Robert Uhrig

Robert Uhrig
Commemorative plaque at Uhrig's last address in Berlin
Born	(1903-03-08)March 8, 1903 Leipzig, Germany
Died	August 21, 1944(1944-08-21) (aged 41) Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Cause of death	Guillotine
Nationality	German
Occupation	Toolmaker
Years active	1920-1944
Organization	Robert Uhrig Group
Known for	Anti-Nazi activism
Political party	Communist Party of Germany
Movement	German Resistance
Criminal penalty	Execution
Spouse(s)	Charlotte Uhrig

Robert Uhrig (March 8, 1903 – August 21, 1944) was a German communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism.

Born in Leipzig, the son of a metalworker, Uhrig grew up to become a journeyman toolmaker. He joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1920 and took several courses at the Marxist Workers' School. From 1929 on, he worked at Osram in Berlin-Moabit and joined the KPD workplace cell. By the end of 1932, The KPD was the third largest party in Germany, with 3,600,000 members and had received some six million votes in the previous election. He took leadership of the cell in 1933.

The Reichstag Fire Decree pushed by Adolf Hitler in response to the Reichstag fire on February 27, 1933 and signed into law by President Paul von Hindenburg withdrew civil liberties and enabled the Nazis, then in key positions in government, to arrest anyone they deemed to be an enemy. This became first and foremost a confrontation with the KPD, but in effect, outlawed all political parties in Germany, other than the Nazi Party. The Enabling Act of March 27, 1933 consolidated their power and authority. In the first weeks of March 1933, there were 11,000 Communists arrested and by June 1933, more than half of the KPD district leaders were in detention.

Uhrig was arrested by the Gestapo in 1934 and sentenced to hard labor at the Zuchthaus in Luckau. After his release in summer 1936, he went underground, working in the leadership of the Berlin KPD. Starting in 1938, he led a network of resistance groups in over 20 factories in Berlin, which became part of one of the largest anti-fascist resistance organizations in Berlin. Through his relationships with Wilhelm Guddorf, John Sieg and others, he was in regular contact with the Red Orchestra and with groups in Hamburg, Mannheim, Leipzig, Munich and elsewhere. Starting in 1940-1941, he also worked extensively with Beppo Römer. Around this period, he was regarded as the leader of KPD resistance in Berlin.