The
lone German worker who
refused to
salute Hitler
June 13, 1936
August Landmesser (circled) refuses to
salute during the launching of the Horst Wessel.
Image: Public Domain
On June 13, 1936, the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany held a ceremony to launch its latest sailing vessel, the 295-foot barque
Horst Wessel, named for a Nazi activist who was killed by communists in 1930 and treated as a martyr as part of party propaganda.
The event was headlined by a speech from Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess with Adolf
Hitler at his side. Wessel’s mother christened the ship with a bottle of champagne, and the assembled crowd of workers and onlookers gave an enthusiastic Nazi salute.
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