Günther Vollmer
Encyclopedia
Günther Vollmer was a member of the Nazi Party and a German jurist and doctor of law
(Dr. iur.). He was the attorney for Erich Koch
, one of the leaders of the Nazi Party in East Prussia
. During the Third Reich, he worked for the Reichs Ministry of Justice in several different positions as an attorney and legal advisor. He was also Gauführer
of the professional organization of Nazi jurists.
. He first joined the Nazi Party in 1922 and again in March 1932, after it was reorganized. Vollmer was an attorney in Königsberg
, where he was named senior state attorney by the Königsberg Landgericht in June 1933. While there, he worked under Roland Freisler
on a position paper on criminal law called "National Socialist Guidelines for a new German Criminal Code" (Nationalsozialistische Leitsätze für ein neues deutsches Strafrecht). Released by the Prussia
n Ministry of Justice in 1933, the document interpreted the law more narrowly, curtailing previous rights.
Because of his trustworthiness and loyalty to the Nazi Party, Vollmer was already Gauführer of the Association of National Socialist German Jurists (Bund Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Juristen) and was Gaurechtsamtsleiter of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. His new position, however, brought him into conflict with the Oberlandesgericht
district president, and the Ministry of Justice, with the approval of Hermann Göring
, transferred him to the public prosecutor's office in Stendal
in 1934. In February 1935, he became an aide in the Reich Ministry of Justice, where he worked as an advisor on legal questions. In October 1935, he took a position in the public prosecutor's office of the Kammergericht
. Erich Koch
wanted Vollmer back in in East Prussia and had already tried to get him returned to Königsberg. In summer 1937, Koch won Göring's approval to have Koch returned to Königsberg and the Reich Ministry of Justice named Vollmer general state attorney (Generalstaatsanwalt) in Königsberg on December 1, 1937. He began work on January 5, 1938. He later became a Ministerial Director. Koch was of the opinion that Vollmer (and others) were beholden to him for their careers and should therefore be obedient to him.
Summarizing the kind of behavior that justified the death penalty according to 1943-1944 jurisprudence, Dr. Vollmer wrote, "No longer tolerable and fundamentally worthy of death are [...] remarks of the following kind: The war is lost; Germany or the Führer
picked a fight and senselessly or frivolously started the war and must lose it; the NSDAP should or will relinquish power and, like the Italian model, make way for the understanding of peace; a military dictatorship must be established and will be able to forge peace, one must work slowly in order to bring about the conclusion; an intrusion of bolshevism would not be as bad as the propaganda paints it, and will only harm the leading National Socialists; the English or the Americans will stop bolshevism at the German border; urging by word of mouth or letters to the front to throw down their guns or turn back; the Führer is sick, incompetent, a butcher, etc."The original German reads, "Nicht mehr tragbar und grundsätzlich todeswürdig sind (...) Äußerungen folgender Art: Der Krieg sei verloren; Deutschland oder der Führer hätten den Krieg sinnlos oder frivol vom Zaune gebrochen und müßten ihn verlieren; die NSDAP solle oder werde abtreten und nach italienischem Muster den Weg zum Verständnisfrieden frei machen; eine Militärdiktatur müsse errichtet werden und werde Frieden schließen können, man müsse langsamer arbeiten, damit Schluß werde; ein Eindringen des Bolschewismus sei nicht so schlimm, wie es die Propaganda schildere, und werde nur den führenden Nationalsozialisten schaden; Engländer oder Amerikaner würden den Bolschewismus an der deutschen Grenze zum Stehen bringen; Mundpropaganda und Feldpostbriefe mit der Aufforderung, die Gewehre wegzuwerfen oder umzudrehen; der Führer sei krank, unfähig, ein Menschenschlachter usw."
On November 18, 1944, Vollmer gave a lecture in Göttingen
to the National Socialist Lawyers' Association with Rudolf Smend (January 15, 1882–July 5, 1975), a jurist and law professor. Their topic was wartime criminal law and its maintenance.
A letter sent to Vollmer by another Ministerial Director was used in the Nuremberg Trials
to show that judges were not just guided by the executive branch, but were also spied on by Adolf Hitler
's government.
Doctor of law
Doctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...
(Dr. iur.). He was the attorney for Erich Koch
Erich Koch
Erich Koch was a Gauleiter of the Nazi Party in East Prussia from 1928 until 1945. Between 1941 and 1945 he was the Chief of Civil Administration of Bezirk Bialystok. During this period, he was also the Reichskommissar in Reichskommissariat Ukraine from 1941 until 1943...
, one of the leaders of the Nazi Party in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. During the Third Reich, he worked for the Reichs Ministry of Justice in several different positions as an attorney and legal advisor. He was also Gauführer
Gauführer
Gauführer was an early paramilitary rank used by the Schutzstaffel between 1925 and 1929. Translated as "SS-Region Leader", the SS-Gauführer had command of several SS-Stafflen which were in turn commanded by an SS-Staffelführer....
of the professional organization of Nazi jurists.
Biographical details
Vollmer wrote his doctoral dissertation in 1926 on "The Development and Contemporary Meaning of Hostageship: a Study in International Law" at the University of CologneUniversity of Cologne
The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...
. He first joined the Nazi Party in 1922 and again in March 1932, after it was reorganized. Vollmer was an attorney in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, where he was named senior state attorney by the Königsberg Landgericht in June 1933. While there, he worked under Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
on a position paper on criminal law called "National Socialist Guidelines for a new German Criminal Code" (Nationalsozialistische Leitsätze für ein neues deutsches Strafrecht). Released by the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n Ministry of Justice in 1933, the document interpreted the law more narrowly, curtailing previous rights.
Because of his trustworthiness and loyalty to the Nazi Party, Vollmer was already Gauführer of the Association of National Socialist German Jurists (Bund Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Juristen) and was Gaurechtsamtsleiter of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. His new position, however, brought him into conflict with the Oberlandesgericht
Oberlandesgericht
The Oberlandesgericht is one of the 'ordinary courts' in Germany...
district president, and the Ministry of Justice, with the approval of 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"...
, transferred him to the public prosecutor's office in Stendal
Stendal
Stendal is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of Stendal District and unofficial capital of the Altmark. Its population in 2001 was 38,900. It is located some west of Berlin and around east of Hanover...
in 1934. In February 1935, he became an aide in the Reich Ministry of Justice, where he worked as an advisor on legal questions. In October 1935, he took a position in the public prosecutor's office of the Kammergericht
Kammergericht
The Kammergericht is the Oberlandesgericht for the state of Berlin. Its name differs from Germany's other state courts for historic reasons. There are no other courts called Kammergericht in Germany.-Overview:...
. Erich Koch
Erich Koch
Erich Koch was a Gauleiter of the Nazi Party in East Prussia from 1928 until 1945. Between 1941 and 1945 he was the Chief of Civil Administration of Bezirk Bialystok. During this period, he was also the Reichskommissar in Reichskommissariat Ukraine from 1941 until 1943...
wanted Vollmer back in in East Prussia and had already tried to get him returned to Königsberg. In summer 1937, Koch won Göring's approval to have Koch returned to Königsberg and the Reich Ministry of Justice named Vollmer general state attorney (Generalstaatsanwalt) in Königsberg on December 1, 1937. He began work on January 5, 1938. He later became a Ministerial Director. Koch was of the opinion that Vollmer (and others) were beholden to him for their careers and should therefore be obedient to him.
Summarizing the kind of behavior that justified the death penalty according to 1943-1944 jurisprudence, Dr. Vollmer wrote, "No longer tolerable and fundamentally worthy of death are [...] remarks of the following kind: The war is lost; Germany or the Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
picked a fight and senselessly or frivolously started the war and must lose it; the NSDAP should or will relinquish power and, like the Italian model, make way for the understanding of peace; a military dictatorship must be established and will be able to forge peace, one must work slowly in order to bring about the conclusion; an intrusion of bolshevism would not be as bad as the propaganda paints it, and will only harm the leading National Socialists; the English or the Americans will stop bolshevism at the German border; urging by word of mouth or letters to the front to throw down their guns or turn back; the Führer is sick, incompetent, a butcher, etc."The original German reads, "Nicht mehr tragbar und grundsätzlich todeswürdig sind (...) Äußerungen folgender Art: Der Krieg sei verloren; Deutschland oder der Führer hätten den Krieg sinnlos oder frivol vom Zaune gebrochen und müßten ihn verlieren; die NSDAP solle oder werde abtreten und nach italienischem Muster den Weg zum Verständnisfrieden frei machen; eine Militärdiktatur müsse errichtet werden und werde Frieden schließen können, man müsse langsamer arbeiten, damit Schluß werde; ein Eindringen des Bolschewismus sei nicht so schlimm, wie es die Propaganda schildere, und werde nur den führenden Nationalsozialisten schaden; Engländer oder Amerikaner würden den Bolschewismus an der deutschen Grenze zum Stehen bringen; Mundpropaganda und Feldpostbriefe mit der Aufforderung, die Gewehre wegzuwerfen oder umzudrehen; der Führer sei krank, unfähig, ein Menschenschlachter usw."
On November 18, 1944, Vollmer gave a lecture in Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
to the National Socialist Lawyers' Association with Rudolf Smend (January 15, 1882–July 5, 1975), a jurist and law professor. Their topic was wartime criminal law and its maintenance.
A letter sent to Vollmer by another Ministerial Director was used in the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
to show that judges were not just guided by the executive branch, but were also spied on by 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...
's government.
Publications
- Entwicklung und heutige Bedeutung der Geiselschaft: eine völkerrechtliche Studie (1926); Ohlau in Schlesien (1928)
- Reichs-Rechtsanwaltsordnung: in der Fassung des Gesetzes vom 21. Februar 1936 Berlin (1936)
- Reichsnotarordnung vom 13. Februar 1937 : mit einschlaegigen Nebengesetzen u. Verwaltungsbestimmungen Berlin (1937)
External links
- Definition of geiselschaft Historisches Lexicon der Schweiz (May 20, 2005). Retrieved September 7, 2011
- Günther Vollmer's dissertation on hostageship cited in: Andreas Toppe, Militär und Kriegsvölkerrecht: Rechtsnorm, Fachdiskurs und Kriegspraxis in Deutschland 1899-1940, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag (2008) p. 170 ISBN 978-3-486-58206-2