Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger (14 April 189025 April 1947) was a German official and state secretary in the
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared ...
during the period of
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 ...
. He was the deputy head of the Reich Chancellery under
Hans Lammers
Hans Heinrich Lammers (27 May 1879 – 4 January 1962) was a German jurist and prominent Nazi politician. From 1933 until 1945 he served as Chief of the Reich Chancellery under Adolf Hitler. During the 1948–1949 Ministries Trial, Lammers was ...
, and was present at the
Wannsee Conference as Lammers' representative.
Early life
Kritzinger was born as a son of a pastor in Grünfier, in the Prussian
province of Posen (now
Zielonowo near
Wieleń
Wieleń (german: Filehne) is a town in Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is situated on the river Noteć.
History
Part of Poland since the Middle Ages, Duke Władysław Odonic of Greater Poland brought the Ci ...
, Poland). He received his
Abitur in 1908 and studied law. During 1914–1918 Kritzinger served in the German military, reaching the rank of lieutenant in the reserve. In 1921 he passed the
bar examination
A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction.
Australia
Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...
and then worked as an assistant in the
Reich Ministry of Justice
''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word " realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (l ...
. In 1925–26 he worked in the Prussian Ministry of Commerce and in 1926 moved back to the Ministry of Justice.
Nazi era
Kritzinger 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 ...
in 1938. In February 1938 Kritzinger was transferred to the Reich Chancellery, as head of the Division B with the official designation of a Permanent Secretary. In early 1942 Kritzinger was promoted to State Secretary.
Kritzinger was one of the participants at the
Wannsee Conference, which established the policies of The Final Solution. Following the conference, he attempted to resign his position in the Chancellery, but his resignation was refused on the grounds that "it would be worse without him". It is speculated by historians that he may have openly and vocally opposed the Wannsee protocols, which would have explained his resignation, but no accurate historical record exists to support or confirm such speculation.
Hans Mommsen
Hans Mommsen (5 November 1930 – 5 November 2015) was a German historian, known for his studies in German social history, and for his functionalist interpretation of the Third Reich, especially for arguing that Adolf Hitler was a weak dictator. ...
claims that Kritzinger did not see the Wannsee Conference as shocking or consequential.
Arrest, trial, and death
Kritzinger was eventually arrested, along with most of the other surviving members of the Wannsee Conference, in 1946. During the
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...
, where he was a witness, he publicly declared himself ashamed of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. He was released in April 1946 but then arrested again in December of the same year. Due to health-related reasons he was released again shortly thereafter and died of natural causes after a short period.
Fictional portrayals
Kritzinger was portrayed by Franz Rudnick in the 1984 film
''Wannseekonferenz'', and again by
David Threlfall
David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...
in the 2001
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...