Walter Riegel was born in Mutterstadt on 20 November 1907 and, like his father Karl, worked as a stoker. Through his family and marriage he was closely connected to local Social Democrats and anti-Nazi circles: his aunt was the sister of Jakob Weber, Mutterstadt’s Nazi-persecuted mayor, and his father-in-law Adam Heene was involved in underground actions against the regime. Riegel was an active member of the Reichsbanner and removed a swastika flag from the water tower in January 1933. On 13 March 1933 he was arrested by SA men at gunpoint and taken into “protective custody” in Neustadt, where he was harassed by SS and SA. He was later imprisoned in Frankenthal and released on 25 April 1933. Afterward he remained under surveillance, lost work opportunities, and was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1940. He died in Homburg on 3 April 1985.
