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4 years ago, I lived in Stuttgart, Germany. Every day, when about my business, I’d pass a house with all sorts of people coming in & out - hippies, punks, grannies, etc. It was called the ‘Lilo Herrmann House’, and I never thought to research who she was until now... THREAD 1/ 
Liselotte Herrmann was born in 1909. With middle-class parents, she was raised in the progressive atmosphere of Weimar Berlin, and found her place among the KPD - the Communists - early on. All through her secondary and tertiary education, she was involved in KPD activity. /2
In 1933, when the NSDAP came to power, ‘Lilo’ and her student friends protested at Humboldt University, and action that led to her expulsion. At this point in time, she dedicated herself to resistance activity. /3
Early the next year, Lilo gave birth to a son, called Walther. The baby’s father, Fritz Rau, was another KPD member and resistance fighter who had been on the run from the Gestapo. Unfortunately, he was caught and executed prior to Walther’s birth. /4
Lilo, at this point, then headed to Stuttgart and she took a job as a typist. During this time, she began to act as a conduit for materials relating to Germany’s secret rearmament projects. She was able to smuggle information to KPD leaders who had escaped to Switzerland. /5
This was very dangerous work. While the KPD had been outlawed, there was substantial underground networks that worked against the regime. The Gestapo was forever trying to infiltrate their networks, and punishments for those caught was harsh - including death. /6
Lilo’s luck ran out in December 1935, when a Gestapo agent infiltrated her KPD cell, leading to a raid on her home. She spent three months in the Gestapo prison (a building that still stands) before receiving a death sentence for ‘high treason’. /7
From Stuttgart, Lilo was sent to Berlin. She spent a year in a prison for women, then transferred to Ploetzensee - an infamous prison where opponents of the regime were executed. She was guillotined on June 20, 1938. She had only very rarely seen her child since her arrest. /8
Lilo’s death was met by protests across the world, & after WW2, she became a hero in the DDR - stamps bore her image, statues were erected, institutes were named after her. This all disappeared though, after reunification - it wasn’t a good thing to commemorate a communist. /9
Stuttgart eventually got around to naming a crappy dead-end street after Lilo, and a memorial appeared at the university there. It wasn’t until 2010 that the Lilo Herrmann House appeared on Boeblinger Strasse in Stuttgart, where left-wing activists live, meet & work. /10
One very obvious thing when you visit my old neighbourhood, is the paucity of graffiti or stickers from right-wing groups. It’s a diverse area, & everyone is welcome - except if you’re there to start trouble & harass others. The Lilo Hermann House has a lot to do with that. /11
Decades after her death, Lilo is still carrying on her fight, in a way. Those who seek to reawaken the horrors of the past in her old neighbourhood get short shrift - I remember a few young AfD types learning a pretty memorable lesson! Here’s to you, Lilo, rest in power! /FIN
PS. If you want to learn more, and you speak German, you can here... linkeszentrumstuttgart.org
PPS. ...and yes, it's a good thing right-wing boneheads are afraid to go there!
