Erich Klausener
Encyclopedia
Erich Klausener was a German
Catholic politician who was murdered in the Night of the Long Knives
as the Nazis
purged their opponents.
to a strict Catholic family, Klausener followed his father's career in public service, serving for a time in the Prussian Ministry of Trade. Klausener served as an ordnance officer in Belgium, France, and the Eastern front
in World War I
; he was decorated with the Iron Cross
Second Class in 1914 and with the Iron Cross First Class in 1917. Klausener's participation in boycotts during the French occupation of the Ruhr
in 1923 and 1924 earned him a sentence of two months' imprisonment.
Beginning in 1924, Klausener served in the Prussian welfare ministry, and later led the police division of that state's interior ministry. Beginning in 1928, Klausener became head of the Katholische Aktion (Catholic Action) group. Prior to 1933, Klausener energetically supported the police battle against unlawful National Socialist activities. After Adolf Hitler
and the National Socialists
came to power in 1933, Hermann Göring
became minister-president of Prussia. Klausener was shunted aside to the Prussian transportation ministry to make way for Göring to Nazify
the Prussian police.
A close associate of vice chancellor Franz von Papen
, Klausener contributed to his Marburg speech
delivered on June 17, 1934. The speech, though moderate in tone, criticized the violence and repression that had taken place since Hitler became chancellor. Klausener spoke at the Catholic Congress in Berlin
's Hoppegarten on June 24; his impassioned and improvised criticism of the National Socialists' repression of their opponents was viewed by the Nazis as open defiance.
Six days later, as the Night of the Long Knives erupted, a squad of SS
men, apparently acting on the orders of Göring
and Reinhard Heydrich
, entered Klausener's office at the transportation ministry and shot him dead at his desk.
After the end of Nazi rule after World War II
, a memorial to Klausener was erected in Berlin. Since 1963, his ashes are reposing in a grave in the Catholic Church Maria Regina Martyrum
, commemorating the martyrs of the Nazi period.
Klausener's relationship with the future Pope Pius XII has at times been a matter of controversy. While writers like Guenter Lewy
have expressed criticism at Pius for not intervening more forcefully during the affair, other authors like Joseph Bottum and David G. Dalin
have presented a more positive appreciation of Pius' attitude during that time.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Catholic politician who was murdered in the Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
as the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
purged their opponents.
Biography
Born in DüsseldorfDüsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
to a strict Catholic family, Klausener followed his father's career in public service, serving for a time in the Prussian Ministry of Trade. Klausener served as an ordnance officer in Belgium, France, and the Eastern front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
; he was decorated with the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second Class in 1914 and with the Iron Cross First Class in 1917. Klausener's participation in boycotts during the French occupation of the Ruhr
Occupation of the Ruhr
The Occupation of the Ruhr between 1923 and 1925, by troops from France and Belgium, was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic under Chancellor Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I.-Background:...
in 1923 and 1924 earned him a sentence of two months' imprisonment.
Beginning in 1924, Klausener served in the Prussian welfare ministry, and later led the police division of that state's interior ministry. Beginning in 1928, Klausener became head of the Katholische Aktion (Catholic Action) group. Prior to 1933, Klausener energetically supported the police battle against unlawful National Socialist activities. After Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the National Socialists
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
came to power in 1933, Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
became minister-president of Prussia. Klausener was shunted aside to the Prussian transportation ministry to make way for Göring to Nazify
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
the Prussian police.
A close associate of vice chancellor Franz von Papen
Franz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
, Klausener contributed to his Marburg speech
Marburg speech
The Marburg speech was an address given by German vice chancellor Franz von Papen at the University of Marburg on June 17, 1934. It is said to be the last speech made publicly, and on a high level, in Germany against Nazism....
delivered on June 17, 1934. The speech, though moderate in tone, criticized the violence and repression that had taken place since Hitler became chancellor. Klausener spoke at the Catholic Congress in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
's Hoppegarten on June 24; his impassioned and improvised criticism of the National Socialists' repression of their opponents was viewed by the Nazis as open defiance.
Six days later, as the Night of the Long Knives erupted, a squad of SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
men, apparently acting on the orders of Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
and Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard 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...
, entered Klausener's office at the transportation ministry and shot him dead at his desk.
After the end of Nazi rule after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a memorial to Klausener was erected in Berlin. Since 1963, his ashes are reposing in a grave in the Catholic Church Maria Regina Martyrum
Maria Regina Martyrum
Maria Regina Martyrum is the Roman Catholic memorial church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin in Berlin, borough Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, in the locality of Charlottenburg-Nord. The church was built on behalf of the German Catholics to honour the Martyrs of Freedom of Belief and...
, commemorating the martyrs of the Nazi period.
Klausener's relationship with the future Pope Pius XII has at times been a matter of controversy. While writers like Guenter Lewy
Guenter Lewy
Guenter Lewy is an author and political scientist who is a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts. His works span several topics, but he is most often associated with his 1978 book on the Vietnam War, America in Vietnam, and several controversial works that deal with the...
have expressed criticism at Pius for not intervening more forcefully during the affair, other authors like Joseph Bottum and David G. Dalin
David G. Dalin
David G. Dalin is an American Conservative rabbi and historian, is the author, co-author, or editor of ten books on American Jewish history and politics, and Jewish-Christian relations. He is currently a professor of history and politics at Ave Maria University, in Florida...
have presented a more positive appreciation of Pius' attitude during that time.
External links
- Brief biography of Erich Klausener – from the German Resistance Memorial Center
See also
- Herbert von BoseHerbert von BoseHerbert von Bose was head of the press division of the Vice Chancellery in Germany under Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen.- Imperial Germany and Weimar Republic :...
- Edgar Julius JungEdgar Julius JungEdgar Julius Jung was a German lawyer born in Ludwigshafen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was a leader of the Conservative Revolutionary movement in Germany, which stood not only in opposition to the Weimar Republic, whose parliamentarian system he considered decadent and foreign-imposed,...
- Franz von PapenFranz von PapenLieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
- Night of the Long KnivesNight of the Long KnivesThe Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...