Jakob Schmid


Jakob Schmid was a German janitor of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. On 18 February 1943, he turned in the siblings Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl, members of the resistance group White Rose, when they gave out pamphlets against Nazi-Germany.

Schmid and the Scholl siblings

Schmid worked, since 1926, as janitor on the university. Since 1 November 1933, he was member of Storm Detachment and, since 1 May 1937, member of the NSDAP.
On the 18 February, around 11:15 am, he noticed that the Scholl siblings gave out pamphlets on the yard and confronted them, as they intended to leave the building. He turned them overt to the secretary, Albert Scheithammer. Since the principal Walther Wüst was absent, Schmid and Scheithammer delivered the Scholl siblings to the consoul of the university, Ernst Haeffner, who delivered them to the Gestapo.
In the progress of arrest of the Scholl siblings, they and other members of the White Rose were sentences to death in Show trial and three of them – Christoph Probst, Sophie Scholl and Hans Scholl – executed by guillotine on the very day of the sentencing, on 22 February 1943, in Stadelheim Prison.
For arresting the Scholl siblings, Schmid received a reward in amount of 3,000 Reichsmark and was promoted from a worker to an employee. Hundreds of students cheered Jakob Schmid at a thank-you ceremony, organized by the University of Munich, to successfully crush student resistance, who replied with a Nazi salute.

After the war

Three days after the end of the Second World War, 11 May 1945, Schmid was arrested by the Americans. In a process, under the chairmanship of Karl Mayer, he was classified as one of the "Main-Culprits" and sentenced to five years of Labor camp. Furthermore, he lost his claim of public earnings and his right to perform a public office. He appealed the sentence twice without success, one with the reason he just "did his duty". It was not about the content of the pamphlets, but it was forbidden to give out pamphlets on university. He was released from arrest in 1951 and his pension was renewed.