Scene of rumoured execution of Ernst Thaelmann , castle as prison for German communists . Rumours that Ernst Thaelmann , leader of the German Communist Party , has been executed at Castle Hohnstein in Saxony are current in Berlin . Castle Hohnstein has been chosen as the prison for arrested Communists . It is said that the director of the German political police summoned Thaelmann to his bureau and put before him a document which could later have been used against the communists with deadly effect . thaelmann refused to sign and is reported to have been threatened with execution . Nothing has been heard of Herr Thaelmann . Castle Hohnstein , Saxony , where Herr Thaelmann is said to have been executed , and where hundreds of political prisoners , including members of other opposition parties beside the communist are confined . 20 March 1933