Carl von Ossietzky

Hans Paasche

„My name is Paasche, I was a naval officer and am now a revolutionary!” Berlin, November 9th, 1918

Carl von Ossietzky

Hans Paasche

Paasche is said to have been a Comnmunist. And if he had been it, what then? But Paasche was always a non party idealist. “Meine Mitschuld am Weltkrieg” is a hammer blow against intellectual dullness and at the same time filled with the melody of purest yearning for a generation of human beings who no longer know the scourge of war and hunger. This is no political tract, it offers no critique of official documents, no harangue on the issues of war guilt. But it touches the essence of what it means to be human.

Published in “Mitteilungen der Deutschen Friedensgesellschaft”, 1. Jg., Heft 6/7, S. 37f. Juni/Juli 1920.

Hans Paasche

03.04.1881 - 21.05.1920

"Hans Paasche was a person who when confronted with evil and injustice in the world, took for granted that something could be done, and that he had to engage himself in doing it. He always began by changing himself. Once he changed himself he used his considerable gifts of leadership to try to change others, whether they were the mighty or the low, but always he began with himself. He led by example. When the mighty turned a deaf ear to his entrities he turned to young people. He put his faith and trust in them for a healthier, more peaceful future."

May 2008, Gottfried Paasche
(grandson of Hans Paasche)

Hans Paasche