agnes spindler

Agnes Spindler was born on June 17, 1904 in Berlin. She lived her truth, dressing as she wished and living with her partner. Even as a child, Agnes liked to wear boys’ clothing. She knew she was a lesbian by the time she was a teenager, but sadly her first major relationship ended when he girlfriend died.

In 1924 she met Margarete Witzig. They were in love, and Margarete moved in with Agnes, where she lived for the next 8 years. Sadly, she also passed away. After this time, Agnes worked as a fruit and vegetable vendor, riding her bike with a trailer hitched to the back. She favored wearing men’s suits and seemed to be living fairly freely. In 1939, she was reported to the Gestapo. The gay hunting homosexuality unit arrested Agnes and interrogated her. She freely admitted being lesbian in the face of the Nazis. She was forced to sign a form stating she would purchase and wear only women’s clothing.

The following year, she was again arrested for selling fruit while wearing men’s clothes. The Gestapo wrote that she was a transvestite who wore men's clothing for immoral reasons, and they added to their file on her. Though she was released, she was again soon arrested. She was threatened and had multiple spies assigned to keep an eye on her. I do not know what happened to Agnes after this point.

Sources and Further Reading:

Bernd Grünheid, "Agnes Spindler" https://www.rosawinkel.kulturring.berlin/?biografie=agnes-spindler

Landesarchiv Berlin Ar. Br. Rep. 030-02-05 Nr. 855, Polizeiakte Agnes Spindler