Reich. (See: Red Help). From this they also published, under Wolfgang Abendroth's editorship "die Einheit der Arbeiterbewegung in der antifaschistischen Arbeit" (The Unity of the Workers' Movement in Anti-Fascist Work). In 1942, Kirchner was arrested by the Vichy Régime and handed over to the Gestapo. She was sentenced to ten years' hard labour ("Zuchthaus") for treason, the first year of which she spent in a prison in Cottbus, which she shared with several female members of the Red Orchestra resistance group, whose goal was to hasten the Nazi régime's collapse. These women's solidarity greatly helped Kirchner overcome the ordeal of being thrown in prison. However, Kirchner's case was brought back before the Volksgerichtshof in 1944. This time, Roland Freisler, the Chief Justice at the Volksgerichtshof, sentenced her to death, and she was beheaded at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin. The judgment accused Kirchner of having "treasonably rooted herself in the evilest Marxist high-treason propaganda". It also accused her of "treasonably gathering cultural, economic, political, and military intelligence and communicating" the same. "Keep Goethe's words in mind," wrote Kirchner in a letter to her children on the day of her death, "'Die and become'. Don't cry for me. I believe in a better future for you." Legacy Since 1990, the city of Frankfurt am Main, Kirchner's birthplace, has yearly awarded the Johanna Kirchner Medal to those who fight against oppression, and stand up against terror, torture, and murder. Further reading Plener, Ulla (2005). Johanna Kirchner. In: Plener, Ulla (ed.): Frauen aus Deutschland in der französischen Résistance. Eine Dokumentation (= Arbeiterbewegung: Forschungen, Dokumente, Biografien). Berlin: Ed. Bodoni, , pp. 59–63 Dertinger, Antje; Trott, Jan von (1985). Und lebe immer in Eurer Erinnerung. Johanna Kirchner. Eine Frau im Widerstand. Berlin, Bonn: Dietz. External links Lore Wolf on her meeting with Johanna Kirchner in Berlin-Moabit Prison Wolfgang Abendroth Studienkreis Widerstand Heft 21/1984: Memorial observance on the 40th anniversary of Johanna Kirchner's death Page about women in the German resistance (in German) Short biography in Memorial center of the German Resistance 1889 births 1944 deaths Executed German women People from Hesse executed at Plötzensee Prison People condemned by Nazi courts Politicians from Frankfurt People from Hesse-Nassau People executed by guillotine at Plötzensee Prison People executed for treason against Germany Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery