Albert Leo Schlageter
Albert Leo Schlageter | |
|---|---|
Albert Leo Schlageter, 1918 | |
| Born | August 12, 1894 Schönau im Schwarzwald, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire |
| Died | May 26, 1923 (aged 28) Golzheim, Rhine Province |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Allegiance | German Empire |
| Branch | Imperial German Army |
| Rank | Leutnant |
| Battles / wars | World War I
Latvian War of Independence Kapp Putsch Silesian Uprisings |
Albert Leo Schlageter (German pronunciation: [ˈalbɛʁt ˈleːo ˈʃlaːɡɛtɐ]; August 12, 1894 – May 26, 1923) was an Imperial German Army officer who served in World War I before joining several Freikorps groups and carrying out acts of sabotage against French occupational forces in the Ruhr. Schlageter was arrested by French forces for sabotaging railroad tracks and executed by firing squad in 1923. After his death, he was viewed by many German nationalists as a martyr, including the Nazi Party. In Nazi Germany, Schlageter was commemorated as a national hero, which in turn led Allied occupational authorities to target such commemoration after World War II as part of the denazification process.