Willy Käcker

Willy Hans-Heinrich Käcker was born on July 2, 1905 into a family of craftsmen. After graduating from Wismar Secondary School, he completed a three-year apprenticeship with a grain dealer, Karl Sodemann. In the 1920s, he also learned carpentry from his father, a master carpenter.

At 27 years old, on March 4, 1933, Willy opened his own tobacco shop on his parents' property. His business grew, and by 1934, he was able to remodel his shop.

But on July 2, 1938, everything changed. The Wismar police arrested him, part of a mass arrest of 15 gay men from the region. The Schwerin State Police Office had its own "homosexuality unit" dedicated to hunting down gay men.

All those arrested were convicted. Willy was sentenced to seven years in prison before being deported to Auschwitz on August 29, 1941. He was murdered there less than two months later, on October 18, 1941, at the age of 36.