whom have settled in the Afrikanisches Viertel,
or African Quarter.
Wedding is also home to an East Asian community,
mostly from China, which is reflected
in many Asian and African stores and restaurants.
As of 2011, the ethnic make-up of Wedding
was 52% of German origin, 18% Turks,
6% Sub-Saharan African, 6% Arabs, 6% Polish,
5% former Yugoslavia, and 4.5% Asian.

Otto Hermann Hampel -

- was born on 21 June 1897 in Mühlbock/Posen.
He works after military service in World War I -
- at the Siemens-Schuckert cable factory -
- in Berlin-Reinickendorf - most recently as a fitter.
From 1928 to 1933 he was a member of Stahlhelm.
In 1935, he married Elise Lemme.
The death of Elise Hampel's brother -
- during the German attack on France -
- makes Otto Hampel and his wife -
- opponents of the Nazi regime.
Between September 1940 -
- and their arrest in late September1942-
- they write postcards -
- and more than 200 handwritten leaflets -
- which they put around the city -
- in mailboxes and stairwells.
Often near their home -
- in the Berlin district of Wedding.
In them they call for not participating -
- in the National Socialist street march -
- for refusing to participate in the war -
- and overthrowing Hitler.
Mr. and Mrs. Hampel are discovered -
- and arrested on October 20, 1942.
In front of the police, Otto Hampel declares -
- to be "happy at the thought" -
- of being able to protest -
- against Hitler and his regime.
Otto and Elise Hampel are sentenced to death -
- on January 22, 1943 -
- by the "People's Court" -
- for "the overthrow of the armed forces" -
and "preparation for high treason" -
- and murdered on April 8,1943 in Berlin-Plötzensee.
Their fate is the basis for Hans Fallada's novel -
- "Everyone Dies Alone".

Jeder stirbt für sich allein

Roman Rowohlt 1964

Zuerst erschienen 1947

Hans Falladas bedeutender Roman
ist eine bewegende Geschichte
über Macht und Moral im Zeichen
der nationalsozialistischen Diktatur.

Schreinermeister Otto Quangel
und seine Frau Anna
haben mit Politik nichts am Hut,
doch als ihr einziger Sohn im Krieg fällt,
erproben die biederen Leute
ihre ganz eigene Form von Widerstand
gegen die Nazis.
Mühsam per Hand beschreiben sie Karten
mit antifaschistischen Botschaften
und legen sie in Treppenhäusern aus.
Damit schrecken sie allerhand Menschen auf,
und natürlich kann das nicht lange gutgehen.

Wannsee

On 20 January 1942 -
- senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Villa -
- to ensure the cooperation of -
- the major government organizations -
- in "the organizational, logistical -
- and material steps for a final solution -
- of the Jewish question in Europe" -

- the extermination of the Jews of Europe.
The event, presided over by Reinhard Heydrich and conducted by Adolf Eichmann -
- has since become known as -
- the Wannsee Conference.
Today, the building serves as -
- a memorial and education centre.

Pankow

I DDR-tiden boede parti- og statsledelsen -
- frem til 1960 i et afspærret område -
- omkring Majakowski-Ring.
Pankow-styret – en vesttysk betegnelse -
- for den ikke-anerkendte DDR-regering.

Potsdam

Cecilienhof-paladset i Potsdam -
- var skueplads for Potsdam-konferencen -
- fra 17. juli til 2. august 1945 -
- hvor de sejrrige allierede ledere -
- Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill -
- og Joseph Stalin -
- mødtes for at afgøre Tysklands fremtid -
- og efterkrigstidens Europa generelt. Konferencen sluttede med Potsdam-aftalen -
- og Potsdam-erklæringen.