Why This German Man Refused to Give Hitler a Nazi Salute in 1936

German citizens were required to Hilter during his reign. But in 1936, one man refused during a rally because he fell in love with Irma Eckler, a Jewish woman. August Landmesser was expelled from the Nazi Party after his engagement to Eckler was d... #InsideEdition

[hatter]

My great uncle was in the Wehrmacht in WWII and he once refused to salute an ss officer because he had seen a lot of atrocities committed in Russia. He was court martialed for this and almost got the death penalty but was allowed to return to his unit. He was later killed at the battle of Stalingrad

[terra]

You know when she said “and she was a Jewish women” it was bout to get dark

[emuriddle]

He was forced into a Penal Battalion. And sent to fight a losing battle in Yugoslavia.

Currently, he's buried in present-day Croatia.

And the West German government legitimized his marriage posthumously.

He lived and died a Hero.

[brandenmanuel]

Moral is the story: Always do the right thing, even when no one else is doing it!

[jasonhobb]

Sometimes it's hard to tell righteous anger in a sea of hatred. And sometimes it's as bright as a Sun.

[kaiserreichtangle]

what about the guy who sat down while everyone around him stood up and saluted

[erickzuniga]

The man had more balls than 99% of us. Didnt abandon his wife or family, never revoked his love, and stood up against tyranny.

[dreamcore]

Except that Landmesser is not the man in that historic photo.

His daughter Irene Eckler did find it useful to promote her family's persecution story, however, and the press was uncritical of the claim, of course.

[simonriley]

That looks exactly like Gordon Ramsey in the thumb nail

[marciabelldbampaha]

Wow, never saw his family again. So awful.

[mp-xosl]

plot twist: his arms were so tired from saluting that he couldn’t raise them anymore

[ohcomeooooon]

believe it or not my account was disabled from facebook for posting this photo !!!

[calirasin]

there is a second claim to the identity of the man, it could also be Gustav Wegert, his family also believes it is him in the photo. there is very little evidence of August Landmesser being present at Blohm + Voss. While Gustavs family does have employment slips. Gustav was known for never giving the salute (according to family).

[HK-swvi]

he's the guy who the landlords pays rent to

[mrbean]

This dudes surely worthy of Chuck Norris jokes, the balls on him

[buckeye]

His arms were weighed down by his massive stones

[ColorBlindTester]

He​ just​ broke​ his​ arm yesterday
What​ do​ you​ want​ people?!

[sdjslkdjlsskldjslkdjsl]

Looks like he got his wish, and I hope he's enjoying his final years in the wonderful world he helped create.

[matthewxd]

And that’s how I feel when I don’t take the knee and everyone gets mad

[Mrpooplooser]

There's also the dozen other people in the same picture not saluting. There is literally nothing unique about this.