Am 23. July 1935 became 20 Members of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) arrested by the Gestapo. They were active in the underground and organized resistance against the Nazis in Kassel. Already after the KPD ban 1933 Thousands of party members were imprisoned throughout the Reich. From 1933 to 1945 became 416 Kassel communist:within average 3,2 Imprisoned for years.
With the July action, large parts of the newly established illegal KPD in the city were destroyed. The prisoners were taken to the Gestapo headquarters at Königstor and tortured. For many, a long ordeal through concentration camps followed. Some like Justus Krug died in the following days. Others like Kurt Finkenstein and Paula Lohagen were murdered after numerous torture stations in Auschwitz.
It says in a memorial notice for the anti-fascists: “We lower the flag! Your death is a reminder to us, to work and fight.”