Hans-Adolf Prützmann
Encyclopedia
Hans-Adolf Prützmann was a Superior SS
and Police Leader, as well as an SS Obergruppenführer
. He was a senior Nazi in the administration of Latvia
following the German conquest of that country in 1941 and as such was involved to an extent not yet fully determined, in carrying out The Holocaust
in the Baltic States
.
, Prützmann studied agriculture
in Göttingen
, before he became a member of various Freikorps
between 1918 and 1921. Despite being a member, he nevertheless avoided military and typical Freikorps-related aggressive situations. This, however, changed in 1923, when he interrupted his studies to accompany a Freikorps involved in the Upper Silesian uprisings. Afterwards he worked for seven years as an agricultural official in Pomerania, Brandenburg
, and East Prussia
.
in 1929. Since Prützmann had become quite a radical soldier as a result of his Freikorps experiences, and since his own personal goals did not match the clearly milder thinking found in the SA, he left the organization in 1930 and transferred in the same year to the SS; one of his first command assignments was as the Führer
of the 18th SS-Standarte
. As of this point in time, Prützmann's career began a steep rise. While functioning as a Member of the Reichstag
, he was appointed SS Brigadeführer
in November 1933, and in February 1934 he was given the rank of SS Gruppenführer
. At the same time, Prützmann was appointed Leader of the SS Upper Division Southwest in Stuttgart
. From March 1937 until May 1941, Prützmann led the SS Upper Division Northeast whose headquarters were in Königsberg
(now Kaliningrad
).
By April 1941, Prützmann had been appointed Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) of the Police. From June until October 1941, he was Höherer S.S. und Polizeiführer (Higher SS and Police Leader) of Russia-North, the post being responsible for internal security and combatting partisans. He held the same position in Ukraine
and Russia-South until the summer of 1944. He also commanded Kampfgruppe
"Prützmann" in Ukraine during the early summer of 1944, and was awarded with the German Cross
in Gold for his actions.
From June to November 1941, Prützmann held the post of Higher SS and Police Leader (Höherer SS and Polizeiführer) or HSSPF for Latvia. Effectively this made him ruler or, with Hinrich Lohse
, co-ruler of Latvia
. In Latvia killing of Jews and other persons began almost immediately, and at first they were primarily conducted by a mobile killing group (Action Group A (Einsatzgruppe A).) In late July 1941, Einsatzgruppe A moved out of Latvia, and primary responsibility for organizing the murder of Jews then moved to the Latvian office of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst, or Security Service.) As HSSPF Latvia, Prützmann was in charge of the SD and therefore the person responsible for implementing the Final Solution
in Latvia.
After the departure of Einsatzgruppe A, a dispute arose among the Nazi rulers of Latvia about their so-called "Jewish problem". One group, headed by Lohse, who was backed by Alfred Rosenberg
, wanted to confine the Jews to ghettos, steal all their property, and work them as slave laborers in support of Germany's war effort. Heinrich Himmler
however, the overall head of the SD, and Prützmann's ultimate boss, wanted the Jews of Latvia murdered right away. Up until November, 1941, the Lohse/Rosenberg faction had somewhat prevailed, and as a result "only" about 30,000 of Latvia's approximately 70,000 Jews had been killed by then. Unhappy with pace at which the SD was murdering people in Latvia, Himmler replaced Prützmann in mid-November 1941 with Friedrich Jeckeln
, an experienced murderer who in Ukraine
had developed his own "Jeckeln system" of killing 10,000 or more people in a single day. Prützmann was assigned to Ukraine.
Prützmann's precise role as HSSPF Latvia in the murders of Jews and other war crimes in Latvia has never been fully explained. He appears to have been something of a weakling in the struggles the Nazis were having between themselves. It is known that Prützmann was responsible for forcing the Jews of Latvia into ghettos, which allowed them to be later more readily killed by Jeckeln and others. It is also known that when Jeckeln took over as HSSPF Latvia, Prützmann among others reported to him that large numbers of Jews had already been killed.
as Generalinspekteur für Spezialabwehr (General Inspector of Special Defense) and assigned the task of setting up the Werwolf
force's headquarters in Berlin and organizing and instructing the force. Prutzmann had studied the guerrilla tactics used by Russian partisans while stationed in the occupied territories of Ukraine and the idea was to teach these tactics to the members of Operation Werwolf. As originally conceived, the Werwolf units were intended to be legitimate uniformed military formations trained to engage in clandestine operations behind enemy lines in the same manner as Allied Special Forces such as Commandos
.
In early 1945, under orders from Himmler, he directed the assassination of the Allied-appointed mayor of Aachen
, Franz Oppenhoff
.
and became a prisoner of war
. While in their custody, he ended his own life. Whether his suicide
happened in Lüneburg
, or as another account has it, at an interrogation
camp at Diest
in Belgium
is not quite clear, but it seems certain that his date of death was 21 May 1945.
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...
and Police Leader, as well as an SS Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
. He was a senior Nazi in the administration of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
following the German conquest of that country in 1941 and as such was involved to an extent not yet fully determined, in carrying out The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
in the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
.
Early life
After completing his studies at the GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, Prützmann studied agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
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:...
, before he became a member of various Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
between 1918 and 1921. Despite being a member, he nevertheless avoided military and typical Freikorps-related aggressive situations. This, however, changed in 1923, when he interrupted his studies to accompany a Freikorps involved in the Upper Silesian uprisings. Afterwards he worked for seven years as an agricultural official in Pomerania, Brandenburg
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...
, and East Prussia
Province of East Prussia
The Province of East Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773–1829 and 1878-1945. Composed of the historical region East Prussia, the province's capital was Königsberg ....
.
Nazi career
He joined the SASturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
in 1929. Since Prützmann had become quite a radical soldier as a result of his Freikorps experiences, and since his own personal goals did not match the clearly milder thinking found in the SA, he left the organization in 1930 and transferred in the same year to the SS; one of his first command assignments was as 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...
of the 18th SS-Standarte
18th SS-Standarte
The 18th SS-Standarte was a regimental formation of the Allgemeine-SS located in the city of Köningsberg. The Standarte was one of the earlier General-SS formations and had been founded in 1932, a year before Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany.Throughout the 1930s, the 18th...
. As of this point in time, Prützmann's career began a steep rise. While functioning as a Member of the Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
, he was appointed SS Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
in November 1933, and in February 1934 he was given the rank of SS Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
. At the same time, Prützmann was appointed Leader of the SS Upper Division Southwest in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. From March 1937 until May 1941, Prützmann led the SS Upper Division Northeast whose headquarters were 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...
(now Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
).
World War II
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Russia-South until the summer of 1944. He also commanded Kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
"Prützmann" in Ukraine during the early summer of 1944, and was awarded with the German Cross
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold for his actions.
Role in the Latvia Holocaust
Hinrich Lohse
Hinrich Lohse was a Nazi German politician, best known for his World War II rule of the Baltic states.-Early life:...
, co-ruler of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. In Latvia killing of Jews and other persons began almost immediately, and at first they were primarily conducted by a mobile killing group (Action Group A (Einsatzgruppe A).) In late July 1941, Einsatzgruppe A moved out of Latvia, and primary responsibility for organizing the murder of Jews then moved to the Latvian office of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst, or Security Service.) As HSSPF Latvia, Prützmann was in charge of the SD and therefore the person responsible for implementing the Final Solution
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
in Latvia.
After the departure of Einsatzgruppe A, a dispute arose among the Nazi rulers of Latvia about their so-called "Jewish problem". One group, headed by Lohse, who was backed by Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
, wanted to confine the Jews to ghettos, steal all their property, and work them as slave laborers in support of Germany's war effort. Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
however, the overall head of the SD, and Prützmann's ultimate boss, wanted the Jews of Latvia murdered right away. Up until November, 1941, the Lohse/Rosenberg faction had somewhat prevailed, and as a result "only" about 30,000 of Latvia's approximately 70,000 Jews had been killed by then. Unhappy with pace at which the SD was murdering people in Latvia, Himmler replaced Prützmann in mid-November 1941 with Friedrich Jeckeln
Friedrich Jeckeln
Friedrich Jeckeln was an SS-Obergruppenführer who served as an SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II...
, an experienced murderer who in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
had developed his own "Jeckeln system" of killing 10,000 or more people in a single day. Prützmann was assigned to Ukraine.
Prützmann's precise role as HSSPF Latvia in the murders of Jews and other war crimes in Latvia has never been fully explained. He appears to have been something of a weakling in the struggles the Nazis were having between themselves. It is known that Prützmann was responsible for forcing the Jews of Latvia into ghettos, which allowed them to be later more readily killed by Jeckeln and others. It is also known that when Jeckeln took over as HSSPF Latvia, Prützmann among others reported to him that large numbers of Jews had already been killed.
Later career
One of his last promotions came in September 1944 when Prützmann was appointed by Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
as Generalinspekteur für Spezialabwehr (General Inspector of Special Defense) and assigned the task of setting up the Werwolf
Werwolf
Werwolf was the name given to a Nazi plan, which began development in 1944, to create a commando force which would operate behind enemy lines as the Allies advanced through Germany itself. Werwolf remained entirely ineffectual as a combat force, however, and in practical terms, its value as...
force's headquarters in Berlin and organizing and instructing the force. Prutzmann had studied the guerrilla tactics used by Russian partisans while stationed in the occupied territories of Ukraine and the idea was to teach these tactics to the members of Operation Werwolf. As originally conceived, the Werwolf units were intended to be legitimate uniformed military formations trained to engage in clandestine operations behind enemy lines in the same manner as Allied Special Forces such as Commandos
Commandos
Commandos is a stealth-oriented real-time tactics game series, available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game is set in the Second World War and follows the escapades of a fictional British Commandos section. It leans heavily on historical events during WWII to carry the plot...
.
In early 1945, under orders from Himmler, he directed the assassination of the Allied-appointed mayor of Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, Franz Oppenhoff
Franz Oppenhoff
Franz Oppenhoff was a German lawyer who was appointed Mayor of the city of Aachen by Allied forces and subsequently murdered on the order of Heinrich Himmler.-Biography:...
.
Arrest and suicide
Shortly before the war ended, Prützmann was captured by the AlliesAllies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
and became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. While in their custody, he ended his own life. Whether his suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
happened in Lüneburg
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
, or as another account has it, at an interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
camp at Diest
Diest
Diest is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60km from Brussels. The municipality comprises the city of...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
is not quite clear, but it seems certain that his date of death was 21 May 1945.
Dates of rank
- SS-SturmführerSturmführerSturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the Sturmabteilung in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928...
: 10 November 1930 - SS-SturmbannführerSturmbannführerSturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
: 3 August 1931 - SS-StandartenführerStandartenführerStandartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
: 1 January 1932 - SS-OberführerOberführerOberführer 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...
: 26 June 1933 - SS-BrigadeführerBrigadeführerSS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
: 9 November 1933 - SS-GruppenführerGruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
: 28 February 1934 - SS-ObergruppenführerObergruppenführerObergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
und GeneralGeneral (Germany)General is presently the highest rank of the German Army and Luftwaffe . It is the equivalent to the rank of Admiral in the German Navy .-Early history:...
der PolizeiOrdnungspolizeiThe Ordnungspolizei or Orpo were the uniformed regular police force in Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei...
: 9 November 1941 - GeneralGeneral (Germany)General is presently the highest rank of the German Army and Luftwaffe . It is the equivalent to the rank of Admiral in the German Navy .-Early history:...
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...
: 1 July 1944
Notable decorations
- 1939 Iron CrossIron CrossThe 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 (1941) and First (1943) Classes - War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
Second (1940) and First (1943) Classes with Swords - German CrossGerman CrossThe German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold (1944) - Long Service Award of the NSDAP in Bronze (?) and Silver (?)
- SS Long Service AwardSS Long Service AwardSS Long Service Awards were given in grades of four years, eight years, twelve years, twenty-five years, and forty years. On its reverse side, each award had emblazoned the inscription, in German: "Für treue Dienste in der SS"...
(?) - SS-Honour Ring (?)
- Honour Sword of the Reichsführers-SSReichsführer-SSwas a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
(?) - Golden Party BadgeGolden Party BadgeThe Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it...
(?) - Eastern Front MedalEastern Front MedalThe Eastern Front Medal, , more commonly known as the Ostmedaille was instituted on May 26, 1942 to mark service on the German Eastern Front during the period November 15, 1941 to April 15, 1942...
(1942) - Hungarian Order of Merit Commander Cross with Star (?)