Biographie

Anna Büttner was born in 1907 in St. Ingbert in Saarland. As an adult, she worked as a cook in Hanau and was married.

She was reported by her husband in September 1942 for prohibited contact with prisoners of war. The Gestapo then ordered her to be arrested and taken to the Hanau detention centre. Since the alleged prohibited contact could not be proven, she was released after one month. However, she was denounced again only two weeks later, presumably by a neighbour because she allowed Franz Stupka, a Czech forced worker, into her home. They both noticed the arrival of the criminal police in time, allowing Franz Stupka to escape. Only a few hours later, however, he was picked up and abused to such an extent that he admitted to having an affair with Anna. Anna Büttner was arrested and on 26 November 1942 after which she and Franz Stupka were sent to the Breitenau "work education camp" (AEL). On 5 April 1943, she was transferred to the Ravensbrück concentration camp and Franz Stupka to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Anna Büttner was released from the concentration camp one year later but was arrested again after a mere few months and imprisoned in the Hirzenhain AEL for women, which was under the authority of the Frankfurt Gestapo. Anna Büttner was released on 18 March 1945 shortly before the liberation by the Allies took place.

According to an official medical certificate, Anna Büttner suffered from "cardiac insufficiency, severe arthritis in knee joints" and could not pursue standing activities as a result of her imprisonment. Due to these severe health restrictions, she was no longer able to work and became dependent on welfare services from then on. From October 1945, she made efforts to be admitted to care providers for formerly persecuted people in order to receive some additional support. However, the "Hanau City aid provider for those persecuted for political, racial and religious reasons" (Betreuungsstelle für politisch, rassisch und religiös Verfolgte Hanau-Stadt) repeatedly rejected her requests for admission, as she was unable to provide proof of her political persecution. At the same time, the aid provider trusted the verdict of the criminal investigators who arrested Anna B. in 1942 and made statements in 1949 about her "indecent lifestyle" and the "constantly changing male traffic". Officials confirm that under no circumstances was it "political imprisonment." Her claim for compensation was also rejected. Anna Büttner appealed against the first rejection in 1951 after which she was heard before the Chamber of Compensation (Wiedergutmachungskammer) in 1952. In the end, the Board rejected her request because "according to Article 1 of the Compensation Act only persons who were persecuted and damaged during the Nazi reign of violence based on political conviction or on the grounds of race, religion or belief are entitled to compensation".