How do you make history?
Mildred Fish-Harnack’s experiences growing up in Milwaukee and learning about German culture from her neighbors would change her life, and later, the world. When Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, she joined the resistance and shared information that helped to defeat them. Though she was captured and put to death at Hitler’s order, her dedication to equal rights and saving the lives of others, and her love for Germany have never been forgotten.
Meet Mildred Fish-Harnack
Questions to Consider
How did Mildred’s experiences growing up in Milwaukee impact her actions as an adult? What about where you’re growing up do you think you’ll want to remember as you get older?
What made Mildred want to join the resistance movement in Germany? How did her efforts in the movement make a difference?
How do you think Mildred might have felt when she stood up to the Nazis? Why do you think that?
Peek Into the Past
Mildred Fish-Harnack
A photograph of Mildred Fish-Harnack (1938).
UW Digital Collections Center.
Family and Friends
Mildred (top row, second from the left) acting silly with family and friends (1917).
UW Digital Collections Center. UW.MFH0004.bib.
Mildred and Her Mom
Mildred (right) used her mother’s work ethic and self-reliance as a model for her own life (1917).
University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.
Mildred and Arvid
Mildred and Arvid moved from the US to Germany (1930).
UW Digital Collections Center. UW.MFH0020.bib.
Mildred Short Story
A short story Mildred published during college in the 1920s.
UW-Madison Archives.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was the political leader of Germany from 1933 to 1945 (1937).
Hoops. 2011. Wikimedia Commons.
Mildred Fish-Harnack
Mildred studied literature at UW-Madison (1923).
UW Digital Collections Center. UW.MFH0021.bib.
The Berlin Prison
The Berlin prison where Mildred and Arvid were kept and questioned.
German Resistance Memorial Center.
Arvid Harnack
A photograph of Arvid Harnack. Mildred and Arnack met at UW-Madison and were married in 1926.
UW-Madison Memorial Library.
Mildred and Friend
Mildred (left) with a friend and her sister Miriam (1915).
UW-Madison Archives.
Mildred’s Diploma
Mildred earned three college degrees: a Bachelors, a Masters, and a PhD (1941).
German Resistance Memorial Center.
Nazi War Poster
A Nazi war poster created in the 1930s that reads “Long Live Hitler.”
Calvin College.
US Poster
A US poster warning about the Nazis during WWII.
National Archives. Digital Identifier: 514641.
Read On
Mildred Fish-Harnack: Germany’s Secret Hero
Get the full story with this biography book. Audio files are available on each page if you’d like to listen along!
Project Credits
Producer
Dan Kaplan
Becky Marburger
Associate Producer
Joe Young
Illustration
The Brave Union
Animation
The Brave Union
Animation Voice Over
Dawson McKay
Audiobook Narration
Kiara Bonilla
Audiobook Editing
Kerman Eckes
Captioning
Catie Pfeifer
Vicki Way Kipp
Educator Support Materials
Mia Forslund
Web
John Vieth
Erika Kachama-Nkoy
Tim Schneider
Design
Charles Barrows
Translation Services
University of Wisconsin-Madison Cultural Linguistic Services
Executive Producer
Peggy Garties
Special Thanks
Marta Bechtol
Kurt Griesemer
Story Advisors
Brenda Autz
Park Elementary School
Middleton, WI
(2017)
Kaitlyn Beguhl
Section Elementary School
Mukwonago, WI
(2021)
Charlene Dupler
Lakeview Elementary School
Wind Lake, WI
(2017)
Kurt Griesemer
Wisconsin HIstorical Society
Madison, WI
(2017)
Kristen McDaniel
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Madison, WI
(2017)
David J. O’Connor
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Madison, WI
(2017)
Amanda Price
Marshall Elementary School
Marshall, WI
(2017)
Valisa Rias Harmon
Gilmore K-8 Fine Arts School
Racine, WI
(2021)
Corey Thompson
Cardinal Stritch University
(2017)
Stephanie Unertl
Lake Mills Area School District
Lake Mills, WI
(2017)