Lilo Herrmann (shown here with her son Walter) joined the Communist Youth Federa tion as a teenager. Her protest against Hitler's government takeover with her group resulted in her expulsion from Berlin University. Lilo Herrmann took part in resistance activities of the Communist Party of Germany (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands-KPD) and informed Communist organizations outside the country of the National Socialists' efforts to rearm Germany.
In December of 1935, Lilo Herrmann, mother of a one-year-old son, was arrested by the Gestapo. She was sentenced to death for·treason in the summer of 1937, along with Stefan Lovasz, Josef Steidle, and Artur Göritz. Despite worldwide protests, the four prisoners were beheaded in Plötzensee prison on June 20, 1938.