In 1936, during a Nazi rally in Hamburg, a single man stood out in a sea of raised arms—refusing to perform the Nazi salute. That man was later identified as August Landmesser.

He had joined the Nazi Party in 1931, not out of ideological belief, but in hopes of improving his chances of employment during Germany’s economic crisis. However, his views began to change when he fell in love with a Jewish woman named Irma Eckler in 1934. The couple became engaged, but their application for marriage was rejected due to the newly implemented Nuremberg Laws, which forbade unions between Jews and non-Jews. Undeterred, they remained together, and Irma gave birth to their first daughter, Ingrid, in 1935.

In 1937, the family tried to escape Nazi Germany by fleeing to Denmark, but they were caught. August was charged with “dishonoring the race” under Nazi racial laws. Though he was initially acquitted due to lack of evidence, he was ordered to end his relationship with Irma. He refused. As a result, he was arrested again in 1938 and sentenced to three years of hard labor in a concentration camp. This was the last time he would see his wife and daughter. Meanwhile, Irma was sent to prison, where she gave birth to their second daughter, Irene, and was later transferred between concentration camps. She is believed to have been killed in 1942.

August was released in 1941, only to be conscripted into a penal military unit. He died in action in Croatia in 1944. Their daughters, Ingrid and Irene, survived the war after being placed with foster families.