John Woods was a good executioner. When his victim hovered in the air, he grabbed her by the legs and hung with her, reducing the suffering of the dangling in the noose. But this is in his native Texas, where he has already executed more than three hundred people.
On the night of October 16, 1946, Woods retreated from his principles.

The American pros were to hang the bosses of the Third Reich: Goering, Ribbentrop, Keitel, Kaltenbrunner, Jodl, Sauckel, Streicher, Seiss-Inquart, Frank, Frick and Rosenberg. In this group prison photo, they are almost at full strength.

The Nuremberg prison where the Nazis were kept was in the American zone, so the executioner was also provided by the US government. In this image, US Sgt. John Woods demonstrates the "know-how" of his legendary 13-knot loop.

Goering was the first to ascend the scaffold, followed by Ribbentrop, but two hours before the execution, the Reichsmarshal committed suicide by taking a potassium cyanide capsule, which (according to one of the possible versions) was given to him by his wife in a farewell kiss during their last meeting in prison.

How Goering found out about the upcoming execution is unknown; its date was kept a strict secret from the condemned and the press. Before death, the convicts were even fed, offering one of two dishes to choose from: sausages with salad or pancakes with fruit.
Goering bit through the ampoule during dinner.

Executed after midnight in the gym of the Nuremberg prison. Woods built the gallows in just a day: just the day before, the soldiers were still playing basketball in the hall. The idea seemed to him a good one: three gallows, interchangeable ropes, body bags and, most importantly, hatches in the scaffolds under the feet of the guilty, into which they should immediately fall when hanging.
No more than three hours were allotted for the entire execution, including the last word and a conversation with the priest. Woods himself later proudly recalled that day: "Ten people in 103 minutes. It's a quick job."
But the minus (or plus?) was that Woods hastily calculated the size of the hatches, making them very small. Falling inside the gallows, the executed touched the edges of the hatch with his head and died, let's say, not immediately ...
Ribbentrop wheezed in the loop for 10 minutes, Jodl - 18, Keitel - 24.

After the execution, representatives of all the allied powers examined the corpses and signed the death certificates, and journalists photographed the bodies with and without clothes. Then the executed were loaded into spruce coffins, sealed and transported under heavy escort to the crematorium of Munich's Eastern Cemetery.
On the evening of October 18, the mixed ashes of the criminals were poured into the Isar Canal from the Marienklausen Bridge.

Interior view of the solitary cell where the main German war criminals were kept.

such as Goering

Dinner of the defendants of the Nuremberg trials.

Goering at dinner in the cell.

Goering during lunch during a break in the Nuremberg trials in the common dining room for the accused.

Opposite him - Rudolf Hess

Goering, who lost 20 kg during the process.

Goering during a meeting with his lawyer.

Goering and Hess

Goering on trial

Kaltenbrunner in a wheelchair

Foreign Minister of the Third Reich, Joachim von Ribbentrop, was hanged first.

Colonel General Alfred Jodl

Head of the SS Reich Security Main Directorate Ernst Kaltenbrunner

Chief of the High Command of the Wehrmacht Wilhelm Keitel

Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia Wilhelm Frick

Gauleiter of Franconia Julius Streicher

Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the NSDAP Alfred Rosenberg

Reichskommissar of the Netherlands Arthur Seyss-Inquart

Gauleiter of Thuringia Friedrich Sauckel

Governor General of Poland, NSDAP lawyer Hans Frank

The corpse of Heinrich Himmler. The Reichsführer SS committed suicide on May 23, 1945, while being detained in the city of Lüneburg, by taking potassium cyanide.

The corpses of the leader of the National Fascist Party Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci, who shielded the Duce with herself during the execution on April 28, 1945 on the outskirts of the village of Mezzegra.

The dead bodies of Mussolini and Petacci, along with six bodies of other fascist hierarchs, were transported to Milan and hung by their feet from the ceilings of a gas station in Loreto Square.

Deputy Fuhrer for the party Rudolf Hess. The only one of the three defendants sentenced to life imprisonment, who served the entire term - 41 years. In August 1987, 93-year-old Hess was found hanging from an electric wire in the yard of the Spandau prison in Berlin.

P.S. Nuremberg executioner John C. Woods died on July 21, 1950. According to legend, from electric shock when testing an electric chair of his own design. In life, everything is more prosaic: he really died from an electric shock, but while repairing the wiring in his own house.

Today it is "The Mysterious Disappearance of the Leaders of the Third Reich". The Second World War was coming to an end, the highest German officials realized that the defeat of Germany was inevitable. Then, in 1945, the Organization of Former SS Servicemen appeared. The task of this structure was to provide assistance to high-ranking German war criminals, the organization had enough material resources. The Nazis now spent the valuables and other material resources stolen in the countries conquered during the war on preparing and carrying out the illegal transfer of SS men away from retribution, for example, to Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

SS-Sturmbannführer Fritz Paul Schwend

It should be emphasized that the former fascist leaders not only had the opportunity to escape punishment for their crimes. They also had chances to open their own business and become successful businessmen, because in many banks of the world they had opened secret deposits in advance. An example is the post-war life of SS-Sturmbannführer Fritz Paul Schwend. The track record of this criminal is mass executions of civilians. They searched for him vigorously, but in vain. Even during the war, P. Schwend organized a successfully functioning group in the economic department of the VI department of the RSHA. The basis of its activity was the sale of counterfeit money. Having acquired a solid account, P. Schwend also obtained forged documents. There were several of them: in the name of Vendich, Turi, Berkter and others. P. Schwend settled in Peru in the spring of 1945 and became the owner of a prosperous company.

However, not all German military officials managed to arrange their future fate so safely. Many of them were taken prisoner. For example, SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann was sent to an American transit camp. Nevertheless, he prepared to escape, and, it must be admitted, very successfully. Somehow (the circumstances of the escape remained unclear) he ended up in Latin America and lived there secretly for a long time. However, in the late 1950s. Israeli intelligence Mossad, or rather, first Khanokmin (punishing angels), a special Jewish unit, came on his trail. The fact is that even before the outbreak of World War II, A. Eichmann acted as an expert on Jewish issues of the Imperial Main Security Directorate. He (among other leaders of the Third Reich) had the idea to turn Auschwitz into a place of the “final solution of the Jewish question”, that is, a place where people were massacred.

"Punishing Angels" specialized in searching for Nazi criminals who killed Jews in concentration camps. The Israeli secret services got on the trail of A. Eichmann quite by accident. One L. Herman, an Argentinean of Jewish origin who lived in Buenos Aires, said that his daughter's young man boasted that his father had great services to Germany during the Second World War. After checking, it turned out that the “honored Nazi” was none other than A. Eichmann. However, all data had to be carefully checked to make sure the identity of the perpetrator was genuine. But while decisions were being made in the intelligence structure on how best to deliver A. Eichmann (if this is the same Nazi) to Israel to do justice, A. Eichmann disappeared. Then several Mossad employees arrived in Argentina, and one of them, E. Elrom, was especially eager to catch the criminal, since all his relatives died in a concentration camp. Mossad agents had all the necessary information on A. Eichmann. They were aware of all his family holidays (birthdays, weddings, etc.), they had a detailed verbal portrait. The agents did not have only A. Eichmann's photograph.

It should be said that A Eichmann was ready to cooperate with Israeli agents, he frankly answered the questions asked of him, which were necessary for the subsequent trial of him. He was frightened and confused, kept repeating that he would either be shot or poisoned.
The search for A. Eichmann was crowned with success in 1959. The agents managed to establish that, under the guise of a bankrupt laundry owner, Eichmann lived in the same Buenos Aires, but already under the name of Ricardo Clement. Again, in order to obtain irrefutable evidence, R. Clement's house was monitored around the clock. The work of the agents was eventually crowned with success. Once R. Clement came home with a huge flower bouquet, as it turned out later, on the day of his silver wedding. The scouts checked their data and were finally convinced that this was the Nazi who managed to escape immediately after the war.

Mossad developed a plan of operation to capture A. Eichmann and deliver him to Israel. Israeli intelligence chief I. Harel flew to the capital of Argentina. The plan of the operation was thought out to the smallest detail, up to the organization of a special travel agency to deliver to Argentina under the guise of tourists a group of intelligence officers consisting of 30 people. Documents were prepared in advance for A. Eichmann. For the duration of the operation, a fleet of cars and other vehicles was specially rented.

One of the main points of the operation was the question of transporting A. Eichmann. The special services considered two options: by sea (but it took at least two months) and by the plane of the Israeli airline El Al, which was supposed to deliver the Israeli delegation to their homeland, who attended the celebrations on the occasion of the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Argentina's independence.

The beginning of the operation was scheduled for May 11, 1960. In the evening, on the street where Signor R. Clement lived, two cars stopped at some distance from each other. Their drivers began to fiddle with the motor. They were waiting for the bus in which A. Eichmann was supposed to arrive home. The former Nazi got off only the fourth bus, causing the scouts to get pretty worried. Everything happened in a matter of seconds. And Eichmann did not even have time to open his mouth, as he was dragged into the back seat. At the safe house, the scouts first of all checked the presence of A. Eichmann's personal number on his shoulder. In its place was a scar. However, A. Eichmann immediately confessed, explaining that he was the one they were looking for, and that he had destroyed his number while still in the American camp.

A. Eichmann signed a document confirming that he agreed to leave for Israel. The haughty and domineering SS man turned into a miserable and depressed person. Israeli intelligence could not be afraid that A. Eichmann would be searched for by his relatives: it was dangerous for them to contact the police, because then they had to admit that the wanted person was living on forged documents. Still, the scouts decided to play it safe. One of the crew members of the plane (of course, a dummy) was taken to the hospital with a "concussion." When he was discharged, a photo of A. Eichmann was pasted into the document. For the departure of other agents also prepared fake passports.

Just before the flight, A. Eichmann was injected with a tranquilizer, picked up by the arms and dragged on board the plane. The guard, who watched as the whole trio, laughing loudly and waving their arms, headed towards the plane, was quite surprised, but they explained to him that this was supposedly a reserve crew that would not take part in the flight and therefore allowed himself to drink pretty much. Since all three were indeed wearing El Al uniforms, no one bothered to check their documents. On May 11, 1961, the trial of the Nazi criminal A. Eichmann took place in Jerusalem. He was accused of mass extermination of people and sentenced to death by hanging.

SS-Sturmbannfuehrer Eduard Roschmann

Another Nazi, SS-Sturmbannführer Eduard Roshman, nicknamed the Butcher, decided to fake his own death at the end of the war. When the Americans started looking for him, they found a mutilated corpse, which they recognized as E. Roshman, the killer of more than 40,000 people. Meanwhile, the “corpse” was in the Bavarian Alps, where, at the expense of the Organization, other such criminals waited in a secluded shelter for the right moment to be sent to safe places. I must say that staying in the cold mountains did not benefit E. Roshman. He had frostbite on his toes and had to be amputated. An attempt to establish the identity of the doctor who operated on Roshman did not produce any results. But after the amputation, he had a special sign - a waddling gait, which later helped with his identification.

For some time E. Roshman (about three years) lived in one of the European countries. Since he was considered dead, no one was looking for him. Perhaps not only because they believed in his death - the considerable sums in the accounts of the Organization could well slow down any search. Then E. Roshman received false documents and went to Latin America. He lived in Argentina for a year under the guise of a Swiss citizen Fritz Werner, then the “Swissman” suddenly disappeared. E. Roshman was reborn under the name of Federico Bernardo Wegner, an Argentine citizen. After some time, someone sent E. Roshman a check for a fabulous amount at that time - $ 50,000, and the sender could not be found. Needless to say, this was the work of the same Organization, which carefully took care of former colleagues.

With the money received from the Organization, E. Roshman went into business. His company "Stenler and Wegner" sent precious wood to European countries. It should be noted that the Argentine authorities were not too curious about the personality of E. Roshman - again due to the fact that the Organization protected its wards from the police of those countries in which they were hiding from the international court. So E. Roshman lived comfortably in Argentina for about 20 years. However, in the 1970s he was identified by one of the witnesses of the brutal reprisals of E. Roshman with his victims. This became known to the German authorities. Anti-fascist organizations stepped up their activities, and Argentina had to agree to the extradition of a war criminal to Germany: in the face of the world community, it was impossible to continue to shelter the German executioner.

E. Roshman undoubtedly knew that they were going to extradite him to Germany for trial (most likely, he was warned about this in advance). Further events developed according to the classic detective story. E. Roshman was visited by an unknown person and ordered to move to Paraguay. The instructions Roshman received were very clear and precise: to get on the bus in the evening, to arrive at the designated place to the owner of the Pes-Mar bar and wait for further instructions from him. E. Roshman did just that. He was settled in a secluded boarding house. For several months he lived in a new place, trying not to draw attention to himself. However, one day he felt bad - it looks like something with his heart. He was placed in one of the hospitals. Some time later he died there. When the police began to study the documents of the deceased, they discovered that this was not the gentleman he claimed to be. The Paraguayan police contacted the Argentinean, and the latter confirmed that the deceased was a war criminal to be extradited to Germany.

The ending of this story is not quite usual: the body of E. Roshman was suddenly somehow stolen from the morgue. This suggests that Roshman's death is the work of the Organization. And the autopsy could somehow put the police on the trail of the one who followed the instructions of the Organization and ended E. Roshman in the hospital.

Martin Borman

Another Nazi criminal who managed to avoid the International Tribunal is Martin Bormann. He was the head of the party office and the second person in Nazi Germany after A. Hitler. Very little is known about how he managed to get out of Berlin surrounded by Soviet troops (and did he succeed at all?), When the Banner of Victory was already fluttering over the Reichstag, very little is known. Official information says: in order to bring up to date the new head of the German government - Grand Admiral K. Deinitz, M. Bormann got out of the capital, where the fighting was already on the streets. Together with him, in the group that tried to get out of the encirclement, there were: part of the SS division "Nordland", the remnants of the Berensfenger unit, which defended the Reich Chancellery, A. Hitler's personal pilot X. Bauer, his adjutant O. Günsche and driver E. Kempke. On the banks of the Spree, Soviet artillerymen fired on the group. The adjutant and the pilot were captured, the driver and one of the leaders of the youth fascist movement A. Oksman managed to escape from the encirclement.

Witnesses gave directly opposite testimonies about whether M. Bormann was able to get out of Berlin. Whether this was done unconsciously or with a well-defined purpose is also a question. The main version is that M. Borman was wounded, but he did not stop, but continued to walk, but in the end he was still killed. Whether this happened on the outskirts of the capital, or even in the central part of the city, no one could definitely say. At the International Tribunal in Nuremberg, M. Bormann was sentenced to death in absentia, since the Nazi criminal himself was not present at the trial.

Some time later, information began to leak into the press that M. Bormann did not die after all, but safely got out of Berlin. Regarding the further fate of M. Bormann, there are several versions. According to one of them, M. Bormann got a good job in Latin America.

According to other sources, M. Bormann made himself a plastic surgery and there was no need for him to hide in Latin America. There were witnesses who claimed that he moved freely around Europe. Other assumptions are based on the fact that M. Bormann was in fact none other than a Soviet intelligence officer. According to this version, in the 1920s. on the initiative of the German communist Ernst Thalmann, M. Bormann was sent to Leningrad under the name Karl. This action was known to a very narrow circle of people. Later, M. Bormann returned to Germany and gained so much confidence in the Fuhrer that he became his right hand.

Former member of the Reichstag Paul Heisslen claimed that M. Bormann showed up in Chile with documents in the name of Juan Gomez. This statement was disputed by the former Spanish diplomat in the UK, Ángel de Velasco. Allegedly, he helped M. Bormann get to Argentina. Along with Chile and Argentina, according to other sources, Paraguay appears.
When, on May 2, 1945, M. Bormann handed over to the Soviet Union a coded message in which he asked for help, he was rescued as a "Soviet intelligence officer" by the commander of the tank corps, General I. A. Serov. M. Borman lived in the Soviet Union for 27 years after the war, and after his death he was buried in the cemetery in Lefortovo. The author of the publication of the above facts was a certain B. Tartakovsky. However, he does not provide any serious and significant evidence.

More truthful is the assumption that M. Bormann committed suicide even when he was in surrounded Berlin. When he realized that there was no hope of salvation, he took potassium cyanide. This version is supported by a number of facts. Firstly, workers who in 1972 carried out construction work in one of the districts of Berlin discovered a skeleton. Traces of poison were found in the oral cavity of the deceased. M. Borman's personal dentist identified the denture, which was made by him personally. Secondly, the genetic examination carried out unambiguously confirmed that the remains belong to M. Bormann. Consequently, he died in Berlin on May 2, 1945.

SS Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller

The fate of M. Bormann is to a certain extent reminiscent of the post-war vicissitudes of SS Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller. And here, as in the investigations in the case of M. Bormann, the main question is whether G. Muller survived? In this case, but still with a certain degree of caution, you can give an affirmative answer. First of all, history keeps numerous testimonies in this regard. In addition, it is documented that at the end of April 1945 one of the planes of Hitler's squadron delivered Muller to the area bordering Switzerland. Nothing prevented him from doing plastic surgery on himself in the future and living on the funds that were on numerous secret accounts.

Subsequently, specialists from the CIA came to G. Muler. They first established surveillance of Willi Kriechbaumann, who during the war was a subordinate of G. Müller, and found out that they meet periodically. After the war, V. Krichbauman was recruited by the West German intelligence - the BND, which was led by R. Gehlen. There is evidence that SS-Standartenführer Friedrich Panzinger, one of Müller's employees, began working in Gehlen's department after the war. During the Second World War, F. Panzinger was looking for Soviet intelligence officers and their German informants both in Germany itself and abroad. Thus, the exposure of Soviet agents in France and Belgium in 1942 was directly related to the activities of F. Panzinger, who was a very valuable personnel for Gehlen.

There is evidence that Gehlen wanted to get Muller himself into his department, since he knew very, very much. However, the CIA also became interested in G. Muller, and, most likely, it made him a more attractive offer. In any case, the American journalist Gregory Douglas found documents that indicate that contact was established between Mueller and one of the CIA employees.

The CIA, having previously made sure that G. Muller was well versed in everything related to Soviet intelligence, and that the secret archives that he had taken out of Germany were of great value, made G. Muller an offer to become a CIA officer. G. Douglas believes that Muller agreed to this proposal, and as evidence of his version he cites the diaries of G. Muller allegedly found by him. In them, the former SS Gruppenfuehrer describes his marriage to an American from high society, his meetings with E. Hoover (CIA chief), Senator P. Macartney, President G. Truman.

You can either believe or not believe the testimony of an American journalist, but the fact that American intelligence knew about the whereabouts of G. Muller is obvious. Moreover, some employees of the CIA, in the order, so to speak, of personal initiative, carried out their own searches. At the same time, top American intelligence officials kept all information about Muller strictly secret and prevented attempts by mid-level officers to get on his trail.

Another version concerning the life of G. Muller after the end of the war is based on the assumption that Muller collaborated with Soviet intelligence. SS Brigadeführer W. Schellenberg, head of SD foreign intelligence, claimed that Müller was recruited by the Soviets in the middle of World War II, and after the end of the war he joined the Communist Party, and that in 1948 he was seen in Moscow. There is no concrete evidence for any of these claims.

However, W. Schellenberg's statements are to a certain extent confirmed by the story of Rudolf Barak, who at that time (1950s) was in charge of Czechoslovak intelligence. On the instructions of the then head of the KGB, I. A. Serov, he and his employees carried out an operation to secretly transport G. Muller from Argentina to Moscow. Soviet intelligence officers established, and then conveyed to their Czechoslovak colleagues, that Muller lives in Cordoba and, apparently, periodically changes his location.

It turned out that he did not know Spanish very well. There was no exact information about his activities in Argentina. He could be in business, but there was no evidence to support this. R. Barak's employees managed to win the trust of G. Muller. When they made sure that in front of them was really the person they were looking for (one former Nazi identified Muller from a photograph), they mixed G. Muller with sleeping pills in a glass of wine and took him by plane to Prague. Then he was sent to Moscow.

R. Barak was sure that Muller began to cooperate with the KGB. However, the Czech does not provide specific facts. True, there was one nuance that deserves attention: when G. Muller was still in Prague, he exchanged a barely noticeable nod with A. Korotkov, the former resident of Soviet intelligence in Berlin before the war. It is noteworthy that R. Barak, after the operation to take Muller to Moscow, met with both A. Korotkov and N. Khrushchev (this was in 1958). But neither one nor the other said a word about the operation, which was carried out two years earlier.

Returning to the question of whether G. Müller really died in Berlin in May 1945, it should be noted that there is no definite answer. First of all, because, although the grave in which G. Müller was supposedly buried was found in Berlin, when it was dug up in 1963, not one, but three whole skeletons were found. Analyzes carried out by experts showed that none of them could belong to G. Müller. Therefore, the question of Muller's death in Berlin surrounded by Soviet troops remains without a definite answer.

The history of Nazi Germany is short-lived, but very bloody. It was given a start (Great Depression) - the global economic crisis that began in 1929 and especially affected the countries of big capital: the USA and Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. In he destroyed the Weimar Republic and contributed to the rise to power of Adolf Hitler.

Rise to power

Six million unemployed, the general growing discontent of citizens gave rise to a sharp radicalization (extreme uncompromising adherence to certain views) of society. Many supported the communists (almost 17%), but there were almost twice as many supporters of the NSDAP. Adolf Hitler destroyed both his own and others on his way to power, as a result of which, on January 30, 1933, he became the Chancellor of Germany.

Nazi Germany was a one-party system (like all such regimes), whose state policy was internal terror and external expansion.

fascist state

In the occupied territories, and the whole of Europe was enslaved, dotted with concentration camps, terror became the norm and the law. Nazi Germany died along with its possessed Fuhrer, but officially ceased to exist on May 23, 1945, at the moment when the Flensburg government, which was headed by Karl Dönitz, was dissolved. The destruction and discrimination of enslaved peoples is the official policy of this vampire state, which lasted 12 years. Who controlled the vast conquered territories, who was responsible for establishing and maintaining the "new order" on the lands entrusted to him?

Administrative-territorial unit

Gauleiter in fascist Germany is an official burdened with full power in that administrative-territorial unit, or "Gau", where the Fuhrer personally appointed him. Actually, this is the head of the district. In 1933, he was the head of the electoral district, of which there were 33. Subsequently, when the conquered territories appeared, the districts (not electoral) became 43. Back in 1925, after the failed "beer putsch", the NSDAP was reorganized, resulting in the post of Gauleiter. And in 1928, this position was included in the list of party ranks, and its emblem was two oak leaves in buttonholes.

Hierarchy in the Third Reich

Ranks in Nazi Germany, like ranks and signs, were army, SS, party. Since the head of the Gau belonged to the latter structure, it is necessary to consider in more detail the party structure of the Reich. The Reichsleiter (the most senior after Hitler) had the highest rank at the imperial level, then, naturally, the Gauleiter came at the Gau level, the Kreisleiter represented the district level, and the Orstgruppenleiter was the main one at the local level. It can be stated that the Gauleiter in Nazi Germany is the head of the NSDAP in the territory given to him for undivided use, that is, he occupies the highest party position in this area. His power there was undivided, he was faced only with the task of the Fuhrer. He had his own subordinates, namely: immediately after the Gauleiter was his deputy, to whom the Hauptamtsleiter, or responsible executor for internal party affairs, was subordinate. Then came the Amtsleiter, Haptstellenleiter, Stellenleiter and Mitarbeiter in order.

Party rank

As already noted, Gauleiter in Nazi Germany is one of the highest ranks in the National Socialist Workers' Party of Nazi Germany. Until 1939, "Gauleiter" was both a position and a rank, after - only a position. So was the Deputy Gauleiter - after 1939, functionaries with the title of Befelsleiter and Hauptdinstleiter could hold this post. They were required to wear an armband confirming their position. The party hierarchy of the Third Reich is rather confusing. Hitler created a unitary state, in which the government and party apparatuses were fused to the maximum.

Who is the Reichskommissar

Gauleiter in fascist Germany is at the same time the imperial governor. He was a kind of chief-president of the "Gau" entrusted to him. That is, there is no more important thing. The Gauleiter appointed by the Fuhrer, the provincial government was completely subordinate.

However, there were still posts of Reichskommissars or governors. In fact, the Reichskommissar performed the functions of the government, without being part of it, and was directly subordinate only to the Fuhrer. The most striking example is Hermann Goering as Reich Commissar for Aviation. But as more and more lands were enslaved, these posts began to be introduced in new territories to implement imperial policy on them. Its only goal was the following: at the first stage - to squeeze everything possible out of these regions, mercilessly exploiting economic and human resources, at the second - to clear, completely destroy or turn the local population into working cattle and prepare territories for German settlers-colonists.

Territorial division of enslaved territories

To maximize the enslavement of the annexed lands, the following Reichskommissariats were created: the Netherlands, Norway, Ostland, Ukraine (formed on August 20, 1941 with the capital in Rovno), Muscovy, the Caucasus and Turkestan. The last two were only planned, Muscovy was established, but for well-known reasons it was dissolved. Ukraine was less fortunate - in 1942, Gauleiter Koch took over as Reichskommissar of this country.

Who is he - Erich Koch, above which was only the sun, and cooler - only Hitler? He had plenty of posts and titles. In this regard, it should be noted that, in addition to all the above posts, titles, ranks, implying one single thing - unlimited power, there was also the position of head of the civil administration, and it was also held by Erich Koch (Bialystok district).

All holding Koch

In addition, this SA Obergruppenführer (Army Lieutenant General) was a Gauleiter and Oberpresident. He served as Reichskommissar of Ukraine until 1944, while combining all of the above posts. And in all positions, he was distinguished by extreme rudeness, and cruelty surpassed all other Nazi executioners. This major Nazi functionary is more famous than others in our country precisely because he was the master of Ukraine, although his name is associated both with the disappearance and with the arrival of the Ribbentrop delegation in 1939 in Moscow.

Nazi boss

Erich Koch in the literal sense was not the Gauleiter of Ukraine, he was the Reichskommissar, because the title "Gauleiter" was abolished in 1939. Most likely, in the public mind, this term was inextricably linked with the concept of the owner, convicted of unlimited power, which he enjoyed in full. Although in some articles he is called "Gauleiter of the Reichskommissariat of Ukraine." In a word - a slave owner, who, in relation to Russians (or rather Soviet ones), was not going to be one. Koch stated that for Great Germany the life of these people is unprofitable, therefore, there is no question of any colonization and exploitation of them, all of them will simply be destroyed. It can be added that this inquisitor spent 36 years in a rather comfortable prison, built by himself, and the Soviet government did not demand his extradition. He lived to be 90 years old.

The germs of neo-Nazism

The Gauleiters of Germany were Adolf Hitler's most devoted dogs. After the war, this title was remembered in the 50s in connection with the “Naumann Circle”, or “Gauleiter Circle”.

Then the movement of neo-Nazis very much revived in this country. Rallying around Werner Naumann (Minister of Press and Propaganda of the Third Reich), the former fascist functionaries wanted to infiltrate the highest legislative and executive bodies of the FRG.

The book "Who was who in the Third Reich" is a revised and supplemented edition of the guide "Leaders and Generals of the Third Reich". In the new edition, many dates have been clarified - birth and death, assignment of a title, appointment to a post. More than 200 completely new biographies are included - now there are more than 800. All whose biographies are given in the directory were the elite of the Nazi regime. Here are the leaders of the NSDAP - the Nazi Party, and ministers and their deputies, and major military leaders, and commandants of concentration camps, and diplomats who ensured world recognition of the regime, and industrialists who raised the military economy, and aces of air and submarine warfare, and film actors, and designers , and many others. All of them - from the ambassador to the overseer of Auschwitz - created and defended this regime and ruled Germany undividedly for all twelve years of the "thousand-year Reich" existence. Therefore, on the pages of the book, the aristocrat Prince Josias Waldeck-Pyrmont and the former hotel bellboy Karl Ernst, the brilliant documentary filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl and Frau Schmidt, better known as the hostess of the "Kitty Salon" ...
The book deliberately does not include biographies of anti-fascists. The reader will not find here either Ernst Thalmann or Carl von Ossietzky. There are also no outstanding German writers, actors and scientists who left Germany, preferring emigration to the Nazi regime. Only the participants in the conspiracy, who organized the assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944, entered here. And that was only because many of them were fairly major figures in the country and their activities directly influenced the very development of the Nazi regime. The rest are those who, in fact, were the regime itself. Some created a war economy and gave Hitler money, others - in black SS uniforms - drove millions to death camps and carried out a bloody occupation regime, still others, at the head of a well-armed army, seized more and more territories for Hitler and organized fierce resistance, prolonging the agony of the regime.
For the convenience of using the reference book, at the end there are appendices with information about the structure of the highest party and state bodies of Germany, about Nazi awards and numerous ranks, lists of Gauleiters, and senior officers. The applications have also been significantly supplemented: institutions of the Third Reich are more widely represented, previously unpublished information about the command staff of the German Air Force and Navy, lists of German diplomatic representatives abroad, a complete list of holders of the Knight's Cross with oak branches and swords, and much more. Also in Appendix No. 3 is the full text of the NSDAP program.

For twelve years, from 1933 to 1945, Germany was under Nazi rule. The country that gave the world great writers and composers, scientists and inventors, plunged into the darkness of Nazi terror. Nazism, having suppressed any dissent in his country, began the bloodiest war in world history - the Second World War. Nazism and the war brought innumerable misfortunes not only to the people of Germany, but to the whole of Europe: millions died at the fronts, millions died of starvation, millions were murdered in cold blood in concentration camps. When the regime fell in 1945 and all the facts of Nazi policy became public, the world was horrified. This was simply unimaginable. Moreover, the Germans themselves, who for the most part supported Hitler, were shocked to learn what was going on behind the external pomposity of the state dressed in a colorful uniform. The conclusion was unequivocal - this should not happen again.
In Russia, and earlier in the USSR, interest in Nazi Germany has always been high. This was partly due to the taboo of the topic. Judging by the books and films of the twenty post-war years, those Germans seemed to be hardened criminals-murderers, mediocre military men, and only a small part of them were honest communists waging an uncompromising struggle against fascism. Such simplification inevitably fueled interest - no state can consist of pathological killers, military leaders deprived of talents cannot capture all of Europe and reach Moscow. With the beginning of the Khrushchev thaw, translated German books appeared on the shelves and, above all, memoirs of German generals, released in small editions, they quickly disappeared, and subsequently no one was going to republish them - the thaw was over. A typical example: two volumes of the most important work by B. Müller-Hillebrant "The Land Army of Germany" were published in 1956, and the third (it was devoted to the period 1941-45) was not immediately released, and it took 20 years for it to finally see the light of day. years. A powerful impulse of interest in the history of Germany during the years of the fascist dictatorship was given, oddly enough, simply by the film. The brilliant series "Seventeen Moments of Spring" made a revolution: we saw that the Germans who served Hitler were also people - bad, mean, unbalanced, but people. With its shortcomings and positive features. But there was no breakthrough in historical science. True, more books began to appear. The journalistic works of D. Melnikov and L. Chernaya went with a bang, and, as soon as they appeared on the shelves, they became a bibliographic rarity. But still, it was impossible to disassemble the functioning of the Nazi system in detail: with a detailed and careful study, too many parallels arose.
It was very difficult to resist comparisons - the NSDAP and the CPSU, the SS and the NKVD; "The Night of the Long Knives" and the Political Trials of 1936-37. Like all totalitarian regimes, the Nazi communist one has a huge number of similar features. This led to the presence of numerous taboos; which could hardly be bypassed unless one concentrated exclusively on concentration camps and occupation. Although here, too, the extermination in Stalin's camps provides grounds for comparison, only Hitler exterminated primarily foreigners, and Stalin - the citizens of his own country. The seven-volume collection of documents "The Nuremberg Trials" that has come out in our country has absorbed a huge number of very interesting documents, but the protocols of the trial meetings, published in almost all languages, have not appeared in our country. Paradox! And this one-sidedness fueled interest.
In addition, the history of Nazi Germany became the most interesting event of the 20th century. For 12 years, the state was able to turn from a disunited and impoverished country into a powerful state, create an excellent army, subjugate almost all of Europe and survive a complete collapse. In such a short period of time, so many events were concentrated, like no other, Germany survived everything - an industrial boom, and several attempts at coup d'etat, and grandiose victories, and no less grandiose defeats. And if we add here the external side - ranks, uniforms, parades, monuments - it becomes clear that this, in fact, a small page of history, is doomed to constant interest. And it would be absolutely wrong to say that such interest in these 12 years exists only in Russia - the country most affected by Nazism. No. To enumerate, only to enumerate, the titles of Foreign books devoted to the history of the Third Reich, one would need more than one plump volume.
Today in Russia it has become possible to publish what readers are interested in. As a result - a large number of books on "Nazi" topics. Here are memoirs and popular science publications. And not only translations, books written by a new generation of Russian historians have already begun to appear. But such a large "outlier" creates another problem: often great difficulties arise when it comes to some figures and regimes, and there is nowhere to find out who they are. Behind any surname mentioned is a specific person who occupied his place in the structure of the Third Reich. Rather, in structures. Indeed, in Germany there were several verticals along which Hitler exercised his power. First of all, this is the apparatus of the Nazi Party - the NSDAP - at the top of which were the Reichsleiters and Gauleiters; then government officials headed by ministers and secretaries of state; the next - the military, and finally, the leaders of the punitive apparatus of Germany - the SS - the party's guard detachments. This book will help to imagine who occupied what place in the hierarchical pyramid of Nazi Germany, and in addition to see which of them suffered just retribution.
When compiling the guide, materials from a large number of publications published in Russian, German and English were used. Among them, we should separately note the somewhat chaotic, but extremely informative book by E. Schönhorst "5 thousand leaders", as well as the American "Encyclopedia of the Third Reich" by Professor L. Snyder, on the basis of which the encyclopedia of the same name was published in Russian, although, unfortunately, already without the author's name.

Konstantin Zalessky

Who was who in the Third Reich
ABENDROTH(Abendroth) Hermann Paul Maximilian (January 19, 1883, Frankfurt am Main - May 29, 1956, Jena), conductor. Student of L. Thuil and F. Motl. G 1903 conductor of an orchestra in Munich. In 1905-11 Kapellmeister in Lübeck, in 1911-14 State Musical Director in Cologne, Director of the State Higher School of Music. At the same time, from 1915 A. was the head of the Gürzenich concerts, and from 1919 - professor and director of the conservatory, since 1918 general music director. In 1934-45 he was the head of the Gewandhausen Symphony Orchestra and professor at the Leipzig Conservatory. In 1943 and 1944 he was the conductor of the Bayreuth Festival. After the defeat of Nazism, he remained in East Germany, where he immediately took a prominent position in musical circles. From 1945 General Music Director in Weimar, in 1946-56 chief conductor of the State Chapel in Weimar. Since 1949 the head of the radio symphony orchestra in Leipzig and since 1953 - in Berlin. In 1949 he received the National Prize of the GDR.

ABETZ (Abetz) Otto (March 26, 1903, Schwetzingen - May 5, 1958, Langenfeldt, Rhine), diplomat, SS Brigadeführer (January 30, 1942). In his youth, as an art teacher in Karlsruhe, he became the head of the Silberkreis youth organization, among other goals of which was to establish contacts with French supporters of Nazism. In 1931 he joined the NSDAP (ticket number 7 011 453), later he was admitted to the SS (ticket number 253 314). In 1930-33 he was the organizer of German-French youth meetings, the main task of which was to strengthen German influence in Alsace and Lorraine. Since 1934, the referent for France in the imperial leadership of the Hitler Youth. In Jan. 1935 transferred to the "Ribbentrop Bureau", which was in charge of foreign policy issues of the NSDAP. He first entered the international arena during the Munich Conference of 1938. He made a quick career, becoming an assistant to I. von Ribbentrop. Since 1939, his personal representative in Paris on 14/6/1940 (after the defeat of France) was a representative of the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the head of the military administration in France. He was an adviser to the German military administration in France; he was supposed to form in the political and public circles of France a positive attitude towards Germany. The Prime Minister of the collaborationist French government of Vichy P. Laval considered A. the most influential German official in France. After a meeting with A. Laval on 19/7/1940, he was instructed to be responsible for resolving political issues in both occupied and non-occupied France and to maintain contacts with the Vichy government. On April 20, 1940, A.'s office was renamed the German Embassy in Paris. Nov. In 1942, as a result of intrigues in the top leadership of Germany, he was sent on "vacation" and returned to his duties only in the second half of 1943. In 1944, A. was instructed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to control the conduct of SD operations and anti-Jewish actions in France; he maintained contacts with the local French authorities, demanding from them the mass deportation of Jews. After the end of the war in 1945, he was arrested in the Black Forest. In July 1949, among other war criminals, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison at a trial in Paris. He was held in a French prison. Released Apr. 1954. After his release, he worked as a journalist for the weekly "Fortschritt". He died in a car accident, which, according to one version, was organized by Jews - former members of the French Resistance.

AUGUST-WILHELM (August Wilhelm), August Wilhelm Heinrich Günther Viktor Hohenzollern (29.8.1887, Potsdam - 25.3.1949, Stuttgart), Prince of Germany and Prussia, party leader, SS Obergruppenführer (1943), SA Obergruppenfuehrer (1932). 4th son of German Emperor Wilhelm II. In 1905 he passed the officer's exams. Since June 1905 in active military service in the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment. In 1906-08 he attended a course of sciences at the Bonn, Strasbourg and Berlin universities, then underwent an internship at various higher government institutions. Member of the 1st World War, staff officer of the 2nd Army, then inspector of the stages of the 7th Army, Army Group in Macedonia and Russia (Bialystok). He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. Oct. 1918 retired with the rank of colonel. After the collapse of the monarchy, he remained in Germany, worked at the bank "FW Krause", studied painting at the Academy of Arts in Charlottenburg with Professor A. Kempf. Since 1927, a member of the "Steel Helmet". In 1929, due to disagreements with his leadership, he left the organization. In the autumn of 1929 he began to cooperate with the NSDAP, and in March 1930 he joined the party. Actively participated in the Nazi election campaigns, in 1931 during a rally in Koenigsberg he was arrested by the police. Name A.-V. was widely used by Nazi propaganda to attract the monarchist-minded part of the population to the side of the NSDAP. In 1931 he joined the SA and received the rank of Standartenführer. Since 1932 he has been a member of the Prussian Landtag. In March 1933 he was elected to the Reichstag from Potsdam; from sept. 1933 Prussian State Councilor. After the NSDAP came to power, he did not play a big political role, but remained a supporter of Nazism.

ADAM (Adam) Wilhelm (September 15, 1877, Ansbach, Bavaria - April 8, 1949, Garmisch-Partenkirchen), military leader, colonel general (January 1, 1939). He was educated at the gymnasiums of Amberg and Ansbach. In 1897 he joined the Bavarian army and on March 12, 1899 he was promoted to officer. In 1909 he graduated from the Military Academy and was transferred to the General Staff. From 10/1/1912 to 9/15/1914 he commanded a company of the 3rd Bavarian pioneer battalion. Member of the 1st World War, served in the headquarters of the 6th Bavarian division, VIII Bavarian corps, group of gene. E. Falkengain, 2nd Army. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. After the demobilization of the army, he was left in the Reichswehr. In 1923-24 battalion commander. Gained a reputation as "the father of the German mountain shooters" and a capable specialist of the General Staff. Since 1927, Chief of Staff of the VII Military District (Munich), since 1929 commander of the 19th Infantry Regiment, then Chief of Staff of the 1st Army Inspectorate in Berlin. Oct. 1930 with the active support of Gen. K. Schleicher became the successor of the gene. K. von Halsherstein-Ekvord as head of the Military Directorate - under this name the General Staff was hidden, which Germany could not have according to the Versailles Peace. In 1931 he headed the German military delegation at the talks on expanding military cooperation with the USSR. The result of these negotiations, incl. began the training of German officers of the tank troops and the Air Force at secret bases in the USSR. Immediately after the Nazis came to power, the new Minister of War, Gen. V. von Blomberg began a purge in army circles in order to get rid of Schleicher's nominees, and A. 10/31/1933 was appointed commander of the VII military district (Munich). Since 1935 he was the head of the Academy of the Ground Forces (Berlin), supervised the training of officers of the ground units. Having not suffered during the Blomberg-Fritsch affair and the subsequent purge in the army, A. 1/4/1938 was appointed commander of the 2nd Army Group in Kassel (in July, the headquarters was transferred to Frankfurt am Main). A.'s relations with A. Hitler were cool, not only because of A.'s close friendship with the gene. Schleicher, but also because of his open criticism of Hitler's war plans. 26/6/1938 summoned to the Berghof for a personal report to Hitler on the construction of the "Western Wall". A. He stated that the shaft "... not so much," which caused Hitler's anger. On 27/8/1938, during an inspection trip to the shaft, Hitler met with A., who again warned the Fuhrer that the soldiers, given the existing disposition, would not hold the shaft. Hitler declared that "a soldier who fails to hold such fortifications is an ordinary mongrel! ". 11/10/1938 retired,

AXMAN (Axmann) Arthur (February 18, 1913, Hagen, Westphalia - October 24, 1996, Berlin), party leader, Reichsleiter (1940). The youngest of 5 children of a lawyer. In 1916 the family moved to Berlin-Wedding, the father died soon after, and the family was in great need. 14/9/1928 A. attended the speech of J. Goebbels and became keenly interested in National Socialism. Nov. 1928 joined the Hitler Youth and was elected head of this organization in the Berlin-Wedding area. He quickly made a career: in 1929-30, a lecturer in the assets of the National Socialist Union of Students, on March 12, 1931, he left party work and entered the University of Berlin, but in June-July his mother and brothers lost their jobs, and A. was forced to leave his studies. In Sept. 1931 joined the NSDAP. From 1932 he worked in the imperial leadership of the Hitler Youth, where he organized youth factory and vocational schools. Since May 1933, the Gebitsführer and head of the Social Administration, actively worked in the field of eliminating youth unemployment and vocational training for young people. Since 1933, the head of the Public Council of the Reich for Youth Affairs. From Nov. 1934 head of the Hitler Youth organization in Berlin-Brandenburg. Member of the Academy of German Law. In 1939, at the beginning of the war, he briefly served as a soldier in the Wehrmacht. On May 1, 1940, he was deputy head of the imperial youth. On August 8, 1940, he replaced B. von Chirac as the head of the youth of the German Reich (Jugendfuhrer des Deutsches Reiches) and the imperial youth leader, the NSDAP (Reichsjugendfuhrer der NSDAP). He militarized the Hitler Youth, introduced compulsory military training, making the Hitler Youth the main reserve for replenishing SS personnel. Member of the 2nd World War, in the battles on the Soviet-German front (1941) as a result of a wound, he lost his arm. From Oct. 1941 Member of the Reichstag from East Prussia. In 1945, from among the members of the organizations, he put up about 1000 people for the defense of Berlin. A. himself was among those who were in A. Hitler's bunker in April. 1945. Subsequently, A. told the officers who arrested him the details of the death of Hitler and E. Braun and stated that he had seen the corpse of M. Bormann. According to the testimony of the American historian and journalist W. Shirer, A. threw the detachment subordinate to him, who defended the Pihelyerdorf Bridge, to the mercy of fate and fled. He hid for 5 months under the name of Erich Sievert in Mecklenburg (Upper Pomerania). Nov. 1945 established contacts in Lübeck with former functionaries of the Hitler Youth and the NSDAP and tried to create a neo-Nazi organization. Arrested by the Americans in Oct. 1946 in Bavaria. In June 1948 he was transferred to a camp in Nuremberg. In Apr. 1949 sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in labor camps. After his release, he graduated from a working school in Schleswig-Holstein and worked as a representative of a coffee trading company. In 1958, he was sentenced by a Berlin court to a fine of 35,000 marks for "crimes against youth." In 1960 he founded a short-lived trading company. In 1971-76, after a second attempt to organize his own business, A. worked in a representative office of a Spanish company. In 1985 he returned to Berlin; kept in constant contact with his former colleagues. In 1995 he published his memoirs.

ALBERS (Albers) Hans (September 22, 1892, Hamburg - July 24, 1960, Kempfenhausen), actor. Butcher's son. Since 1907, he first worked in private firms, at the same time doing circus art, then began to perform in variety shows. In 1911 he entered the silk manufacturing company SH in Frankfurt am Main. In Sept. 1914 critics noted two roles A. in the Thalia Theater in Hamburg. In 1915 he was drafted into the army. Member of the 1st World War. He fought on the Western Front, was seriously wounded and demobilized in 1917. Returning to Berlin, he first worked in the operetta, and later began to play in the theater (at first in comic roles). Popularity came to A. after he started acting in films. Tall, handsome, blond, A. became the protagonist-lover of the German scene. After 1927, A. earned a reputation as one of the most talented actors in German cinema. During the reign of the Nazis, A. became one of the most beloved actors by the audience, his hero was always distinguished by heroism, idealism and self-sacrifice. Released in 1932, the film "F. P. 1 does not answer" was a resounding success. He played in the film by G. Uchitsky "Runaways" (1933) about the Germans fleeing the persecution of the Bolsheviks. In the film Karl Peters (1941), he created an idealized image of a patriotic German colonist fighting against British aggression in East Africa. Other famous films with the participation of A. - "Peer Gynt" (1934) and "Gold" (1937) by F. Wendhausen, "Water from Kanitoga" (1939), etc. In 1943 A. began to abuse alcohol. After the end of the war, A. continued to act in films until his death, incl. played in the films "The Last Man" (1955), "The Sun of Sao Paulo" (1957), etc.

ALBRECHT (Albrecht) Konrad (October 7, 1880, Bremen - August 18, 1969, Hamburg), Navy figure, Admiral General (April 1, 1939). In 1899 he joined the Navy, in 1912 he was promoted to officer. Member of the 1st World War, commanded a connection of torpedo boats; captain of the 3rd rank. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class and the Knight's Cross of the Order of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1920-23 commander of the 1st Flotilla of torpedo boats, in 1925-28 chief of staff of the Ostsee naval station, then head of the officer personnel department of the Naval Administration. From 10/1/1932 to 12/1/1935 he headed the Ostsee Naval Station - one of the largest naval formations at that time. Then, after a break, he again stood at the head of the station. On June 17, 1938, he surrendered command of the station and was appointed commander of a larger formation - the Vostok Navy Group. Supervised the actions of the Navy during the Polish campaign. 12/31/1039 removed from the post of commander of the group, by that time reorganized into the Naval Forces "North".

ALVENSLEBEN (Alyensleben) Ludolf von (March 17, 1901, Halle an der Saale - March 17, 1970, Argentina), one of the leaders of the punitive organs in the USSR, SS Gruppenführer, lieutenant general of the SS troops and police (11/9/1943). Educated in the cadet corps. In 1918, he was released into the army as a fanejunker, but did not have time to take part in hostilities. In 1920 he joined the Volunteer Corps. In 1923-30 a member of the "Steel Helmet", 1/8/1929 joined the NSDAP (ticket JSI 149 345) and the SA. From 1.8.1929 to 5.4.1934 Kreisleiter and Gauinspector of the NSDAP in Gau Halle-Merseburg. He was elected a member of the Gallic Landtag. Nov. 1933 elected to the Reichstag. On April 1, 1934 he joined the SS (ticket number 177 002) with the rank of Obersturmbannführer. From 5/4/1934 commander of the 46th SS Regiment (Dresden), then commanded the 26th SS Regiment in Halle, the 33rd SS Regiment in Schwerin-Mecklenburg. Since 1935 adjutant of the imperial head of sports. After Nov. In 1936, the personal headquarters of the Reichsfuehrer SS, headed by K. Wolf, was created, A. was appointed to the post of chief adjutant of the Reichsfuehrer SS G. Himmler. One of Himmler's closest associates. On 10/9/1939 he was appointed head of the SD and the security police in West Prussia. Supervised the creation of the so-called. "self-defense", which practiced mass executions of the Polish population on lands intended for settlement by the Germans (including on the territory of Gau Danzig - West Prussia). 11/19/1941 appointed head of the SS and police in Tavria, Crimea and Sevastopol. 10/6/1943 transferred to the same post in Nikolaev. From 29 Oct. to 25 Dec. 1943 at the same time was the supreme leader of the SS and the police of the Black Sea region (with headquarters in Nikolaev) and the regions of Army Group "A", led punitive actions in the Crimea and adjacent regions. After the liberation of the Crimea by the Soviet troops in May 1944, he returned to Germany and on 11/2/1944 was appointed Higher SS and Police Leader and Commander of the SS Oberabshnit Elba (Dresden). After the end of the war he was interned in Neuengamme. After his release from the camp in 1945, he left for Argentina.

ALMENDINGER (Allmendinger) Karl (3.2:18SH, Aitsgemünd - 10/2/1965, Ellwangen), military leader, infantry general (1/4/1943). 10/1/1910 entered the ground forces as a fanenjunker, 1/29/1911 promoted to lieutenant of the 122nd Fusilier (4th Württemberg) Emperor Franz Joseph Regiment Member of the 1st World War, chief lieutenant, company commander; battalion adjutant. Wounded at the Battle of Ypres. In 1919 he was a member of the Haase Volunteer Corps. After the demobilization of the army in 1920, he was accepted into the service of the Reichswehr and enlisted in the 3rd Battalion of the 13th Infantry Regiment. He was trained as an officer of the General Staff, then commanded a company of the 1st Infantry Regiment in Easterburg, was an assistant in the department of military educational institutions, and was promoted to colonel on 1 August 1936, head of the operations department of the headquarters of the 1st military district. Since 11/10/1938, the head of the 10th department (ground fortifications) of the General Staff of the Ground Forces. From 10/15/1939 the chief of staff of the V Army Corps, with whom he participated in the French campaign, and on 1/8/1940 he was promoted to major general. From 10/25/1940 commander of the 5th infantry (from November 1941 - light infantry, and then - Jaeger) division. Participated in battles on the Soviet-German front: Distinguished himself during the offensive near Moscow. On July 17, 1941, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and on December 13, 1942 he received oak branches for him. Since 5/1/1943 the commander of the training division in Berlin. Since 1/7/1943 the commander of the V Army Corps, with whom he fought in the Kuban and in the Crimea. 1/5/1944 replaced the gene. E. Yeneke as commander of the 17th Army, which fought back with difficulty from the vastly superior Soviet troops. On May 9, A. was forced to surrender Sevastopol (which was defended by parts of his former corps). By May 12, the Crimean operation of the Soviet troops was completed; it cost the 17th Army almost 100 thousand people. (including more than 61 thousand prisoners). 25/7/1944 replaced by Gen. F. Schulze, enrolled in the OKH reserve and did not receive an appointment until the end of the war.

ALPERS (Alpers) Friedrich (March 25, 1901, Sonneberg, Braunschweig - September 3, 1944, near Mons, France) statesman and party leader, SS Obergruppenführer (June 21, 19931). Member of the 1st World War. He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class for military distinctions. In 1919-20 he was a member of the Volunteer Corps. In 1923-24 he studied law and economics at the Universities of Heidelberg, Munich and Greifswald. 28 working in law firms in Braunschweig.In 1929 he received a diploma and worked as a lawyer in Braunschweig until 1933. In 1929 he joined the NSDAP (ticket number 132 812) in. 1930 - in the SA, in 1931 - in the SS (ticket number 6427), Promoted to SS Sturmfuehrer on 5 January 1932. In 1930 he was elected from the NSDAP as a member of the Landtag of Braunschweig. From 1931. Chief of the 1st Sturmbann of the 12th SS Standard, in 1932 - of the 2nd Sturmbann, From 8.10.1932 to 3.5.1933 commander of 49- 1st SS standard. Was a regional forester of Brandenburg, was a protégé of H. Goering. From 8/5/1933 State Minister of Justice and Finance of Braunschweig (had the rank of Secretary of State of the Imperial Government). 1L 2.1937 enlisted in the headquarters of the Reichsfuehrer SS. - Forester (Generalforstmeistef).In 1941, a member of the economic headquarters "East", who occupied by plundering the natural resources of the USSR. In the same year, Goering appointed A. head of the working group of forests in the Office of the Commissioner of the 4-year plan. In Jan. 1942 entered the active part of the Luftwaffe and was appointed commander of the 4th reconnaissance group. In 1942 he received the rank of major in the reserve. 10/14/1942 was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. From 21/8/1944 commander of the 9th Parachute Regiment. Participated in the battles in Normandy. He was severely wounded and committed suicide.

ALTEN (Alten) Georg Ernst (4.12.1901, Waldheim, Saxony - 12.4.1945, Dortmund), politician, one of the leaders of the police, SS Brigadeführer and Police Major General (1.1 L 942). Received an engineering education. In 1922-25 he was an active member of the Steel Helmet. Since 1925 he was in the 26th assault on the SA. In Apr. 1926 joined the NSDAP (ticket number 34 339), 10/5/1929 - in the SS (ticket M 1421) and enlisted in the 21st SS assault. On March 1, 1931, commander of the 1st assault, from July 1931 - of the 1st stormtrooper of the 26th standard. From 11/15/1931 commander of the 26th SS standard "Paul Berk" (Halle). From 22/7/1933 commander of the 16th SS officer. From 23/2/1935 the chief of staff of the Oberabshnit SS "North-East", from 5/4/1935 to 16/5/1938 - "South-West". In May 1936 he was elected to the Reichstag. Since May 1938, the police president of Plauen (later - Dortmund-Plauen). Simultaneous July 1939 headed the criminal police in Plauen (since January 1942 - in Dortmund). In 1940 he served for some time in the ranks of the Wehrmacht, commander of a sapper company. 15/6/1940 was seriously wounded and demobilized.

ALFART (Alfart) Felix (5.7.1901, Leipzig - 9.11.1923, Munich), one of the Nazi official heroes. A shopkeeper by profession. Entered in the early 1920s. in H DAN, became an enthusiastic admirer of A. Hitler. Participant of the march to Feldherrnhalle during the "Beer Putsch" in 1923. Killed in a shootout with the police. Dying, as the legend says, he sang "Germany above all". A. was one of those to whom Mein Kampf is dedicated.

AMANN Max (November 24, 1891, Munich - March 30, 1957, ibid.), party leader, Reichsleiter (1932), SS Obergruppenführer (January 30, 1936). Received a trade education. Since 1912 in military service. Member of the 1st World War, served in the Bavarian Infantry Regiment as a sergeant major, direct commander of Corporal A. Hitler. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class. After the end of the war, he worked in a bank. 10/1/1921 one of the first joined the NSDAP (party card number 3), a zealous supporter of Hitler. Capable organizer. In 1921 he was appointed manager of the NSDAP and began to manage the financial affairs of the Völkische Beobachter. Quite quickly put in order the financial resources of the party and newspapers. Since 1922, the director of the Central Publishing House of the NSDAP "Echer Verlag", directed all the publishing activities of the party. Member of the "Beer putsch" 11/9/1923, for participation in which he was arrested and spent 4.5 months in prison. That A. changed the title of Hitler's book "Four and a half years of struggle against lies, stupidity and cowardice" to "Mein Kampf". Since November 9, 1924, he has been a member of the city council of Munich. From 16/1/1928 to 12/6/1930 member of the Landtag of Upper Bavaria. In 1931, while hunting with F. von Epp, he received a gunshot wound, and as a result of the operation, his left arm was amputated. On March 15, 1932, he joined the SS (ticket; No. 53143). In 1933 he was elected to the Reichstag Upper, Bavaria - Swabia. After the Nazis came to power, he concentrated in his hands the leadership of the German press, turning Echer Ferlag into a monopoly - the world's largest newspaper concern, and he himself became a millionaire (his personal income in 1942 amounted to 3.8 million marks). Publishing houses previously owned by Jews, incl. the most powerful association of Ulstein. From 11/14/1933 chairman of the German Association of Newspaper Publishers, and from 15 November. concurrently President of the Imperial Press Chamber. In 1935 he became a member of the Imperial Senate of Culture. In these posts, A. had the right to ban, at his discretion, any publication, which he did, then buying the banned newspaper for next to nothing. In the process of work, A. constantly had conflicts with the Imperial Ministry of Public Education and Propaganda I. Goebbels and the press service of O. Dietrich, because. all these departments fought for control of the German press. 1/5/1941 A. officially awarded the title of "pioneer of labor". During the denazification process 8.9. 1948 sentenced to 10 years in labor camps. Released in 1953. Lived in Munich.

AMBROS (Ambros) Otto (19.5.1901, Weiden - ?), one of the leaders of German industry, Fuhrer of the war economy. He served as a member of the board of the IG Farbenindustri concern, head of the production of buna and poisonous gases. He was Commissioner for Research and Development in the Office of the Commissioner for the 4-year plan, head of the Chemical Warfare Committee in the Imperial Ministry of Armaments. In addition, for some time A. headed one of the departments of the same ministry and department "C", which was in charge of the preparation of chemical warfare. Member of the Supervisory Board of Hullier-Marl Chemical Plants. In the IG Farben system, he was also the head of the concern's factories in Auschwitz, Iskonau, and others, where slave labor of prisoners was widely used. In 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross for military merit. At the trial of the American Military Tribunal in the case of the leadership of IG Farbenindustry, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison - one of the most severe sentences in this trial. Released in 1951. Collaborated with US intelligence agencies, advised them on chemical production issues. After his release, he held senior positions in the German chemical industry.

ANGELIS (Angelis) Maximilian de (October 2, 1889, Budapest, Hungary - December 6, 1974, Graz, Austria), military leader, general of artillery (03/01/1942). 18/8/1910 joined the 42nd foot artillery regiment of the Austro-Hungarian army, 1/9/1910 promoted to lieutenant. Member of the 1st World War, captain (05/01/1917). In 1914-15 he commanded a battery in his regiment. On July 1, 1915, he was transferred to the headquarters of the Jaeger Division, since 1916 an officer of the General Staff. 11/3/1918 was taken prisoner by Italian troops. 10/12/1919 he returned to Austria and was appointed to the liquidation commission of the 3rd artillery regiment. 26/8/1920 enrolled in the Austrian army; graduated from the Military School in Eney (1927), then served as an instructor in tactics, in 1930-37 the school's deputy commander. Promoted to colonel on June 28, 1933. In 1935, the operational department of the Ministry of National Defense was transferred. From 1/8/1935 deputy commander and teacher of military art at the Higher Officer Courses in Vienna. After the Anschluss of Austria on April 1, 1938, he was transferred to the Wehrmacht with the rank of major general, general for special assignments under the High Command. From 11/10/1938 head of the XV artillery command. On September 1, 1939, commander of the 76th Infantry Division. Participated in the French campaign. In July 1940, the division was transferred to the East, and in March 1941 to Bulgaria, where it took part in military operations against Yugoslavia and Greece. From June 1941 he fought on the Soviet-German front. From 26.1.1942 acting commander of the XLIV Army Corps (approved on 03/01/1942). On February 9, 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 11/12/1943 received oak branches for him. From 22 Nov. until December 19, 1943, he replaced the commander of the 6th Army, General. K. Hollidt. From 8.4.1944 acting commander of the 6th army. 18/7/1944 transferred to the post of acting. commander of the 2nd tank army (1.9.1944 approved). He held his post until the end of the war. 9/5/1945 surrendered to American troops and 4/4/1946 transferred to the Yugoslav government. 10/12/1948 convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 20 years in prison. On March 5, 1949, it was handed over to the Soviet troops. He was held in Butyrka and Lefortovo prisons, and then in a special prison in Vladimir. On February 28, 1952, by a military tribunal of the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Moscow Region, he was sentenced to 25 years in labor camps. On April 19, 1953, the camps were replaced by imprisonment. 10/11/1955 handed over to the authorities of the GDR.

ARNIM (Araim) Jurgen Hans von (4.4.1889, Ernsdorf, Silesia - 1.9.1969, Bad Widlungen), military leader, colonel general (3.12.1942). From an old noble Prussian family. In 1908 he entered the service in the ground forces. Member of the 1st World War, captain. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. After the demobilization of the army, he remained to serve in the Reichswehr. On January 1, 1938, he was promoted to major general; on February 4, 1938, commander of the 4th service of the ground forces. Member of the Polish campaign, during which he commanded the 52nd Infantry Division from 8/9/1939. From 10/5/1940 commander of the 17th Panzer Division, reorganized from the 27th Infantry Division. From June 1941 he fought on the Soviet-German front, as part of the Army Group "Center" he participated in the battles near Moscow in October. 1941. 6 Oct. took possession of Bryansk with a swift blow. 11/11/1941 received from the gene. R. Schmidt strike group (XXXIX tank corps) consisting of the 8th and 12th tank, 18th and 20th motorized divisions. On November 8, 1941, Tikhvin was taken, but after a fierce attack by the Soviet troops, he was forced on November 15. retreat. On January 11, 1942, he was appointed commander of the XXXIX Panzer Corps, at the head of which for 3 months he tried to release the German troops in the Kholmsky cauldron. In Sept. 1941 A. Defeated the 4th Soviet Army and took Tikhvin across Leningrad, but after heavy fighting on November 15. left the city, having suffered huge losses. On September 4, 1942, when the 5th Panzer Army was formed in Africa on the basis of the command of the LXXXX army) corps, command was entrusted to A. When he was sent to Africa, A. was in the last stage of nervous exhaustion. A. did not have a relationship with E. Rommel and with the Italian command, which he ignored. A. preferred to communicate through their heads directly with Field Marshal A. Kesselring. The task of the army was to guard Rommel's communications along the Mares line. He launched an offensive on Sidibu Zid and took the strategically important pass of Kasserine, but, having not received the promised support, he withdrew the troops. Made an unsuccessful attempt to carry out an attack on Beiju. The 5th Panzer Army was defeated by the British troops during Operation Torch and was forced to retreat to Libya. Already when the situation was completely out of control, and Rommel left Africa, on March 9, 1943, he took command of Army Group Africa. Completely exhausted, not receiving reinforcements, ammunition and food, A.'s troops continued to resist the well-equipped and superior enemy. Following the order of A. Hitler, A. called on the troops to resist to the last bullet, but could no longer save the situation. On May 13, 1943, together with the army, he capitulated in Tunisia. Due to the fact that his lines of communication were almost completely destroyed, some units, having not received an order to surrender, continued to resist for some time. After the capitulations, he was held in a POW camp in Great Britain. 1/7/1947 released.

ARNO de la PERIERE (Arnault de la Reriere) Lothar von (18.3.1886, Posen - 24.2.1941, near Paris - Le Bourget), naval figure, submariner, vice admiral (1.2.1941). In 1903 he joined the Navy. Member of the 1st World War. From 1915 he commanded the submarine U-53. For military distinctions he was awarded the Pour le Merite order (10/11/1916). During the hostilities, he sank 141 ships (453,716 tons), becoming the most productive underwater ace of the 1st World War. After demobilization, he remained to serve in the Navy. In 1931 he retired. From 1938 he taught at the Turkish Naval Academy. Soon he returned to serve in the German Navy and on May 20, 1940 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in Belgium and the Netherlands, on June 18, 1940 he was replaced by Adm. G. Kinast and was appointed commander of the Navy Group "South". Died in a plane crash.

BAAROVA(Baarova) Lida, Ludmila (1910, Prague, Czech Republic - 10/27/2000, Salzburg, Austria), film actress. By origin - Czech. She was a fairly popular film actress and a close friend (they even talked about the upcoming marriage) of the famous film actor G. Fröhlich. In 1936 she met I. Goebbels and a stormy romance began between them. B. did not take advantage of the closeness with Goebbels to make a career or fortune; as a rule, she did not accept valuable gifts from him. At the end of 1938, Goebbels' feelings for B. became so obvious that the minister's wife, M. Goebbels, turned to A. Hitler through G. Goering and demanded an immediate divorce. This was also facilitated by the fact that K. Hanke compiled and handed over to Magda a list of 36 mistresses of the minister. A huge scandal erupted. In a conversation with Hitler, Goebbels announced that for the sake of V. he was ready to leave the post of minister. The Fuhrer refused to allow the divorce and demanded that Goebbels break off relations with B. Goebbels had to submit (although, as many noted, he was very upset by the break with B.). B. was ordered to leave Germany; she had to leave for the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, where she was placed under secret surveillance by the Gestapo. Films with her participation were taken off the screen, and all contracts were canceled. The last years of her life B. lived in Austria under the name of Lida Lundval. Died of Parkinson's disease.

BAER (Baer) Richard (9.9.1911, the village of Floss, Bavaria - 4961, Frankfurt am Main), war criminal, SS Sturmbannführer. After leaving school, he worked as a baker. From 1926 he traveled around the cities of Germany "working in bakeries. In 1930 he joined the NSDAP, and in 1931 - in the SS. In 1933, among other members of the SS, he was included in the "auxiliary police", In 1934 he was transferred to the SS "Dead Head", - served in the Dachau concentration camp, then in the Gestapo prison in Berlin and in the "Dead Head" units in Thuringia (near the Buchenwald concentration camp), instructor. Later transferred to the Neuengamme concentration camp. In the summer of 1940, as part of the SS division "Dead Head" fought at the front In November 1942 he was transferred to the central office of the inspection of concentration camps in Berlin. In charge of B. was the development of "measures" for the "final solution" of the Jewish question in concentration camps. From May 1944 to January 1945, the commandant of the Auschwitz extermination camp. Guilty of mass In the summer of 1944, the extermination camp began to work in an enhanced mode: including the time of keeping the victims in the gas chambers was reduced from 25 to 10 minutes, which was done in order to increase the production efficiency of the gas chambers. By the end of 1944, the total number of prisoners in Auschwitz amounted to almost 750 thousand people. He took measures to destroy the traces of atrocities. Since the autumn of 1944, a mass deportation of prisoners from Auschwitz to other camps began, and on January 18, 1945, the last 58 thousand prisoners were hastily evacuated, and only about 6 thousand seriously ill patients remained in the camp. During the "evacuation" the vast majority of prisoners died. On January 27, 1945, the camp was liberated by Soviet troops. After the war, he was arrested and sentenced to death, commuted to life imprisonment. In the 1950s released, In 1960 arrested by the German authorities brought as an accused to the process, which took place in December. 1960. Died in prison.

BAYERLEIN (Bayerlein) Fritz (January 14, 1899, Würzburg - January 30, 1970, ibid.), military leader, lieutenant general (May 1, 1944). 5.64917 joined the infantry. Member of the 1st World War. After demobilization, he was left in the Reichswehr, served mainly in staff positions and was promoted to major on 1/6/1938. From 1.4.1939 head of the operational department of the headquarters of the 10th Panzer Division, from 25.2.1940 - the headquarters of the XIX Army Corps. On June 1, 1940, as a specialist in the field of tank operations, he was appointed head of the operational department of the headquarters of the tank group, Gen. G. Guderian, later transformed into the headquarters of the 2nd Panzer Group, and on 11/16/1941 - the army. He took part in the battles on the Soviet-German front, during the attack on Moscow he commanded a unit in the XXXIX Panzer Corps. On October 5, 1941, the Chief of Staff of the African Corps, Gen. E. Rommel. 12/26/1941 was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. During Rommel's absence, he repeatedly acted as commander of the corps and army. From 12/7/1942 chief of staff of the German-Italian tank army "Africa". From March 1 to May 6, 1943, he headed the headquarters of the 1st Italian Army in Tunisia. Led an unsuccessful attack on Alam Half. 6/7/1943 was awarded oak branches to the Knight's Cross. A week before the surrender of the Italo-German troops in Africa, together with Rommel, he was recalled to Europe and on 10/20/1943 was appointed commander of the 3rd Panzer Division on the Soviet-German front. On January 10, 1944, he was appointed commander of an elite training tank division in the West. With the beginning of the Allied offensive in Normandy, the B. division was (together with others) the main striking force of H. von Kluge. Together with the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" attempted a counteroffensive against the Americans and suffered heavy losses. On July 25, 1944, the B. division was subjected to an intensive bombardment by Allied aviation, in which about 3,000 bombers took part. The division lost more than 70% of its composition, and; it had 14 tanks left. On July 26, he repulsed the attack of 5 American divisions, but as a result of the battle, the tank training division ceased to exist. 20/7/1944 awarded the Knight's Cross with oak branches and swords. Dec. 1944 participated in the battle near Bastogne (Belgium). On March 29, 1945, commander of the L III Army Corps. On April 15, 1945, he surrendered at Rourkessel and was taken prisoner by the Americans. After his release, he actively participated in the revanchist movement.

BAKENKÖLER (Backenkoler) Otto (1.2.1892, Göttingen - 5.2.1967, Kiel), Navy figure, admiral (1.4.1943). Graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps. He began his service in the Navy on April 15, 1911 as Fenrich. Member of the 1st World War. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2tro class. After the war, left in the Navy. From 10/1/1921 commander of the tender M-138, from 8/2/1922 torpedo boat V-2, and from 1/4/1922 - T-196. Oct. 1923 transferred to the headquarters of the commander of the fleet. From 11/10/1924 commander of the 4th torpedo semi-flotilla. In 1926-33 - in staff positions; captain of the 3rd rank (January 1, 1929). On 10/11/1933 he was appointed head of the torpedo school, and at the same time the naval architectural school. From 10/1/1935 to 10/15/1937 he commanded the cruiser Cologne. From 10/31/1938 chief of staff of the naval station "Ostsee". From 10/24/1939 the chief of staff of the fleet command, 8/8/1940 B. was transferred to the OKM Arms Directorate, where he headed the Torpedo Directorate. Since 03/09/1943, head of the Department of Arms of the OKM. Since 1/5/1944 chief of naval armaments. 3/1/1945 awarded the Knight's Cross for military merit with swords. In May 1945 he was arrested by the allies and placed in a prisoner of war camp. 12/10/1946 released.

BAKKE (Vaske) Herbert Ernst (May 1, 1896, Batum, Russia - April 7, 1947, Nuremberg), statesman, SS Obergruppenführer (September 9, 1942). Son of a German colonist. He graduated from the Tiflis Gymnasium (1914) and the University of Göttingen (1923). During the 1st World War he was interned in Russia as a German, and after his release he was a referent on Russian issues. Since 1922, a member of the SA. In 1923-24 assistant to the rector of the Higher Technical School (Hannover). On February 1, 1925, he joined the NSDAP (ticket M 22 766), and then the SS (ticket No. 87 882). "In 1928 he was elected a member of the Landtag of Prussia from the NSDAP. He specialized in agricultural policy. From 1928 he was a tenant of the estate in Hannover. In 1931-33 he was a district head of the peasant organization of the NSDAP. From September 1, 1933, deputy, and from June 21, 1935, head of the Main Directorate of Race and Settlements of the SS. Member of the Reichstag. Simultaneously with October 1933, Secretary of State of the Imperial Ministry of the Interior and the Imperial Ministry of Food and Agriculture. In 1934 he issued an appeal to the German peasants to start the "Battle for Food" (Erzeugungsschlacht), the purpose of which was proclaimed to achieve the complete provision of Germany with its own food. Since 1936, he simultaneously led food and agriculture issues in the Office of the 4-year plan; since 1941, authorized by the special headquarters " Oldenburg", created to organize the robbery of the occupied regions of the USSR. One of the closest assistants of G. Goering. From 23.5.1942 and about. Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture, officially inaugurated on April 1, 1944, and at the same time replaced V. Darre as Reichsbauertuhrer, Imperial Leader of the Peasants. In these posts, he attempted to ensure an uninterrupted food supply to Germany. He took part in the implementation of the Nazi plans for the Germanization of the eastern territories. He retained the post of minister in the government of K Dennitsa. Together with the entire government, he was arrested on May 23, 1945 in Flensburg. Hanged himself in prison.

BALK (Balck) Herman (December 7, 1893, Danzig-Langfur - December 29, 1982, Erbenbach-Rockenau), military leader, general of tank troops (11/1/1943). From a Swedish-Finnish family of hereditary military men, known since 1120, half an Englishman. He graduated from the Hanover military school. On March 10, 1913, he entered the ground forces, and on August 10, 1914 he was promoted to lieutenant of the 10th Chasseur Battalion. Member of the 1st World War, lieutenant, commander of a rifle platoon. He fought on the Western and Eastern fronts, in the Balkans. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. On August 2, 1919, his battalion was reorganized into the Hanover Rifle Battalion of the Reichswehr. Participated in the suppression of the Kapp Putsch of 1920, from Jan. 1922 transferred to the 10th cavalry regiment (Stuttgart), and in 1933 - to the headquarters of the 3rd. Infantry Division (Berlin). Since 1935 the commander of the scooter battalion of the 1st cavalry brigade. From 1.2.1938 - in the inspection of motorized troops. Member of the Polish campaign. On October 23, 1939, the commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment as part of the 1st Panzer Division, which during the French campaign was part of the group of Gen. G. Guderian. He crossed the Mosa at Sedan and stormed the heights on the other bank. For these actions, B. was awarded the Knight's Cross on 3/6/1940. From 12/15/1940 commander of the 3rd tank regiment. Participated in the Greek campaign, distinguished himself in the defeat of the British troops. From 15/5/1941 commander of the 2nd tank brigade. From 7/7/1941 he served as a staff officer in the command of the OKH reserve army, and on 11/1/1941 he was appointed general of the mobile troops under the commander-in-chief of the ground forces. On May 16, 1942, he commanded the 11th Panzer Division, fought near Smolensk with partisan detachments. He successfully acted in the Caucasus, and at the beginning of 1943 he played a leading role in the defeat of the 5th Soviet shock army of Gen. MM. Popov. 12/20/1942 received oak branches to the Knight's Cross, and 4/3/1943 - swords. 3/4/1943 appointed commander of one of the best motorized divisions of the German army - "Grossdeutschland". During the Battle of Kursk (July-Aug. 1943), the B. division destroyed 501 Soviet tanks. On 11/12/1943 he headed the XL, and after 3 days - the XLVIII tank corps, with which he fought hard battles near Lvov and in the middle of November. took Zhytomyr. From May 1943 he commanded the XIV Panzer Corps on the Western Front. 11/12/1943 took over the XL Panzer Corps, operating in the Nikopol area. 5:8.1944 was appointed commander of the 4th Panzer Army, commanded it for only a few days until 21 August. 31/8/1944 awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak branches, swords and diamonds. 9/21/1944 replaced the gene. I. Blaskowitz on the growth of the commander of Army Group "G" in the West (headquarters - yes Molsheim, Alsace). The task of B. was to stop the advance of the Americans in Lorraine and hold the front until the preparations for the offensive in the Ardennes were completed. Using the tactics of "elastic defense". B. achieved some success in this difficult situation. On December 23, 1944, he surrendered Army Group Blaskowitz and took command of the 6th Army, which operated on the Soviet-German front as part of Army Group South. At the same time he commanded the army group "Balk", which united the 6th German and 2nd Hungarian armies. He organized a series of rearguard battles, covering the retreat of the troops of the army group to Austria. 8/5/1945 capitulated. After the war he was arrested by the American authorities and released in June 1947. In 1948, at a trial in Stuttgart, he was charged with war crimes and sentenced to 6 months in prison.

BALTHASAR (Balthasar) Wilhelm (2.2.1914, Fulda - 3.6.1941, in the area of ​​Azbrouk, France), fighter pilot, major (1941, posthumously). The son of a captain, a fighter pilot who died in France in 1914. In 1935 he joined the Luftwaffe. As part of the Condor Legion, he participated in the Spanish Civil War (1937-38). 1/20/1938 shot down the first plane. In the battle on 7/2/1938, B. destroyed 4 enemy planes in 6 minutes. In Spain, he received new appointments - as a squadron commander in the 131st, and then the 2nd fighter squadron. In 1939 he gained worldwide fame by flying around Africa. Since 1939 the commander of the 7th squadron of the 27th fighter squadron; participated in the French campaign (1940). 6/6/1940 single-handedly shot down 9 French aircraft. 14/6/1940 became the second representative of the Luftwaffe to receive; Knight's Cross. B. became the most productive pilot of the French campaign, shooting down 23 aircraft and destroying them on the take-off areas. Then during the "Battle of England" (from September 1 to November 10, 1940) he commanded the 3rd group of the same squadron. 4/9/1940 was seriously wounded. After the death of Major G. Wieck on November 28, 1940, B, was appointed commander of the elite 2nd elite fighter squadron "Richthofen" on November 16, 1941. When the armed forces were transferred to the Soviet-German front, B.'s regiment remained in France. On July 2, 1941, shortly before his death, he was awarded oak branches to the knight's cross. While testing the new Bf 109F4s, it was attacked by several English aircraft near Azbrook (near Ayr). He started the fight, but, making a U-turn, the plane fell into a tailspin and crashed. In total, B. had 40 victories (including 7 in Spain).

BAHG (Bang) Paul (January 18, 1879, Meissen - December 31, 1945, Hohenfichte, Chemnitz), statesman, businessman. Served as Senior Financial Advisor in Berlin-Tempelhof. He was an active member of the German National People's Party and on its list in May 1928 was elected a member of the Reichstag. On February 4, 1933, he was appointed secretary of state of the Imperial Ministry of Economics, but on June 30 he lost his post. Nov. 1933 not elected to the Reichstag. In the same month he joined the NSDAP. Author of a large number of works on politics and economics. Held senior positions in various companies, incl. Chairman of the Supervisory Board "J. E. Reinicke AG" (Chemnitz), Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board "Emil Zorn AG" (Berlin).

Barandon (Barandon) Paul Gustav Louis (19.9.1881, Kiel - 1972), diplomat. Son of a Vice Admiral. Educated at Lausanne, Munich, Berlin and Kiel universities. He received his doctorate in law from the University of Leipzig. Since 1903 Prussian referent. In 1910 he entered the service in the Department of Foreign Affairs. In 1912-13, vice-consul in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. Member of the 1st World War, captain. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. After demobilization in 1919-20 he was a notary officer in Kiel. In 1920-26 he was a German representative at the Anglo-German Arbitration Court (London). In 1927-32 he was a member of the legal department of the secretariat of the International Court of Justice in Geneva. After the Nazis came to power, he was transferred with the rank of I embassy adviser to the central office of the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1933-37 ministerial director of the German Department of the Ministry. In 1937-41 Consul General in Valparaiso (Chile). Oct. 1942 replaced S. von Renthe-Fink as Commissioner of the Imperial Foreign Office in Copenhagen (Denmark). In 1944 he retired.

Baranowski Herman (June 1884, Schwerin - February 1940, Sachsenhausen), war criminal, one of the creators of the concentration camp system. In 1900 he left school and entered the Navy as a cabin boy. In Sept. 1920, believing that the fleet was ruined by the socialists, he retired. In civilian life, he could not find a place for himself, he was interrupted by odd jobs. At first he lived in Kiel, where he worked in a metallurgical factory, but a year later he moved to Hamburg, where he became a salesman in a food company. In Sept. 1930 became one of the first members of the NSDAP in Hamburg, and a few months later joined the SS. At the end of 1932 B. moved to permanent service in the SS units. In 1934 he was transferred from the General SS to the Dead Head units. He enjoyed the patronage of T. Eike and was appointed commandant of the Lichtenburg women's camp. He was a champion of tough army discipline to such an extent that Eicke even called his behavior "pathology". B. Could not cope with the role of an independent leader and, at his own request, was transferred to the deputy commandant of Dachau G, Loritsa. After two years of service in the camp, B. was again appointed to an independent post - the commandant of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. By this time, a decision was made to turn this small (9 thousand prisoners) camp near Berlin into a large concentration camp. He supervised the construction (by the forces of prisoners) of residential premises and enterprises. He introduced strict military discipline in the camp, which resulted in a systematic mockery of the prisoners.

BARBIE (Barbie) Klaus (08/25/1913, Bad Godesberg, Rhine - 1991), war criminal, SS Hauptsturmführer. Since April 1, 1933 he has been a member of the Hitler Youth. On September 1, 1935, he joined the SS and began serving in the 4th Directorate (Gestapo) of the Main Directorate of Imperial Security. Since 1937 in the SD of Düsseldorf. On May 1, 1937, he joined the NSDAP (party card N ° 4 583 085). From 1940 he served at the headquarters of the Security Police - SD in The Hague, from Jan. 1941 - in Amsterdam. Participated in the suppression of the uprising in Amsterdam in 1941. From May 1942 in the SD of the city of Gex (France). Nov. 1942 sent to the SD of Lyon, where he headed the local administration of the Gestapo. Supervised the arrest and execution of Jean Moulin, one of the leaders of the Resistance. Nicknamed "The Butcher of Lyon". Nov. 1944 transferred to Amsterdam and then to Düsseldorf. In May 1945 he went into hiding and went to Bolivia. In 1952, he was sentenced in absentia to death by a French court in Lyon. Found guilty of murdering 4342 people. and deportation to "death camps" 7951 people. 11/25/1954 sentenced to death for the second time. Hiding under the name Klaus Altman in Bolivia. After the left-wing government came to power in 1982, B. in Feb. 1983 was issued to the French authorities. In 1987, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity. Died in prison.

BARKHORN (Barkhorn) Gerhard (Gerd) Erich (March 20, 1919, Koenigsberg - January 8, 1983), fighter pilot, one of the best aces of the German army, aviation major (1944). He graduated from flight school (1939). From Oct. 1939 served in the 2nd Fighter Squadron "Richthofen". In Aug. 1941 transferred to the 2nd group of the 52nd fighter squadron. He shot down his first plane on July 2, 1941, having made 120 unsuccessful sorties before that. In Aug. took part in the Battle of England. He flew on a Messerschmitt plane (Me.262). After the attack on the USSR, he was transferred to the Soviet-German front. In battle 20/6/1942 shot down 4 enemy aircraft - his best result of the day. On January 11, 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross with oak branches, and on March 2, 1944, with swords to the Knight's Cross. On September 1, 1943, the commander of the 2nd group of the 52nd Fighter Squadron, which fought in the East. On January 16, 1945, he was appointed commander of the 6th Horst Wessel Fighter Squadron. 10 Apr. transferred to the elite formation 44, equipped with jet aircraft. He was shot down 9 times, wounded twice and captured once, but escaped. In total, during the fighting, he made 1404 sorties and shot down 301 enemy aircraft (all on the Eastern Front), taking 2nd place in the list of German aces, after E. Hartman and becoming one of two pilots who shot down more than three hundred aircraft. In 1955, he joined the German Air Force, where he commanded the training wing F-104 (Novenikh). He retired with the rank of Major General.

BARTELS (Bartels) Adolf (11/15/1862, Wesselburen - 03/07/1945, Weimar), writer, literary historian. Educated at Leipzig and Berlin Universities. The author of historical novels, plays, etc. In 1918 he published Lessing and the Jews, which had a pronounced anti-Semitic orientation. In 1920 he founded the Union of People's Publishers; editor of the anti-Semitic magazine "German Works" ("Deutsche Schrifttum"). In 1924 he published the National Socialist Liberation of Germany, in which he praised the Nazi movement.

BASTIAN (Bastian) Max (28.8.1883, Spandau - 11.3.1958, Wilhelmshaven), naval figure, admiral (1.4.1938). On April 1, 1902, he began serving in the Navy as a cadet. Educated at a naval school. From Nov. 1904 served on the cruiser Hansa. On September 29, 1905, he was promoted to lieutenant. From 10/1/1905 the watch officer of the gunboat "Luchs", from 4/4/1907 - the battleship "Kaiser Friedrich III", from 10/10/1907 - the battleship "Kaiser Barbarossa", from 15/9/1910 - the battleship "Prussia". In 1914 he graduated from the course of the Naval Academy. Member of the 1st World War, served mainly in staff positions. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. After the end of the war, he was left in the Navy. From 1923, he held senior positions in the Naval Archives. From 4.1.1926 1st officer of the fleet headquarters. From Jan. 1928 commander of the battleship Silesia. 09/23/1929 appointed head of the budget department of the Navy as part of the Ministry of the Reichswehr One of the leaders of the secret revival of the German Navy. From 10/1/1932 commander of battleships. 19.1933 promoted to rear admiral. From 2.10.1934 2nd admiral of the naval station "Ostsee". On September 27, 1939, he was appointed head of the General Directorate of the OKM. During the purge of the senior command staff at the beginning of 1938, B. 3 Apr. lost his post and was transferred to the reserve. On September 12, 1939, he was appointed president of the Imperial Military Court and remained in this post until October 31, 1944, after which he was placed at the disposal of K. Dönitz. 10/12/1944 awarded the Knight's Cross for military merit with swords.

BAUER (Bauer) Ernst (3/2/1914, Fürth - 12/3/1998, Westferland), submariner, captain of the 3rd rank (1/4/1945). 23/9/1933 entered the service in the Navy, 1/10/1936 promoted to lieutenant of the fleet. After serving on the light cruiser "Kenigsberg" in Jan. 1938 transferred to the submarine fleet. He served as a watch officer on the submarines U-10 and U-37, then transferred to the training boat U-120. Since 1.3.1941 lieutenant commander, commander of the boat U-126. He made a successful voyage to the Caribbean Sea and to the shores of Africa. He commanded the boat until March 1943, when he was appointed training officer of the 27th submarine flotilla. Up to this point, B, sank 25 ships with a total displacement of 118,660 tons, and later - 4 more ships with a displacement of 31,304 tons. On March 16, 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. From Oct. 1944 commander of the 27th submarine flotilla, and in the last days of the war - the 26th flotilla. In 1955 he joined the German Navy, where he held staff posts. In 1972 he retired with the rank of captain of the 1st rank.

BAUMBACH (Baumbach) Werner (12/27/1916 Cloppenburg - 10/20/195Z, near Rio de la Plata, Argentina), pilot, aviation colonel. He spent most of his service as part of the 30th "Eagle" bomber squadron; July to Dec. 1942 commanded the 3rd group of this squadron. Participated in the French campaign, battles on the Soviet-German front. On May 8, 1940, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On July 14, 1941, he received oak branches for him (he became the 20th holder of this award). 16/8/1942 B. was the first among bomber pilots to be awarded the Knight's Cross with oak branches and swords (the 16th holder of this award). From 11/15/1944 to 3/6/1945 he commanded (headquarters in Berlin-Gatow) the 202nd bomber squadron as part of the Reich air fleet. In March 1945 he took up the post of General of Bomber Aviation. During the war, he made more than 210 sorties, on his account there were sunk Allied ships with a displacement of 300 thousand tons. After the end of the war, he was invited to work in the aviation industry in Argentina. Died while testing a new aircraft.

BAUMLER (Baumler) Alfred (9.11.1887, Neustadt, Norway - 1968), philosopher. Educated at the Munich, Berlin and Bonn universities. In 1914 he served in the Austrian army. Member of the 1st World War. Since 1928 professor of philosophy at the Dresden Higher School. In 1933-35 professor of political pedagogy at the University of Berlin. He was a link between German universities and the "Rosenberg Bureau", which dealt with issues of Nazi ideology. B.'s views were formed under the influence of F. Nietzsche's "philosophy of life" and O. Spengler's "morphology of history." B. the author of a large number of works on the interpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy (including "Nietzsche - Philosopher and Politician", 1931; The Doctrine of German Spiritual History, 1937), tried to adapt it to the needs of Nazi ideology, often ignoring the real views of Nietzsche. Works 1B. were recognized in the Third Reich as the official guide for the education of the younger generation. In 1942 he was appointed head of the research department of the management of A. Rosenberg. B. was the main researcher of Nietzsche, putting his ideas at the service of Nazism. For B. Nietzsche was a "philosopher heroism", who wanted the power of the "aristocracy of the spirit", in which the "Nordic race" should play the main role. He was the author of a large number of books on philosophy and politics, including "The Human Community and Science" (1934), "Politics and Education" (1943), "Alfred Rosenberg and the Myth of the 20th Century".

BAUR (Baur) Hans (19.6.1897, Ampfing, Bavaria - after 1955), Hitler's personal pilot A, SS Gruppenführer and Police Lieutenant General. Member of the 1st World War. For military distinction, he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class Member of the NSDAP (ticket No. 48 113) and CC (ticket No. 171 865). In 1932, on the recommendation of G. Himmler and R. Hess, he became the Führer's personal pilot. In 1933 he was appointed chief pilot of the Fuhrer, and in 1934 he also led the government squadron serving the NSDAP leadership and the imperial government. He enjoyed the location of Hitler, whom he accompanied on all trips. In April-May 1945, during the fighting in Berlin, he was constantly in the Fuhrer's bunker at the Imperial Chancellery. After Hitler's suicide, among others, he tried to break through to the West, but on May 2 he was captured by Soviet troops and taken to Moscow, where he was held in Butyrka prison. On May 31, 1950, by a military tribunal of the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Moscow District, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison camps. On October 8, 1955, among the non-amnestied criminals, he was handed over to the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany and released.

BACH-ZELEWSKI (Wash-Zelewski) Erich Julius Ebergard von der (1.3.1899, Lauenburg, Pomerania - 8.3.1972, Munich-Harlaching), one of the leaders of the SS, Ober-Gruppenführer SS and Police General (9.11.1941), general of the SS troops (1.7.1944). He came from a cadet family of professional military men, until the 30s. was called "Zelewski" and only then could he take the name "Bach". He was educated at the Neustadt, Strasbourg and Konitz gymnasiums. Dec. 1914 volunteered for the 76th Infantry Regiment, promoted to lieutenant on 03/1/1916. B. participant of the 1st World War, company commander. For military distinction he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. After the end of the war in 1918-19 he served in the 10th Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm II", commander of a machine gun company. Left to serve in the Reichswehr, from 1923 he served in the 4th Infantry Regiment. In February 1924, he was dismissed from the army for conducting National Socialist propaganda. He was engaged in agriculture in Düringshof. In app. 1930 joined the NSDAP (ticket number 489 101), in 1931 - SA, 15.2.1931 - in the SS (ticket number 9831); 20/7/1931 received the rank of SS-Sturmführer. From 12/15/1931 commander of the 27th SS standard "Ostmark". In July 1932 he was elected to the Reichstag from Breslau. From 07/12/1932 commander of the 12th (Frankfurt an der Oder), from 12/2/1934 - 7th (Koenigsberg) SS officer. On February 1, 1934, the head of the SS Oberabshnit "North-East" (Koenigsberg), from February 15, 1936 - "South-East" (Breslau). During the Night of the Long Knives, Baron Anton von Hoberg-Buchwald was killed on his orders. After the introduction of the posts of senior leaders of the SS and the police, B.-3.28.6.1938 was appointed by the VRSSP in the South-East (Breslau). He remained in this position until May 20, 1941. In 1940, on the initiative of SS Oberführer Arpad Wiegandt, an inspector of the security police and SD subordinate to him, a concentration camp was established near the city of Auschwitz, which became the largest extermination camp. From 05/01/1941 to 06/21/1944, the highest head of the SS and police in Central Russia (originally headquartered in Mogilev, from 07/24/1943 in Minsk), led operations to combat partisans. From 10/23/1942 to 6/21/1943, authorized by the Reichsfuehrer SS to combat bandit formations in the East. After the destruction of 10/31/1941, 35 thousand people. in Riga said: "There are no more Jews left in Estonia." Organizer of mass executions in Minsk and Mogilev. In 1942, he was in the hospital for a long time, where he was treated for a mental disorder caused by participation in mass executions. 21/7/1943 appointed responsible for the development and implementation of operations; as well as the commander of formations to combat partisans. In 1944-1945 he commanded various SS units, one of the leaders of the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising, where he was entrusted with the leadership of the Bach corps group (in August - November 1944). On September 30, 1944, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Using extremely cruel measures, he forced the command of the uprising on 10/2/1944 to capitulate. In total, during the uprising and from the terror that followed it at the hands of subordinates of B.-3. troops killed about 200 thousand people. From Nov. 1942 commander XIV, from 4 to 10 Feb. 1945 - X SS Army Corps. Feb. - Apr. 1945 commanded a prefabricated corps "Oder". After the end of the war, he was arrested and acted as a witness at the trial of the International Tribunal in Nuremberg. Until 1950 he was imprisoned. On March 31, 1951, he was sentenced by the Munich Denazification Court to 10 years of community service, which actually allowed him to live in peace in his house in Franconia. In 1958 he was arrested again and in 1961 by a German court for participation in the murders during the "Night of the Long Knives" was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. In 1962 he was convicted for the murder of 6 communists in 1933 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in the prison hospital.

Appendix 1

Key Figures

Adolf Gitler(1889-1945) In January 1945, when the Soviet army entered Germany, Hitler left his residence in East Prussia and returned to Berlin, to the Reich Chancellery. In April, he moved underground to an office bomb shelter, a dimly lit bunker with thick, high-grade concrete walls.

In the last months of his life, Hitler's health deteriorated sharply. In February, his vocal cords were operated on, which could not withstand years of screaming. After the operation, Hitler had to keep silent for a whole week.

The Fuhrer refused to leave Berlin. Realizing that the war was really lost, he decided to commit suicide.

Hitler looked much older than his 56 years: he shuffled his feet, hunched over, his left hand was shaking all the time - perhaps he had advanced Parkinson's disease. The Fuhrer's right eye almost completely stopped seeing, and he treated it daily with cocaine drops. Hitler quarreled with many of his associates, in particular with Goering and Himmler, and only Goebbels remained faithful to him to the end.

April 20, 1945 Adolf Hitler celebrated his birthday for the last time. He is 56 years old. He went out into the garden of the Reich Chancellery, where 20 boys from the Hitler Youth were waiting for him, lined up in a row. Laying his shaking hand behind his back, the Fuhrer shook hands with each of them, said a couple of words to them and patted the last, the smallest, on the cheek. He made a short speech thanking the boys for their bravery and wandered back to the bunker. This was Adolf Hitler's last public appearance.

On April 29, Hitler married Eva Braun, with whom he had lived all these years. The wedding ceremony took no more than 10 minutes. Eva Braun was 23 years younger than Hitler, and ordinary Germans did not know anything about her, although Hitler's mistress was not a secret for the Nazi elite. The people, however, should not have known anything about Eva Braun, so that the women of Germany could still adore the Fuhrer.

During the night, Hitler dictated his will to his secretary and appointed a government to represent Germany after his death. Hitler's successor - president, but not the Fuhrer - was Admiral Karl Doenitz.

On April 29, when the Russians were separated from the bunker by 300 meters, Hitler prepared to commit suicide. He ordered the delivery of canisters of gasoline and insisted that his body be burned, because he did not want his corpse to be "an exhibit in the Soviet cabinet of curiosities." And the effectiveness of the cyanide capsules that had just been brought in was tested on Blondie's beloved shepherd dog.

The next day, April 30, Goebbels tried for the last time to convince the Fuhrer to leave Berlin.

At about four o'clock, after saying goodbye to the environment, Hitler and the woman who had recently become his wife retired to his office. Hitler attached to the tunic the Iron Cross of the 1st degree and the badge "For the wound", received in the First World War. A shot sounded. Hitler shot himself in the right temple, Eva Braun swallowed cyanide.

Their bodies, wrapped in blankets, were transferred to the garden of the Reich Chancellery. Artillery rumbled all around, neighboring buildings were on fire. In this situation, Hitler's last wish was fulfilled: 200 liters of gasoline were poured over the corpses, someone threw a match, and the flames engulfed the bodies.

Ernst Rehm(1887–1934) After rising to the rank of captain in World War I, Röhm joined the Freikorps and helped the Weimar Republic maintain order in the tumultuous post-war years.

Röhm met Hitler shortly after the founding of the Nazi Party, retired and was appointed head of the SA, the storm troopers.

After the appointment of Hitler as Reich Chancellor, Rem began to feel that the assault troops were not rewarded for bringing the Nazis to power. Stormtroopers started talking about the "second revolution" led by Rem. These conversations alarmed industrialists and businessmen, whom Hitler managed to charm. Röhm also wanted to link up the army with the SA under his command, which in turn worried the military.

The brutality of the stormtroopers, which Hitler had encouraged in the past, became a hindrance. SA propaganda began to undermine the stability of the country, and Hindenburg threatened to impose martial law if Hitler did not bring the situation under control.

Hitler struck on the night of Saturday to Sunday (June 30-July 1, 1934), the "Night of the Long Knives". Members of the SS broke into a hotel in the village of Bad Wiessee, where stormtroopers had gathered for a weekend of fun, and arrested Röhm and his supporters. The stormtroopers were soon executed, including Rem, who refused to commit suicide and was shot dead.

Paul von Hindenburg(1847–1934) Hindenburg fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and retired for the first time in 1911. In 1914 he was recalled from retirement. It was thanks to Hindenburg that the German army won victories on the Eastern Front during the First World War.

In 1925, Hindenburg was elected president of the Weimar Republic, in 1932 he was re-elected to this post, defeating the Nazi candidate. Despite the growing popularity of the Nazi Party, Hindenburg initially resisted calls to invite Hitler to the coalition government. However, Franz von Papen managed to convince Hindenburg, who gave in and in January 1933 appointed Hitler Chancellor. At the end of his life, Hindenburg's health deteriorated greatly, and he ceased to take an active part in the life of the state.

A month after Hitler's election, the Reichstag building was set on fire, and Hindenburg allowed the chancellor to restrict the operation of the constitution - temporarily, until the internal threat subsided (Hitler never lifted this restriction).

Hindenburg died in August 1934 at the age of 86.

Joseph Goebbels(1897-1945) As a young man, Goebbels flirted with communism, but later became a committed Nazi and kept a personal loyalty to Hitler. Judging by the diaries of Goebbels, although he was a frail, lame-legged man, he possessed a considerable, albeit perverted, intellect. In 1921 he became a doctor of philosophy.

Having come to power, Hitler appointed Goebbels as Minister of Propaganda. Goebbels succeeded in this post - he controlled all the German media.

When the war turned against Germany, Goebbels' loyalty did not diminish at all, and in his addresses to the nation he urged the Germans to fight the enemy even harder.

Goebbels did not want his children to live in post-Nazi Germany. On the day of Hitler's suicide, Goebbels and his wife Magda poisoned six of their children before committing suicide.

Heinrich Himmler(1900–1945) This short man with rimless glasses was a fearsome sight for everyone. After serving in the army during the First World War, Himmler raised chickens for a while, after which he joined the Nazis and took part in the Munich Putsch of 1923. Hitler put him in charge of the SS, and from 1934 Himmler was in charge of the Nazi security agencies. He played a key role in eliminating Hitler's opponents during the Night of the Long Knives.

During the war, Himmler was responsible for coordinating the systematic extermination of Jews and other victims of the Nazi regime. When the war turned against Germany, he tried to negotiate with the Western Allies, urging them to form a united front with Germany against the Soviet Union. Hitler branded Himmler a traitor and stripped him of all titles and positions.

After the surrender of Germany, Himmler disguised himself as a police officer in the hope of avoiding capture. The British arrested him. Without waiting for the trial, Himmler committed suicide by biting through a capsule of poison.

Hermann Göring(1893–1946) In World War I, Göring was a brave fighter pilot. He joined the Nazi Party in 1922 and was wounded a year later during the Munich putsch, and after its failure he took refuge in Austria for four years.

Goering helped Hitler destroy the stormtroopers during the Night of the Long Knives. In 1935 he was appointed commander of the Luftwaffe. The following year, Goering also became the Minister of Economics. Goering's economic talents were doubtful, but it was he who, at the suggestion of Hitler, introduced the "four-year plan" in order to prepare Germany for war as quickly as possible.

Göring's power fluctuated with the successes and failures of the Luftwaffe. The successes of the German Air Force during the Polish and French campaigns in the first year of World War II were replaced by defeats in the Battle of Britain and at Stalingrad. When the Luftwaffe failed to prevent the bombing of German cities, Goering lost his former influence on the Fuhrer.

Göring was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to hang. He asked to replace the gallows with execution in order to die "the death of a soldier", but was refused. Two hours before his execution, he committed suicide by ingesting poison secretly passed to him.

Franz von Papen(1879–1969) In 1932, President Hindenburg appointed Papen Chancellor of the Reich. In the elections in July of the same year, Papen's authority was undermined by the success of the Nazi Party, for which 40% of voters voted. Papen offered Hitler a ministerial portfolio, but the Nazi leader turned down the offer.

The next elections, held in November 1932, cost Papen the seat of Reich Chancellor. But his successor, Schleicher, also failed to secure majority support in the Reichstag, and Papen invited Hitler to become Chancellor. He himself applied for the post of Vice-Chancellor.

Papen suggested this option to Hindenburg, assuring him that Hitler would be easier to rein in in government. Real power, Papin argued, would remain in his hands. Hindenburg eventually agreed, and in January 1933 Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor, with Papen as his deputy.

Papen failed to put his plan into action - he could not curb Hitler. In June 1934, he criticized the cruelty of the assault troops.

Papin was lucky - he was not killed during the "night of long knives." After resigning as vice-chancellor, he accepted an offer to become the German ambassador to Austria, where he played a role in the Anschluss.

Papen was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to eight years in prison, but was released after two years.

Benito Mussolini(1883–1945) Mussolini was a school teacher and journalist. During World War I he was wounded. Mussolini adhered to socialist views and after the war founded the Fascist Party.

In 1922, when Italy was on the brink of civil war between the radical right and the communists, Mussolini demanded that power be handed over to a fascist government. The Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, wanting to avoid conflict, invited Mussolini to Rome to form a government. This event went down in history as the March on Rome.

In 1924, the Fascist Party won the elections, and two years later Mussolini ruled the country as a dictator, "Duce", who crushed all opposition and dissent.

At first, Mussolini opposed German Nazism, especially when Hitler claimed Austria. Mussolini was friends with the head of Austria, Engelbert Dollfuss, and after the assassination of Dollfuss in 1934, he promised Austria his support.

When the international community condemned the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, Mussolini became close to Hitler, and in 1936 the two countries formed an axis.

Italy entered the war only in June 1940, but its military campaigns in Greece and North Africa turned out to be a failure and required German intervention.

In July 1943, the Allies invaded Italy. The king summoned Mussolini, who could no longer hope for Hitler's support, stripped him of his post, arrested him and threw him in prison. Italy went over to the side of the allies.

In mid-September, Mussolini, on Hitler's orders, was released from prison, brought to Germany and then returned to Italy as the puppet head of the fascist republic in Northern Italy.

Towards the end of the war, Mussolini, along with his mistress Clara Petacci and several followers, tried to flee to Switzerland. They were caught by the Italian partisans. Mussolini was in the form of a Luftwaffe pilot, but he was exposed and on April 28, 1945, he was shot along with Clara Petacci on Lake Como. The bodies were taken to Milan, mutilated, desecrated and hung out for public viewing.

Neville Chamberlain(1869–1940) In the 20–30s. Chamberlain was Minister of Health and Chancellor of the Exchequer in a Conservative Party government. In May 1937 he took the place of the resigned Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.

Chamberlain pursued a policy of appeasing Germany - he believed that Hitler's claims were by and large justified. Having put an end to the Czechoslovak crisis through negotiations, Chamberlain was convinced that Hitler was completely satisfied with the solution found, and thanks to their joint efforts, the “epoch of peace” began.

The next crisis, the Polish one, proved how much the British Prime Minister underestimated Hitler when he tried to appease him. Chamberlain was quick to offer Poland guarantees that, in the event of a German attack, Great Britain would come to her aid. He kept his word: when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Great Britain declared war on it.

Chamberlain's government was severely criticized for organizing the Norwegian campaign, and after the capitulation of Norway and Denmark, Chamberlain, unable to form a coalition government, was forced to resign. His successor in May 1940 was Winston Churchill.

Chamberlain was by that time seriously ill. Six months later he died.

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