Carl Oberg
Encyclopedia
General
Carl Albrecht Oberg (27 January 1897 – 3 June 1965) was the Higher SS and Police Leader
(HSSPF) of France during the Second World War.
in May, 1933, he asked Heydrich for a job and joined the SD
. Oberg was later promoted to an SS-Oberführer
and made the police administrator for Hanover
. He served in that capacity from September, 1938 until January 1939. Next, Oberg served as Police President of Zwickau
until late 1941. He served as SS-und Polizeiführer (SS and Police Leader
- SSPF), "Radom" from August 1941 to May, 1942. Oberg was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer on 20 April, 1942.
From May 1942 to November 1944, Oberg served as Higher SS and Police Leader
(Höhere SS-und Polizeiführer, HSSPF) "Frankreich" (France) over all German police forces in France, including the SD and Gestapo
. He was the supreme authority in France for managing anti-Jewish policy and the battle against the French Resistance. He thus drove the rounding up of Jews in the Paris Velodrome d'Hiver ("la rafle du Vel d'hiv") in 1942. On Heydrich's orders, Oberg deported over 40,000 Jews from the country.
, and later reduced to 20 years hard labor. Oberg was pardoned and released on 28 November 1962.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Carl Albrecht Oberg (27 January 1897 – 3 June 1965) was the Higher SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
(HSSPF) of France during the Second World War.
Nazi career
He joined the NSDAP (Nazi Party) on 1 April 1931 and the SS on 7 April 1932. After meeting Reinhard HeydrichReinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
in May, 1933, he asked Heydrich for a job and joined the SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
. Oberg was later promoted to an SS-Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
and made the police administrator for Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. He served in that capacity from September, 1938 until January 1939. Next, Oberg served as Police President of Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
until late 1941. He served as SS-und Polizeiführer (SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
- SSPF), "Radom" from August 1941 to May, 1942. Oberg was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer on 20 April, 1942.
From May 1942 to November 1944, Oberg served as Higher SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
(Höhere SS-und Polizeiführer, HSSPF) "Frankreich" (France) over all German police forces in France, including the SD and Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. He was the supreme authority in France for managing anti-Jewish policy and the battle against the French Resistance. He thus drove the rounding up of Jews in the Paris Velodrome d'Hiver ("la rafle du Vel d'hiv") in 1942. On Heydrich's orders, Oberg deported over 40,000 Jews from the country.
Post-war trial, sentence, and reprieve
Oberg was arrested by the US military in June, 1945 and sentenced to death by a British court before receiving another death sentence from the French in October, 1954. In 1958, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by French President, René CotyRené Coty
René Jules Gustave Coty was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president under the French Fourth Republic.-Early life and politics:...
, and later reduced to 20 years hard labor. Oberg was pardoned and released on 28 November 1962.
Ranks and positions
- June 1935 - promoted to SS-Standartenführer.
- November 1935 - January 1937. Commander for 22.SS-Standarte, "Mecklenburg", in SchwerinSchwerinSchwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
. - January 1937 - December 1938. StabsführerStabsführerStabsführer was a rank in Nazi Germany, translated as Staff Leader.Stabsführer was a Hitler Youth paramilitary rank that was held by the senior most member of the Adult Leadership Corps...
for SS-Abschnitt IV, Hannover. - September 1938 - January 1939. Police administrator for Hannover.
- January 1939 - September 1941. Police President for Zwickau.
- Spring 1942 - promoted to SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor der Polizei.
- August 1941 - May 1942. SS and Police LeaderSS and Police LeaderSS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
"Radom". - May 1942 - November 1944. Higher SS and Police LeaderSS and Police LeaderSS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
"Frankreich". - April 1943 - promoted to SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant der Polizei.
- September 1944 - promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer.
- March 1945 - promoted to General der Waffen-SSWaffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
.