Friedrich Karl Florian (4 February 1894 – 24 October 1975) was the ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

'' of

Gau Düsseldorf The Gau Düsseldorf was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the Düsseldorf region of the Prussian Rhine Province. Before that, from 1930 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area. Histor ...

throughout its existence in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Early life

The son of a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n railway master, Florian moved in his youth to East Prussia. After graduating from the gymnasium in Stallupönen he became a mining official in Buer in the Prussian Province of Westphalia. In August 1914, he volunteered for military service in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a ' and was assigned to the 1st (1st East Prussian) Grenadiers "Crown Prince" Regiment (Garrison:

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

). He served in this unit until 1916, when he volunteered for the ' and was assigned after training to '' Jagdstaffel 51'' in ''Jagdgeschwader'' Richthofen. Shot down and captured by British troops in May 1918, he spent the remainder of the war as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

and was released from captivity in November 1919. In the postwar years, he resumed his work as a mining official until 1929. From 1920–1922 he was a member of '' Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund'', the largest, most active, and most influential anti-Semitic federation in Germany. Active in the resistance to the French occupation of the Ruhr, he was briefly banished from the area in 1923. He was cofounder of the Westphalia Loyalty Federation and returned to Buer in 1924. Politically, he was a leader in the Ruhr area of the

Völkisch-Social Bloc The Völkisch-Social Bloc ("Völkisch-Sozialer Block" or "Völkisch-Sozialer-Block" or "VSB" or "V-S-B") was a right-wing electoral alliance in post World War I Germany. Its philosophy was loosely aligned with that of the NSDAP (Nazi Party).Extensi ...

and the

National Socialist Freedom Movement The National Socialist Freedom Movement (, NSFB) or National Socialist Freedom Party (, NSFP) was a political party in Weimar Germany created in April 1924 during the aftermath of the Beer Hall Putsch. Adolf Hitler and many Nazi leaders were ...

, both right wing nationalist parties.

Nazi career

Florian joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

on 18 August 1925 (membership number 16,699). He founded the local Party organization in Buer and was its ''

Ortsgruppenleiter ''Ortsgruppenleiter'' (Local Group Leader) was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed between 1930 and 1945. The term first came into being during the German elections of 1930, and was held by the head Nazi of a town or city, or in ...

'' (Local Group Leader) from 1925 to 1927. He also joined the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA) in August 1925 as a ''

Sturmführer ''Sturmführer'' (, "storm leader") was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928. Translated as "storm leader or assault leader", the origins o ...

''. He advanced to ''

Kreisleiter ''Kreisleiter'' (; "District Leader") was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed as a political rank between 1930 and 1945 and as a Nazi Party title from as early as 1928. The position of ''Kreisleiter'' was first formed to provide ...

'' (County Leader) from 1927 to 1929. He concurrently served until 1929 as the only Nazi City Councilor in Gelsenkirchen. On 1 October 1929, Florian was named the ''

Bezirksleiter ''Bezirksleiter'' (District Leader) was a Nazi Party title which was used in the early years of the Party's existence, beginning around 1926. History The position of ''Bezirksleiter'' was originally established around 1926 as the next higher orga ...

'' (District Leader) for ''

Bergisches Land The Bergisches Land (, ''Berg Country'') is a low mountain range region within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains ...

-Niederrhein'', succeeding Fritz Hartl. When this area was upgraded to Gau status on 1 August 1930, Florian was named the first (and only) ''

'' of

. In September 1930 he was elected as a member of the '' Reichstag'' from electoral district 22, Düsseldorf. In these years Florian also founded the publishing company ''Volkischer Verlag'' and the Nazi newspapers ''Wuppertaler Zeitung'' and ''Bergischer Beobachter''. In April 1932, he became a member of the

Landtag of Prussia The Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag) was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Represent ...

and in September 1933 of the

Prussian State Council The Prussian State Council (german: Preußischer Staatsrat) was the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Free State of Prussia between 1920 and 1933. The lower chamber was the Prussian Landtag (''Preußischer Landtag''). Implement ...

. On 25 September 1933 he was promoted to SA-'' Gruppenführer''. Also in 1933 he was made Chairman of the Rhenish Local Parliament and appointed to the Rhenish Provincial ''Landtag''. In 1934 he was made a member of the Prussian Provincial Council for the Rhine Province, and in 1935 was elected to the

Academy for German Law The Academy for German Law (german: Akademie für deutsches Recht) was an institute for legal research and reform founded on 26 June 1933 in Nazi Germany. After suspending its operations during the Second World War in August 1944, it was abolished ...

. In May 1936, he was appointed to the ''Reichsleitung'', the Nazi Party national leadership. On 30 January 1937 he attained the rank of SA-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

''. On 10 November 1938, Florian played an active part in the ''

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

'' pogrom in Düsseldorf, leading SA and

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

in attacking the home of the '' Regierungspräsident'' Carl Christian Schmid whose wife was Jewish. In the city-wide attacks on Jewish homes and businesses, five persons were killed and hundreds were injured or left homeless. On 16 November 1942, Florian was named

Reich Defense Commissioner Reich Defense Commissioner (German: ''Reichsverteidigungskommissar'', RVK) was a governmental position created in Nazi Germany at the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939. Charged with overall defense of the territory of the German Reich, th ...

for his Gau and in October 1944 he was made head of the Düsseldorf ''

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

'' contingent. On 23 March 1945, Florian and two other ''Gauleiters'' from the industrial Ruhr area ( Albert Hoffmann and

Fritz Schlessmann Fritz Schlessmann, born Georg Friedrich Schlessmann (11 March 1899 – 31 March 1964) was a Nazi Deputy ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and served as Acting ''Gauleiter'' for most of the Second World War. He was also a prominent police official and SS ...

) met with ''

Reichsminister Reichsminister (in German singular and plural; 'minister of the realm') was the title of members of the German Government during two historical periods: during the March revolution of 1848/1849 in the German Reich of that period, and in the mode ...

'' of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer. Speer tried to convince them to ignore

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

’s

Nero Decree The Nero Decree (german: Nerobefehl) was issued by Adolf Hitler on 19 March 1945, ordering the destruction of German infrastructure to prevent its use by Allied forces as they penetrated deep within Germany. It was officially titled Decree Con ...

mandating a scorched earth policy ahead of the Allied armies’ advance. A rabid Nazi, Florian alone argued in favor of the policy. He read aloud a proclamation he intended to issue ordering evacuation of the population of Düsseldorf and setting fire to all buildings, leaving the Allies a burned out, deserted city. However, in the end, he did not issue the proclamation and was unable to implement these drastic actions before the Allies captured the city.

Postwar life

Captured by US forces on 17 April 1945 and interned at the Esterwegen concentration camp, Florian made two suicide attempts while in custody, by poison and by jumping out a third floor window. He was charged with ordering the execution of five Düsseldorf citizens who in April 1945 had attempted to surrender the city to the US Army, but he was acquitted in March 1949. Shortly afterward in June 1949, Florian was convicted by the denazification court and was sentenced to six years in prison and a 20,000 ''

Reichsmark The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...

'' fine because of his leadership role in the Nazi Party. Taking into consideration time already served, he was released on 1 May 1951. He then found employment as an industrial representative. He remained a convinced Nazi and maintained contact with former associates from the Nazi era.

Character assessment

During his stay in Düsseldorf, the racialist, right-wing journalist

Lothrop Stoddard Theodore Lothrop Stoddard (June 29, 1883 – May 1, 1950) was an American historian, journalist, political scientist, conspiracy theorist, white supremacist, and white nationalist. Stoddard wrote several books which advocated eugenics and sci ...

described Florian thus: "He was a distinctly sinister-looking type; hard-faced, with a cruel eye and a still crueler mouth. A sadist, if I ever saw one. I can imagine how unpopular he must be among the good-natured, kindly Duesseldorfers."Stoddard, Lothrop (1940),
Into the Darkness
Project Gutenberg Australia, 2003.''

Decorations and awards

*1914

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

Second Class *

Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge (german: Goldenes Parteiabzeichen) was an award authorised by Adolf Hitler in a decree in October 1933. It was a special award given to all Nazi Party members who had, as of 9 November 1933, registered numbers fr ...

, c.1933 *

Honour Chevron for the Old Guard The Honour Chevron for the Old Guard (german: Ehrenwinkel der Alten Kämpfer) was a Nazi Party decoration worn by members of the SS. The silver chevron, which was worn on the upper sleeve on the right arm, was authorised by Adolf Hitler in Febr ...

, February 1934 *

The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...

with Swords, 1934 *

Anschluss Medal The ''Anschluss'' Commemorative Medal () was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the first in a series of Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 1 May 1938, the medal commemorated the annexation of Austria ...

, c.1938 *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal (german: Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938), commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupa ...

, c.1939

Notes

External links

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Picture of Friedrich Karl Florian
* *

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Florian, Friedrich Karl 1894 births 1975 deaths Gauleiters Members of the Academy for German Law Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Military personnel from Essen Nazis convicted of crimes Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians People from the Rhine Province Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Sturmabteilung officers Volkssturm personnel Luftstreitkräfte personnel German Army personnel of World War I Shot-down aviators German prisoners of war in World War I World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom