Women of the White Rose: Tilly Hahn
Tilly Hahn worked as Eugen Grimminger's secretary in 1942-1943 as Grimminger financed White Rose operations. Tilly carried money and supplies to the students, enabling their work to continue.
Tilly Hahn is remembered as a beautiful, smart, and – thankfully – cunning young woman. She was born on August 8, 1899 in Stuttgart, the second child of Paul and Ella Maria Waechtler. In 1920, Tilly married Erwin Hahn, a theater manager. They divorced in 1931.
For the next six years, Tilly studied comparative languages and music at the universities in Leipzig and Berlin. She was a trained classical pianist. After her father’s death in 1937, she assumed management of her father’s business, Waechtler & Andress, an Adler dealership. In those days before the war, when Germans were permitted to own automobiles, Eugen Grimminger had bought a vehicle from Waechtler & Andress. Over the years, as he took his car in for service, he and Tilly struck up a friendship. When “the war” bankrupted Waechtler & Andress – the dealership was destroyed in a bombing raid – it only seemed natural that Eugen Grimminger would hire Tilly Hahn as his secretary.
She was much more. Grimminger put Tilly’s bookkeeping skills to good use. And yet, Tilly was more than secretary, more than bookkeeper, more even than assistant tax advisor (she passed the state exams). Tilly was one of those women whom Grimminger trusted with his life. As life grew more difficult for Grimminger’s Jewish wife Jenny, Tilly often became the public face of Grimminger’s accounting and tax business. She did whatever she could to remove the target off the Grimmingers’ backs.
Late December 1942, Hans and Sophie Scholl, together with Alex Schmorell, traveled to Stuttgart. Hans and Alex visited Eugen Grimminger, while Sophie caught up with Susanne Hirzel to determine if Susanne could be a potential recruit for their expanded leaflet enterprise. Out of caution, Grimminger arranged the meeting in the courtyard of now-defunct Waechtler & Andress, with Tilly Hahn present. He had been disturbed by the rhetoric he had heard from Hans and Alex a few weeks earlier. Just in case they were not legitimate…
This time, Grimminger felt more at ease with the stated aims of White Rose leaflet activity. Hans and Alex talked less about a possible assassination attempt – which went against Grimminger’s strong Buddhist beliefs – and more about their diligent work to enlist students at universities across Germany, to merge resistance efforts under a single umbrella. Nonviolent protest. That was what Grimminger wanted to hear.
Hans Scholl advised Grimminger that any funds he could raise on their behalf would be used to travel to Berlin, Bonn, and Cologne to drum up support. Grimminger was not quite as happy when they said some of the money could possibly go to assist several good friends – economists, officers, and high-ranking individuals – who were “trying to bring about peace talks with Russia (sic).” Eugen Grimminger may have been liberal and leftwing in the eyes of his fellow German citizens, but in the end, he remained a fiscally conservative economist. He could not support any movement that provided aid or comfort to the Soviet Union with its planned economy.
Apparently, Hans and Alex picked up on Grimminger’s discomfort at the mention of funds being used in that manner, because in the end, both Eugen Grimminger and Tilly Hahn made cash donations on the spot.
On December 21, 1942, Tilly handed 500 Reich Marks, approximately $4000, of her own money to Hans and Alex, with the promise of more to come. This was in addition to the 500 Reich Marks Eugen Grimminger had contributed during the earlier visit. Grimminger assured the young men that there was more money on the way, as at least two more women had said they would help underwrite the work.
In addition to Tilly’s 500 Reich Marks, Hans and Alex left Stuttgart with thousands of envelopes from Grimminger’s personal stationery. That gift alone would have made the trip worthwhile. Paper products were in short supply. Not strictly rationed like food, all the same a purchase of large quantities of envelopes would have raised a red flag. This prerequisite for mailing leaflets had been met in an astounding manner.
About a month later on January 23, 1943, Sophie Scholl traveled first to Ulm, to meet with Hans Hirzel. He had not undertaken the preparations she had requested, so she was already in a foul mood before she left Ulm for Stuttgart. Her mood likely did not improve once she met with Grimminger. Sophie thought she was supposed to pick up additional funds and supplies. Grimminger had collected 1000 Reich Marks ($8000) from “fun-loving movie theater owner” Frau Wagner, from Crailsheim, and undisclosed amount of money from Mrs. Stempa, whose husband had been murdered at Dachau.
But Sophie Scholl and Eugen Grimminger had gotten their wires crossed. Tilly Hahn had already left for Munich with money in hand.
Tilly had worked out a slick cover story for her now-frequent trips to Munich, keeping the students supplied with funds and supplies. She was young and pretty, and at the time she was dating a well-known musician, Fritz Westermann. Tilly too was a musician. When she traveled with Fritz Westermann, the Gestapo never asked questions. They were celebrities!
That does not mean that Tilly traveled without risk. When Eugen Grimminger wrote about her, and Mrs. Stempa, and Mrs. Wagner, after the war, he said, “Women in general were far more courageous anti-fascists than the men.”
So on January 23, 1943, Eugen Grimminger was comforted to learn that Tilly’s mission had been accomplished, and supplies and money had been handed over to their White Rose friends. Her telegram, sent from Hotel Wolf, assured him that all was well.
Over the following weeks, we know that Tilly Hahn continued her trips to Munich on behalf of her boss, taking at least 5000 Reich Marks ($40,000) altogether plus stationery to the Scholls. But the next date we know for certain when Tilly went to Munich? February 18, 1943. Eugen Grimminger had sourced a brand new duplicating machine for the students, and Tilly delivered it as arranged. Only… When Fritz Westermann and Tilly arrived at the Scholls’ residence, the Scholls had already been arrested. A female student, likely Traute Lafrenz, stood watch outside on the street. She warned Tilly away and kept her from walking into a trap. Tilly and Fritz returned to Stuttgart on the next train out and disposed of the apparatus once they were safely home.
From the moment the Scholl siblings were arrested, Eugen Grimminger lived in constant dread of arrest. Those fears were realized when he summoned to his first interrogation on March 3, 1943. Although Tilly had been the public face of his accounting firm, and although she had undertaken the trips to Munich on his behalf, Grimminger believed that Tilly would be safe. And yet here he sat, across from Agent Schmauβ, who was asking him about the money he had given Hans Scholl. “At that time, you did not [give him any money], but you told him he should come again. Not to you, but to a company with a double name. What kind of company is that?”
Grimminger realized that someone – and we do not know who – had tried to betray Tilly. Waechtler & Andress! Of course, Hans Scholl and Alex Schmorell had met her there, but how could they have betrayed Tilly? Grimminger thought fast. “There must be some confusion. The second time, he [Hans Scholl] came to my office.” Grimminger recalled that the Stuttgart Gestapo had yelled at him about 500 Reich Marks, so he figured that amount would be safe to admit. If the Gestapo knew more than Agent Schmauβ was letting on, both Tilly Hahn and his wife Jenny were endangered.
Shortly after the war, Grimminger documented his thought processes during this interrogation. “Should I lie, and the lie were discovered, then my entire deception falls apart. But if I tell the truth [and say Tilly Hahn did it], what motivation would there be for that?” Grimminger decided to risk continuing his deception. Luckily Schmauβ had been bluffing, and Tilly Hahn was never called in for an “interview” with the Gestapo, neither in Stuttgart nor in Munich.
Dr. Eduard Eble, court-appointed defense counsel for Hans and Susanne Hirzel, as well as for Eugen Grimminger, wanted Grimminger to risk Tilly’s safety in advance of the trial. Would Tilly Hahn be available as a witness on Grimminger’s behalf? The defense that Eble wished to present on behalf of Eugen Grimminger seemed rather daring. Grimminger, so the defense theory would read, merely was helping out student soldiers, doing his patriotic duty. Since Grimminger did in fact have a sterling reputation for helping those in need, Eble thought this defense would work. But he needed Tilly Hahn to testify on behalf of her boss.
There is no record of conversations between Tilly Hahn and either Eduard Eble or Eugen Grimminger. But when Eble was asked to call witnesses on behalf of his clients on April 19, 1943, knowing full well that the prosecutor intended to ask for the death sentence for Grimminger, Eble asked Tilly Hahn to take the stand. Susanne Hirzel would later note that Eble was a good Nazi. This defense strategy was not intended to get a traitor off. Eble simply enjoyed serving as defense counsel when Judge Roland Freisler was presiding. Getting the best sentence possible against the hanging judge? No better feather in his cap.
Neither the court clerk nor the five witnesses to the April 19, 1943 trial recorded what Tilly Hahn said during her initial testimony. But when Dr. Eduard Eble requested that Judge Roland Freisler permit him to re-call Miss Tilly Hahn, so she could better explain what had happened with the money, everyone took notice. No other defense attorney dared to vigorously defend his client, as Eduard Eble was about to defend Eugen Grimminger.
It did not hurt a thing that this beautiful blond woman had come to court “dressed well and elegantly.” When she approached Judge Freisler this second time, she bowed before the bench. Freisler was so flattered by her attention that he did not call her to account for failing to say Heil Hitler – again!
When they renewed the formality about swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but… Freisler interrupted. “We can dispense with the oath. A German woman never lies.”
With that introduction, Tilly Hahn proceeded to lie like a politician. Did she know if Mr. Grimminger had ever given the Scholls money, the judge asked. Yes, he did, she answered truthfully. How do you know? Freisler inquired. Tilly: It’s not a secret around the office. We even booked it. If it were high treason, then one certainly would not book it.
Grimminger could hardly contain his glee at his secretary’s glib deception. “One certainly would not book it!” It was a good thing that Gestapo Agent Schmauβ had never found out about the money Tilly had not booked!
Freisler: Is your boss always so generous? Tilly: Yes. One of our employees was badly wounded. His mother continues to receive his salary every month, because she was dependent on her son’s support. Another employee, also a soldier, receives 150 Reich Marks ($1200) a month.
A member of the till-now silent First Council furtively and disconcertedly whispered to Judge Freisler. Freisler ceased questioning Tilly and commented, “Either this is the most cunning political criminal I have ever encountered, or he really is the man of integrity he pretends to be.”
Falk Harnack, the “dramaturg” and actor also on trial, later recalled his admiration for this gutsy woman. He thought it was a “slick formulation”, and very clever to be able to create the credible impression that Grimminger had given Hans Scholl money purely for social reasons. Dr. Eble would admit after the war that this idea had come to him at the last moment. It was not a planned tactic. Had it not been for Tilly Hahn’s quick wit, his tactic would have failed.
Because of Tilly Hahn’s testimony, Eugen Grimminger’s certain death sentence was not granted. Eduard Eble had convinced Judge Roland Freisler to spare his client’s life. The prosecutor had petitioned Freisler “for aiding and abetting the enemy, preparation for high treason: The death penalty and loss of civil rights for the rest of their lives” – for Alexander Schmorell, Kurt Huber, Willi Graf, and Eugen Grimminger. After the death sentences were pronounced for Schmorell, Huber, and Graf, Grimminger’s sentence was read: Ten years penitentiary, less time served, loss of civil rights. No one could have seen that coming.
It would be two months before Eugen Grimminger was allowed to receive his first visitors in that penitentiary. He had last seen his wife Jenny on March 2, 1943 at 2:29 pm, as the train had left Stuttgart for Munich and Gestapo arrest. Grimminger’s family had not told him about Jenny’s arrest, about the transport of Jenny Grimminger to a concentration camp, about her loss of protected status, about the dissolution of their family home in Stuttgart. Grimminger’s family thought it best if he did not know.
When one of his sisters arrived at the penitentiary in mid-July 1943, Grimminger asked about his wife. Didn’t you know? They have taken her to a concentration camp. Grimminger’s “artificial calm” left him. He became a broken man. He refused to sleep, refused to eat. The prison warden put him on suicide watch.
In the midst of that haze, Eugen Grimminger’s attorney visited his client, accompanied by Tilly Hahn. Although his life had been spared, “loss of civil rights” meant that Eugen Grimminger could no longer own a business. Grimminger told his attorney, “It’s Tilly’s business now. I don’t care. Tilly knows who will help her out, she knows what to do.” He signed the bill of sale. He truly did not give a damn. Jenny was all that mattered.
Jenny Grimminger would be murdered in Auschwitz on December 2, 1943. Tilly Hahn would keep Eugen Grimminger’s accounting and tax business running through 1952. Tilly married Eugen Grimminger on July 28, 1947.
Eugen and Tilly Grimminger worked together on behalf of animal rights. In 1964, they co-founded the Grimminger Stiftung, which was established to promote work in the field of preventive medicine, and to research human diseases that can be transmitted to humans from animals.
Tilly Grimminger nee Waechtler died on January 6, 1982. Eugen Grimminger died on April 10, 1986. The White Rose would not have accomplished as much as it did had it not been for Eugen Grimminger’s willingness to serve as financier for their operation, and Tilly Hahn’s readiness to protect her boss and carry money and supplies between Stuttgart and Munich.
The fully-footnoted, completely documented White Rose History: Volume II, Journey to Freedom (May 1, 1942 - October 12, 1943) - which contains all the information above and far more - is available at the online store of Exclamation! Publishers.
We are grateful to Dr. Armin Ziegler for his thorough, detailed, pingelig history of the life of Eugen Grimminger. If every person associated with White Rose had a biography as thorough as that one, there’d be no “legend” and puffery! Armin Ziegler. Eugen Grimminger: Widerständler und Genossenschaftspioner. Grailsheim: Baier BPB Verlag, 2000.