Nikolaus Christoph von Halem began studying law in Heidelberg in 1922. There, he became a member of the “akademischer Corps” student league, where he first met subsequent resistance fighters. In 1931, he married Victoria Maria Grabe; the couple had two sons. In the summer of 1933, he resigned from his judicial training because he did not want to swear the oath of allegiance to Hitler and took up work as a freelance economic consultant. He made contact with other dissidents, such as Karl Ludwig Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, Henning von Tresckow and Herbert Mumm von Schwarzenstein. In 1939, he met the communist resistance fighter Joseph Römer and together, they started plotting to assassinate Hitler. Römer was arrested and tortured and is thought to have revealed the names of his co-conspirators, von Halem and von Schwarzenstein.
In February 1942, von Halem was arrested. Although he was severely tortured in a total of ten prisons and concentration camps, he did not divulge the names of any fellow resistance activists. On June 16,1944, the Volksgerichtshof (People’s Court) sentenced von Halem and von Schwarzenstein to death. Von Halem was executed on October 09, 1944, in Brandenburg prison.
Nikolaus Christoph von Halem
Nikolaus Christoph von Halem began studying law in Heidelberg in 1922. There, he became a member of the “akademischer Corps” student league, where he first met subsequent resistance fighters. In 1931, he married Victoria Maria Grabe; the couple had two sons. In the summer of 1933, he resigned from his judicial training because he did not want to swear the oath of allegiance to Hitler and took up work as a freelance economic consultant. He made contact with other dissidents, such as Karl Ludwig Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, Henning von Tresckow and Herbert Mumm von Schwarzenstein. In 1939, he met the communist resistance fighter Joseph Römer and together, they started plotting to assassinate Hitler. Römer was arrested and tortured and is thought to have revealed the names of his co-conspirators, von Halem and von Schwarzenstein.
In February 1942, von Halem was arrested. Although he was severely tortured in a total of ten prisons and concentration camps, he did not divulge the names of any fellow resistance activists. On June 16,1944, the Volksgerichtshof (People’s Court) sentenced von Halem and von Schwarzenstein to death. Von Halem was executed on October 09, 1944, in Brandenburg prison.