Bruno Himpkamp
Born in Hamburg in 1925, Bruno Himpkamp was forced to leave the city’s Wichern School in June 1942. He was accused of endangering his fellow pupils through his political influence, and was arrested briefly by the Gestapo soon afterwards as a result. Himpkamp regularly listened to reports of political oppression of dissenters and racial persecution of the Jews on illegal foreign radio stations, deepening his opposition to National Socialism. In April 1943 Hans Leipelt, who used to give Bruno Himpkamp extra coaching for school, visited Hamburg and won Himpkamp’s support for the actions of the White Rose group. In May 1943 the Gestapo arrested Himpkamp again; his friends Thorsten Müller and Gerd Spitzbart, whom Himpkamp had taken into his confidence, were also arrested. Himpkamp and Spitzbart were liberated from Stendal regional court prison by US troops on April 12, 1945, before the date set for the trial. However, Thorsten Müller was brought to trial in Hamburg on April 19, 1945, and the prosecution put in a plea for a sentence of ten years in a penitentiary. Müller also survived the end of the war.