The Mildred Fish Harnack Project
|
Mildred Fish Harnack (1902-1943) was a Wisconsin native who became a hero of the resistance movement in Nazi Germany and the only American civilian executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler. She was born in Milwaukee, and graduated with an M.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It was here that she met and married Arvid Harnack, a graduate student in Economics from Darmstadt, Germany. They returned to Germany to study at the University of Giessen in 1929, and later moved to Berlin where they helped form a resistance network that supplied information about German economic and military activities to the U.S. and the
Soviets. Their group, dubbed The Red Orchestra by the Gestapo, was arrested in September of 1942, and Arvid was executed in December. Mildred was initially sentenced to prison, but Hitler ordered a new trial, and she was executed by guillotine on February 16, 1943. Her last words were reported to be “Ich habe Deutschland auch so geliebt” (“And I have loved Germany so much”). |
A sculpture by John Durbrow memorializing Mildred Fish Harnack was installed in Marshall Park on the shores of Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin in 2019. Its dedication was attended by representatives from the city of Madison, the University of Wisconsin, and a delegation from eight German universities. Architect Dubrow designed the six foot black granite stele using his own funds to honor the memory of
Mildred Fish Harnack. Donations are now being sought from others who wish to pay tribute her courage by funding the $5,000 needed to install a stone plaque to accompany the sculpture, and signage in the park to encourage visitors to visit the site and learn about her life. |