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Paul Giesler

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Paul Giesler
Giesler in 1943
GauleiterofGau Westphalia-South
In office
9 November 1941 – 26 January 1943
Preceded byJosef Wagner
Succeeded byAlbert Hoffmann
GauleiterofGau Munich-Upper Bavaria
In office
23 June 1942 – 8 May 1945
Preceded byAdolf Wagner
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Ministerpräsidentof Bavaria
In office
2 November 1942 – 28 April 1945
Preceded byLudwig Siebert
Succeeded byFritz Schäffer
Reichsministerof the Interior
In office
30 April 1945 – 2 May 1945
Appointed byAdolf Hitler
PresidentKarl Dönitz
ChancellorJoseph Goebbels
Preceded byHeinrich Himmler
Succeeded byWilhelm Stuckart
Personal details
Born
Paul Heinrich Hermann Giesler

(1895-06-15)15 June 1895
Siegen,Province of Westphalia,Kingdom of Prussia,German Empire
Died8 May 1945(1945-05-08)(aged 49)
Stanggaß[de],Bavaria,Nazi Germany
Cause of deathSuicide
NationalityGerman
Political partyNazi Party
RelativesHermann Giesler(brother)
Alma materDarmstadt University of Applied Sciences
Technische Universität Darmstadt
ProfessionArchitect
Civilian awardsGolden Party Badge
Military service
AllegianceGerman Empire
Nazi Germany
Branch/serviceRoyal Prussian Army
German Army
Years of service1914–1918
1939–1940
RankLeutnantof reserves
Hauptmannof reserves
Unit1st Foot Guards Regiment
2nd Foot Guards Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
Military awardsIron Cross1st and 2nd class
Clasp to the Iron Cross2nd Class
War Merit Cross,1st and 2nd class
Wound Badge

Paul Giesler(15 June 1895 – 8 May 1945) was a GermanNazi Partypolitician andSA-Obergruppenführer.From 1941, he was theGauleiterofWestphalia-South,and he was appointed to the same position for theGau Munich-Upper Bavariain 1942. From 2 November 1942 to 28 April 1945, he was alsoMinisterpräsidentofBavaria.He was responsible for multiple acts of brutality, which included killing opponents of the regime in southern Germany. Giesler was also named in Hitler's Political Testament as Interior Minister, replacingHeinrich Himmler,in the short-livedGoebbels Cabinet.He committed suicide together with his wife in theclosing days of the war in Europe.

Early life[edit]

Paul Giesler was born inSiegen,the son of an architect. His younger brother,Hermann Giesler(1898–1987), was also an architect who, along withAlbert Speer,gained the favor ofAdolf Hitlerin Nazi Germany. Paul attendedVolksschuleandRealgymnasiumin Siegen until 1914. On the outbreak of theFirst World War,he enlisted in theRoyal Prussian Armyand was assigned to apioneerbattalion of the1st Foot Guards Regiment.Attaining the rank ofLeutnantofreserves,he served as a platoon and company commander of aland mineunit. Transferred to the 2nd Guards Regiment in 1918, he was wounded several times and was awarded theIron Cross1st and 2nd class. Discharged from military service at the war's end, he joined the right-wingparamilitaryveterans' organization,Der Stahlhelm.He studied architecture at theDarmstadt University of Applied Sciencesand theTechnische Universität Darmstadtuntil 1921, and became a self-employed architect in Siegen between 1922 and 1933.[1]

SA and political career[edit]

Giesler first joined theNazi Partyin 1922, co-founded theSAin Siegen that same year and became a Party speaker in 1924, when the Party was banned in the aftermath of theBeer Hall Putsch.He re-enrolled on 1 January 1928 (membership number 72,741), became anOrtsgruppenleiter(local group leader) in 1929 and rejoined the SA in January 1931 with the rank of SA-Sturmbannführer.As an early Party member, he was considered anAlter Kämpferand was later awarded theGolden Party Badge.For the next few years, he advanced through the ranks in multiple SA leadership posts, as a battalion leader in SA-Standarte132 inHagenuntil September 1932; the commander ofStandarte130 in Siegen until September 1933; the leader of SA-Brigade68 in Siegen until March 1934; and, lastly, as the commander of SA-GruppeWestphalia with headquarters inDortmund.Throughout this time, Giesler organized and personally participated in brutal attacks on enemies of the Party, includingCommunists,Social Democratsand trade unionists. He instigated and carried out violent riots leading up to and following theNazi seizure of powerin January 1933. On 2 May 1933, his units participated in the attack on and destruction of the Siegen offices of theGeneral German Trade Union Federation,when the Nazis suppressed and outlawed the German labor unions. Giesler was promoted to the rank of SA-Brigadeführeron 20 April 1934.[2]

However, during theNight of the Long Knivesat the end of June 1934, due to being away on holiday, Giesler only narrowly escaped being arrested, and perhaps murdered, a fate that befell many other SA leaders. He was removed from his post as SA commander in Westphalia, and was assigned to a staff position in the SA central command. Brought before theSupreme Party CourtbyJosef Wagner,GauleiterofGau Westphalia-South,on charges of planning an armed rebellion, Giesler was acquitted on the basis of insufficient evidence in April 1935. The next month, he was given command of SA-Brigade63 inOldenburg-Ostfriesland.This was followed in September 1936 by a stint as chief of staff to SA-GruppeHochland with headquarters inMunich.He remained there until June 1938 when, following theAnschluss,he was charged with organizing the SA in the newly-acquiredAustrian territoryand was named leader of the SA-GruppeAlpenland inLinz,a post he would hold until September 1941.[3]

During these years, Giesler also pursued a political career. Although he was defeated in the April 1932 election to thePrussian Landtag,he served a term on the Siegen City Council from April 1933 to April 1934. In November 1933, he was elected as a deputy to theReichstagfrom electoral constituency 18 (Westphalia-South). He would serve until the fall of the Nazi regime, switching to constituency 14 (Weser-Ems) at the March 1936 and April 1938 elections, and returning to the Westphalia-South seat in March 1942.[2]

When theSecond World Warbegan, Giesler volunteered for service with the army and participated in thePolishandFrenchcampaigns. With the rank ofHauptmann,he was an infantry company commander, was wounded in France and was awarded theClasp to the Iron Cross,2nd class.[4]

Gauleiterin Westphalia and Bavaria[edit]

In August 1941, at the instigation ofMartin Bormann,the chief of theParty Chancellery,Giesler returned to duties as a Party administrator. He was assigned to the Party Chancellery at theBrown House,with the rank of DeputyGauleiter,to train for a higher administrative posting. Due to his full-time Party work, he left active service with the SA in September 1941, retaining a reserve position with the SA-GruppeAlpenland. On 9 November 1941, on Bormann's recommendation, Giesler replaced his old adversary Josef Wagner who was removed as theGauleiterof Westphalia-South. At the same time, PrussianMinisterpräsidentHermann Göringappointed him to thePrussian State Council.[5]

On 23 June 1942, Giesler was made ActingGauleiterofMunich-Upper BavariaduringAdolf Wagner's illness. He also replaced Wagner as Acting Minister of the Interior and Minister of Education and Culture. Retaining his position in Westphalia-South, Giesler was in command of twoGaueuntil he turned over the Westphalia position toAlbert Hoffmannon 26 January 1943. AfterLudwig Siebert's death on 1 November 1942, Giesler succeeded him as both ActingMinisterpräsidentand Acting Minister of Finance and Economics ofBavaria.On 16 November 1942, he was appointed theReich Defense Commissionerfor both his Gaue. On 30 January 1943, he was promoted to SA-Obergruppenführer.When Wagner died on 12 April 1944, Giesler was made permanent in all his Party and government posts in Munich. On 25 September 1944, he additionally was made the commander of the Nazi militia forces, theVolkssturm,in his Gau.[6]Giesler, an unquestioning follower of Hitler, ruled Bavaria with ruthless efficiency and almost unlimited power in the last years of the war.[7]

The graves ofHans Scholl,Sophie SchollandChristoph Probst,White Rosestudentresistanceleaders murdered by the Nazis on 22 February 1943

On 13 January 1943, Giesler gave a speech commemorating the 470th anniversary of the founding of theLudwig Maximilian University.In the audience wasSophie Scholl,a member of theWhite Rosestudentresistancemovement. Giesler criticized the male students who had not been called up for military service and said that suitable employment contributing to the war effort would be found for them. He was particularly scornful and insulting to the female students, stating that they should be delivering babies for theFührerinstead of taking up spaces in the university. For those not attractive enough to find a mate, he said, he would assign one of hisadjutantsto undertake this task, guaranteeing a "pleasurable experience". This caused an uproar by the students, many of whom tried to leave the hall, resulting in a fierce scuffle with the police.[8]This was followed by a public anti-Nazi student demonstration on the streets of Munich, the first in Nazi Germany.[9]The speech contributed to the students' decision to produce their sixth and last pamphlet denouncing the Nazi regime on 18 February. After the capture of Sophie and the other White Rose ringleaders, includingHans SchollandChristoph Probst,Giesler advocated the utmost punishment, including public execution.[10]The students were hastily tried and convicted before the President of thePeople's Court,Roland Freisler,on 22 February and were sent to theguillotinethe same day.[11]


Repressive actions towards the end of the Second World War[edit]

As American troops approached Munich, Giesler was reported to be planning the murder of the surviving inmates atDachau concentration campand several of its satellite camps in March 1945, on the authority of SS-ObergruppenführerErnst Kaltenbrunner,Chief of theRSHA.In a 20 November 1945 interrogation of Giesler'sGaustabsamtsleiter,Hubertus "Bertus" Gerdes, by Special Agent Johannes Imhoff of the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), Nürnberg Sub-Regional Office, Gerdes spoke of his role in sabotaging the plans for mass murder. In August 1946, former SS-ObergruppenführerKarl von Eberstein,theSS and Police Leaderin Munich, testified to theInternational Military Tribunalthat he was ordered by Giesler to use his influence with the commandant of Dachau (SS-ObersturmbannführerEduard Weiter) to have 25,000 prisoners shot when the U.S. Army approached. If this couldn't be done, then Giesler, in his capacity as a Reich Defense Commissioner, would order theLuftwaffeto bomb the camp. Eberstein refused to order the shooting of the prisoners and stated that it would be impossible to find anyLuftwaffecommander that would give the order to bomb. Giesler then said he would poison the prisoners. Eberstein claimed he stopped Giesler by obtaining an order fromReichsführer-SSHeinrich Himmlerto simply surrender the camps. Giesler then fired Eberstein for "defeatism" on 20 April, on orders from Bormann.[12][13]

In April 1945, Giesler was appointed Reich Defense Commissioner-South and, in addition to his own Gau, was placed in charge ofGau Swabia,Reichsgau Salzburg,Reichsgau Upper DanubeandReichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg.At this time, he authorized some of the worst of the violence directed against so-called "defeatists" and those seeking to surrender in order to avoid further pointless death and destruction. As the American troops approached Munich on 27 April, an uprising known as theFreiheitsaktion Bayern(Bavarian Freedom Action) broke out, led byHauptmannRupprecht Gerngroßwho seized the radio station and called on troops to lay down their arms and arrest the Nazi leaders, and encouraged citizens to display white flags of surrender. Giesler took the lead in brutally quelling the revolt with help from theGestapoandSSunits. Although Gerngroß and others escaped, some 40 people were killed. In another infamous incident known as thePenzberger Mordnacht(Penzberg Murder Night), citizens ofPenzberg,50 kilometers south of Munich, led by the former Social Democratic mayorHans Rummer[de],revolted to prevent the destruction of the local coal mine, a major employer in the region. Giesler, on the night of 28-29 April, ordered the hanging without trial of 16 men and women, one of whom was pregnant. Having repeatedly demonstrated his fanatical loyalty to the Nazi regime, Giesler was named to replace Himmler as theReichsministerof the Interior inAdolf Hitler's political testamentof 29 April 1945, though he never actually assumed this post.[14]When it was reported to Giesler that three people had been shot in another incident inBurghausenhe retorted: "What, only three?"[15]

Death[edit]

Accounts of Giesler's death vary, but the most widely accepted is that he fled Munich towardBerchtesgadenon 30 April 1945, together with his wife and mother-in-law, to avoid falling captive to American troops. On 2 May, Giesler shot his wife and himself, and his mother-in-law ingested poison. Giesler alone survived and was taken to a military hospital inStanggaß[de]where he succumbed to his wounds on 8 May 1945. A local physician, named Gottschalk, certified Giesler's death on that date, and he was buried in the cemetery in nearby Berchtesgaden on 10 May. His remains were later disinterred and reburied elsewhere.[16]

SA ranks[edit]

SA ranks[1]
Date Rank
15 September 1931 SA-Sturmbannführer
1 July 1932 SA-Standartenführer
15 November 1933 SA-Oberführer
20 April 1934 SA-Brigadeführer
9 November 1937 SA-Gruppenführer
30 January 1943 SA-Obergruppenführer

Awards and decorations[edit]

The following were Giesler's military and civilian awards and decorations:[17]

Portrayal in film[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abMiller & Schulz 2012,p. 232.
  2. ^abMiller & Schulz 2012,pp. 232–233.
  3. ^Miller & Schulz 2012,pp. 233–234.
  4. ^Miller & Schulz 2012,pp. 232, 234.
  5. ^Miller & Schulz 2012,p. 235.
  6. ^Miller & Schulz 2012,pp. 235–236, 239.
  7. ^Bosl, Karl (1983),Bosls Bayerische biographie,pp. 245–255
  8. ^Holzberg, Niklas. "Lycurgus in Leaflets and Lectures: The Weiße Rose and Classics at Munich University, 1941–45".Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics.23(1 (Spring/Summer 2015)): 38.
  9. ^Shirer 1960,p. 1023.
  10. ^Wolfgang Görl (4 May 2020)."Weltkriegsende: Was aus Münchens Nazi-Größen wurde".Süddeutsche Zeitung(in German).Retrieved6 January2024.
  11. ^Miller & Schulz 2012,p. 237.
  12. ^International Military Tribunal, Trial of the Major War Criminals, Day 195
  13. ^Yerger 1997,p. 41.
  14. ^Miller & Schulz 2012,pp. 241–242.
  15. ^Kershaw 2011,p. 344.
  16. ^Miller & Schulz 2012,p. 231.
  17. ^Miller 2015,pp. 491–492.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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