Ingrid Schaeffer-Rahtgens: Memories of her brave father in resistance

Ingrid Schaeffer-Rahtgens: Memories of her brave father in resistance

in the city center of Cologne, while people hurriedly hurried around, the 85-year-old Ingrid Schaeffer-Rahtgens waited for her doctor's appointment when she started talking to Susanne Hengesbach. In her section "Two coffee, please!" Henggesbach, like the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , on topics and stories that reflect life in our city. Ingrid has an extraordinary biography: At the age of four, she lost her father, Carl Ernst Rahtgens, who was executed in Berlin-Plötzensee on August 30, 1944. He was involved in resistance to Adolf Hitler and the overthrow efforts of July 20th.

"I have good memories of my father," says Ingrid. Despite his early death, his joie de vivre and his Christian faith spoke to her. She describes him as a "happy, Christian and funny person" who always wanted to take part in her life. This can already be seen in the fact that Carl Ernst Rahtgens wanted to be active at her birth, which led to a deep emotional bond.

a man in resistance

Carl Ernst Rahtgens was born on August 27, 1908 and had a promising military career. His entry into a Potsdam infantry regiment took place in 1928 and he acquired the Abitur before he passed the entrance exam for the war academy in 1937. As a result, he fought on different fronts in different years of war and dealt with friends like Günther Smend about the war situation. Also his relatives, including his uncle, Generalfeldmarschall Günther von Kluge, temporarily sympathized with the resistance, which moved Rahtgens to initiate secret overthrow activities.

But happiness did not last long: in September 1944 Gestapo men of his family had the death sentence. While his mother and siblings suffered from clipping, Ingrid also had to live with the stigmatization of being the daughter of a "fatherland trait". "I experienced a lot of humiliations at school," she recalls. Nevertheless, she sees the "resistant" as part of her life, which is why she regularly participates in celebrations of thought on July 20, which she describes as her "big family".

a desire for civil courage

Ingrid also comments on the increasing indifference in society. "Civil courage is very popular today." Her hope is that July 20 one day will be renamed the “International Day of Resistance” to keep the memory of all the people who fought for their beliefs - like many other resistance fighters of the time, including Sophie Scholl or Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. These historical characters also fight for the place that civil society should take to maintain justice and human dignity.

"If he doesn't live, I have to keep the fist up for him and for everyone who fought for a better life," says Ingrid. Your committed nature and the memory of her father make it clear how important it is to campaign for freedom and democracy.