Philipp Bouhler
Encyclopedia
Philipp Bouhler was a senior Nazi Party official who was both a Reichsleiter
(National Leader) and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP
. He was also an SS-Obergruppenführer in the Allgemeine SS
who was responsible for the Nazi Aktion T4
euthanasia program that killed more than 70,000 handicapped adults and children in Nazi Germany
.
Bouhler was captured and arrested on 10 May 1945 by American troops. He committed suicide on 19 May 1945 while in the US internment camp at Zell-am-See near Dachau/Bayern.
to a retired colonel and spent five years in the Royal Bavarian Cadet Corps. He took part in the First World War and was badly wounded. From 1919 to 1920, he studied philosophy
for four semesters and in 1921 became a contributor in the publishing house that put out the Völkischer Beobachter
.
in 1933, he became a Reich Leader
and Member of the Reichstag for Westphalia
. He joined the SS on 20 April 1933 with membership number: 54,932.
In 1934, Bouhler became Police Chairman of Munich, and only a month later, he was appointed head of Adolf Hitler
's Chancellery, a post specially created on 17 November 1934 that was first and foremost set aside for Party business. In this job, for instance, secret decrees might be prepared, or internal business managed, before being brought before Adolf Hitler
. Moreover, Bouhler was Chairman of the "Official Party Inspection Commission for the Protection of National Socialist Literature" (Der Chef der Kanzlei des Führers und Vorsitzender der Parteiamtlichen Prüfungskommission zum Schutze des NS-Schrifttums), which determined what writings were and were not suitable for Nazi society.
Bouhler's office was responsible for all correspondences for Hitler which included private and internal communications as well as responding to public inquiries (for example, requests for material help, godfathership, jobs, clemency, NSDAP business and birthday wishes).
and physically handicapped
people were murder
ed. Various methods of killing were tried out. The first killing facility was Schloss Hartheim
in Upper Austria
. The knowledge gained from the euthanasia program was later applied to the industrialized annihilation of other groups of people, such as Jewish people.
In 1942, Bouhler published the book, "Napoleon – Kometenbahn eines Genies" (Napoleon – A Genius's Cometary Path), which became a favorite of Hitler's. He had also published a National Socialist publication Kampf für Deutschland (Fight for Germany) in 1938.
Reichsleiter
Reichsleiter , was the second highest political rank of the NSDAP next only to the office of Führer. Reichsleiter also served as a paramilitary rank, for the Nazi Party and was the highest position attainable in any Nazi-Organisation.The Reichsleiter reported directly to Adolf Hitler, in whose...
(National Leader) and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP
Hitler's Chancellery (Kanzlei des Führers)
Die Kanzlei des Führers , also known as Privatkanzlei des Führers, was the Chancellery responsible for the Nazi Party and associated organizations and their dealings directly with Hitler...
. He was also an SS-Obergruppenführer in the Allgemeine SS
Allgemeine SS
The Allgemeine SS was the most numerous branch of the Schutzstaffel paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany. It was managed by the SS-Hauptamt...
who was responsible for the Nazi Aktion T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
euthanasia program that killed more than 70,000 handicapped adults and children in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Bouhler was captured and arrested on 10 May 1945 by American troops. He committed suicide on 19 May 1945 while in the US internment camp at Zell-am-See near Dachau/Bayern.
Early life
Bouhler was born in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to a retired colonel and spent five years in the Royal Bavarian Cadet Corps. He took part in the First World War and was badly wounded. From 1919 to 1920, he studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
for four semesters and in 1921 became a contributor in the publishing house that put out the Völkischer Beobachter
Völkischer Beobachter
The Völkischer Beobachter was the newspaper of the National Socialist German Workers' Party from 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from February 8, 1923...
.
Nazi functionary
He joined the NSDAP in July 1922 with membership number: 12. By autumn 1922 he had became deputy manager of the NSDAP. After the failed Beerhall Putsch in Munich and the subsequent refounding of the Party in 1925, he became Reich Secretary of the NSDAP. After the seizure of powerMachtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in 1933, he became a Reich Leader
Reichsleiter
Reichsleiter , was the second highest political rank of the NSDAP next only to the office of Führer. Reichsleiter also served as a paramilitary rank, for the Nazi Party and was the highest position attainable in any Nazi-Organisation.The Reichsleiter reported directly to Adolf Hitler, in whose...
and Member of the Reichstag for Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
. He joined the SS on 20 April 1933 with membership number: 54,932.
In 1934, Bouhler became Police Chairman of Munich, and only a month later, he was appointed head of 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 Chancellery, a post specially created on 17 November 1934 that was first and foremost set aside for Party business. In this job, for instance, secret decrees might be prepared, or internal business managed, before being brought before 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...
. Moreover, Bouhler was Chairman of the "Official Party Inspection Commission for the Protection of National Socialist Literature" (Der Chef der Kanzlei des Führers und Vorsitzender der Parteiamtlichen Prüfungskommission zum Schutze des NS-Schrifttums), which determined what writings were and were not suitable for Nazi society.
Bouhler's office was responsible for all correspondences for Hitler which included private and internal communications as well as responding to public inquiries (for example, requests for material help, godfathership, jobs, clemency, NSDAP business and birthday wishes).
War crimes
Bouhler was also responsible for activities involving the killing of people. He supervised the development and implementation of the Nazis' early euthanasia program, Aktion T4 in which mentally illMental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
and physically handicapped
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
people were murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed. Various methods of killing were tried out. The first killing facility was Schloss Hartheim
Schloss Hartheim
Schloss Hartheim, located at Alkoven in Upper Austria, some 14 km. from Linz, Austria, became notorious as one of the Nazi Euthanasia killing centers, where the killing program Action T4 took place.The castle was built by Jakob von Aspen in 1600...
in Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
. The knowledge gained from the euthanasia program was later applied to the industrialized annihilation of other groups of people, such as Jewish people.
In 1942, Bouhler published the book, "Napoleon – Kometenbahn eines Genies" (Napoleon – A Genius's Cometary Path), which became a favorite of Hitler's. He had also published a National Socialist publication Kampf für Deutschland (Fight for Germany) in 1938.
Death
Bouhler and his wife, Helene, were apprehended by American troops at Schloss Fischhorn in Bruck near Zell-am-See on 10 May 1945. Thereafter, both committed suicide. His wife jumped from a window at Schloss Fischhorn. On 19 May 1945, Bouhler used a cyanide capsule while in the US internment camp at Zell-am-See near Dachau/Bayern. The couple had no children.Further reading
- Philipp Bouhler papers, 1933-1934, Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....