Hermann Behrends
Encyclopedia
Hermann Behrends was a Nazi Party and SS official, obtaining the rank of Brigadefuehrer in the latter organisation.
Born the son of a provincial innkeeper, he was educated to doctorate level in law at Marburg University but struggled to find employment in an economically depressed Weimar Germany. He joined the Nazi Party in January 1932 and the SS the following month. With no military experience he initially floundered but soon attracted the attentions of Reinhard Heydrich
, who valued academic expertise, and he was transferred to the Sicherheitsdienst
(SD).
Becoming a close friend of Heydrich, Behrends was the first chief of the SD in Berlin. He also served as Chief of Staff to Werner Lorenz
in his capacity as head of the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle
(VOMI). During the Second World War he was sent to Yugoslavia
to lead the regional arm of the VOMI. His star had fallen somewhat after Heydrich's death as Heinrich Himmler
was unimpressed by him, sensing that he was too ambitious.
He was hanged in Belgrade
in 1946.
Born the son of a provincial innkeeper, he was educated to doctorate level in law at Marburg University but struggled to find employment in an economically depressed Weimar Germany. He joined the Nazi Party in January 1932 and the SS the following month. With no military experience he initially floundered but soon attracted the attentions of 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...
, who valued academic expertise, and he was transferred to the Sicherheitsdienst
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...
(SD).
Becoming a close friend of Heydrich, Behrends was the first chief of the SD in Berlin. He also served as Chief of Staff to Werner Lorenz
Werner Lorenz
Werner Lorenz was SS head of the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle an organization charged with settling ethnic Germans in the German Reich from other parts of Europe.-Early life:...
in his capacity as head of the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle
Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle
The Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle was an NSDAP agency founded to manage the interests of the Volksdeutsche who lived outside the borders of Nazi Germany....
(VOMI). During the Second World War he was sent to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
to lead the regional arm of the VOMI. His star had fallen somewhat after Heydrich's death as 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...
was unimpressed by him, sensing that he was too ambitious.
He was hanged in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in 1946.