Paul Wegener (Gauleiter)
Encyclopedia
Paul Wegener was a German
Nazi Party official.
the following year. He became Kreisleiter for Bremen
in 1933 and a delegate to the Reichstag for Weser-Ems
that same year. Wegener served as a party bureaucrat employed at the Office of the Deputy Führer
where his efficiency had impressed Martin Bormann
. When Wilhelm Kube
was removed as Gauleiter
of Gau March of Brandenburg
after clashing with Walter Buch
he was replaced by Emil Sturtz with Wegener appointed as deputy Gauleiter.
He switched from the SA to the Schutzstaffel
in 1940 obtaining the rank of Gruppenführer
in 1942 and Obergruppenführer
two years later. He also saw active service with the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
as part of the Balkans Campaign in Greece
in 1941.
, newly appointed as Reichskommissar for the occupied Norwegian territories
, selected Wegener to serve as his deputy. From the start Wegener was hostile to the notion that Vidkun Quisling
should take a leading role in the new government, instead favouring the idea that the Nazis should establish their own administrative system in Norway
. Eventually when it was decided to include Quisling he established the Einsatzstab Wegener, which placed pro-Wegener men in each branch of the Nasjonal Samling, both to improve the organisation of what had been a minor party and to ensure complicity with the demands of the governing Nazis. He left Norway in 1942 when Hans-Hendrik Neumann took over as Terboven's number two.
died in May 1942 after a stroke and a few weeks later Wegener was chosen to succeed him as Gauleiter of Weser-Ems
.
Soon after his appointment he produced an internal document, the Wegener Memorandum, in which it was said that the Nazi Party should be purged of much of its vast membership and instead be reorganised as an elite group to provide leadership for future generations of Germany. To this Wegener proposed a reorganisation of the Hitler Youth
to bring it under the control of the party bureaucracy rather than the state. This new Hitler Youth would provide all the future membership of the Nazi Party with most existing party members absorbed into the Sturmabteilung
, which was to be reconstituted as a veterans organisation. His plan also included a strengthening of the role of the Nazi Party Chancellery and this occurred in the following months as Wegener's old mentor Bormann was given greater power at the expense of first the Reichsleiters and then members of the cabinet.
When Joseph Goebbels
was made Plenipotentiary for Total War in July 1944 Wegener was made his head of administration, making him one of only two permanent staff members appointed at national level (the other being Werner Naumann
as head of planning activties).
and then Wächtersbach
. According to British
secret service files however Wegener was also involved with an underground group of ex-Nazi Party members, organised by Werner Naumann, which was involved in attempts to infiltrate the Free Democratic Party
.
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...
Nazi Party official.
Early career
Wegener joined the Nazi Party in 1930 and the SturmabteilungSturmabteilung
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...
the following year. He became Kreisleiter for Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
in 1933 and a delegate to the Reichstag for Weser-Ems
Weser-Ems
Weser-Ems was the most westerly of the four Regierungsbezirke of Lower Saxony, Germany, bordering the Dutch provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel...
that same year. Wegener served as a party bureaucrat employed at the Office of the Deputy Führer
Deputy Führer
Deputy Führer was the title for the deputy head of the Nazi Party, which was held by Rudolf Hess until his flight to the United Kingdom in 1941. After this event, Adolf Hitler abolished the office and replaced it with the office of Party Chancellery, which was given to Martin Bormann....
where his efficiency had impressed Martin Bormann
Martin Bormann
Martin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
. When Wilhelm Kube
Wilhelm Kube
Wilhelm Kube was a German politician and Nazi official. He was an important figure in the German Christian movement during the early years of Nazi rule. During the war he became a senior official in the occupying government of the Soviet Union, achieving the rank of Generalkommissar for...
was removed as Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
of Gau March of Brandenburg
Gau March of Brandenburg
The Gau March of Brandenburg was formed in 1933 initially under the name Gau Kurmark in Nazi Germany initially as a district within the Free State of Prussia. In 1935, Germany's constituent states were dissolved and the gaus replaced the states and their responsibilities. In 1940, Kurmark was...
after clashing with Walter Buch
Walter Buch
Walter Buch was a German jurist and SS-Obergruppenführer war criminal, as well as being Martin Bormann's father in law.-Life:...
he was replaced by Emil Sturtz with Wegener appointed as deputy Gauleiter.
He switched from the SA to the Schutzstaffel
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...
in 1940 obtaining the rank of 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:...
in 1942 and 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...
two years later. He also saw active service with the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
as part of the Balkans Campaign in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in 1941.
Norway
On 20 April 1940 Josef TerbovenJosef Terboven
Josef Antonius Heinrich Terboven was a Nazi leader, best known as the Reichskommissar during the German occupation of Norway.-Early life:...
, newly appointed as Reichskommissar for the occupied Norwegian territories
Reichskommissariat Norwegen
The Reichskommissariat Norwegen, literally "Reich Commissariat of Norway", was the civilian occupation regime set up by Nazi Germany in German-occupied Norway during World War II. Its full title in German was the Reichskommissariat für die besetzten norwegischen Gebiete...
, selected Wegener to serve as his deputy. From the start Wegener was hostile to the notion that Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
should take a leading role in the new government, instead favouring the idea that the Nazis should establish their own administrative system in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Eventually when it was decided to include Quisling he established the Einsatzstab Wegener, which placed pro-Wegener men in each branch of the Nasjonal Samling, both to improve the organisation of what had been a minor party and to ensure complicity with the demands of the governing Nazis. He left Norway in 1942 when Hans-Hendrik Neumann took over as Terboven's number two.
Gauleiter
Carl RöverCarl Röver
Carl Georg Röver was a German Nazi Party official. His main posts were as Gauleiter of Weser-Ems and Reichsstatthalter of Oldenburg/Bremen.-Early years:...
died in May 1942 after a stroke and a few weeks later Wegener was chosen to succeed him as Gauleiter of Weser-Ems
Weser-Ems
Weser-Ems was the most westerly of the four Regierungsbezirke of Lower Saxony, Germany, bordering the Dutch provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel...
.
Soon after his appointment he produced an internal document, the Wegener Memorandum, in which it was said that the Nazi Party should be purged of much of its vast membership and instead be reorganised as an elite group to provide leadership for future generations of Germany. To this Wegener proposed a reorganisation of the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
to bring it under the control of the party bureaucracy rather than the state. This new Hitler Youth would provide all the future membership of the Nazi Party with most existing party members absorbed into the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
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...
, which was to be reconstituted as a veterans organisation. His plan also included a strengthening of the role of the Nazi Party Chancellery and this occurred in the following months as Wegener's old mentor Bormann was given greater power at the expense of first the Reichsleiters and then members of the cabinet.
When Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
was made Plenipotentiary for Total War in July 1944 Wegener was made his head of administration, making him one of only two permanent staff members appointed at national level (the other being Werner Naumann
Werner Naumann
Werner Naumann was a State Secretary in Joseph Goebbels' Propagandaministerium during the Third Reich. He was appointed head of the Propaganda Ministry by Führer Adolf Hitler in his political testament after Dr. Goebbels was promoted to Reichskanzler.-Early life and political career:Naumann was...
as head of planning activties).
Post-war
Wegener spent time in prison for his involvement in civilian deaths during his time in Bremen before finding work as a salesman in SinzheimSinzheim
Sinzheim is a municipality in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 6 km west of Baden-Baden, and 11 km south of Rastatt....
and then Wächtersbach
Wächtersbach
-Location:Wächtersbach lies between the Spessart and the Vogelsberg Mountains in the middle Kinzig valley at the edge of the Büdingen Forest, not far from the towns of Gelnhausen, Birstein, Bad Orb and Bad Soden-Salmünster.-Neighbouring communities:...
. According to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
secret service files however Wegener was also involved with an underground group of ex-Nazi Party members, organised by Werner Naumann, which was involved in attempts to infiltrate the Free Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
.