Julian Scherner (September 23, 1895 – April 28, 1945) was a

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 ...

official and a high-ranking member in the SS 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 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served as the SS and Police Leader of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Germany-occupied Poland.

Early life

Julian Scherner was born on September 23, 1895 in the town of

Bagamoyo Bagamoyo, is a historic coastal town founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older (8th century) Swahili settlement, Kaole. It was chosen as the capital of German East Africa by the German colonial administra ...

in German East Africa, where he lived until the age of two. Scherner attended the cadet schools, ''Kadettenanstalt'', Karlsruhe between October 1, 1905 and 1911 and Berlin-Lichterfield between 1911 and 1914. Scherner was enlisted in the ''infantrie'' rgt. 114 between March 15, 1912 and August 10, 1914. During this time, Scherner earned the rank of ''

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. However, ...

'' in April 1914 and received officer rank on August 5, 1914.Emmett, Stuart (May 30, 2017). Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei: Himmler's Wartime Institutions for the Detention of Waffen-SS and Polizei Criminals. Fronthill Media. p. 11928. . In 1914, he joined the ''Reichsheer'' or Imperial army. Scherner served in World War 1 as a ''Zugführer'', ''

Kompanieführer ''Kompanieführer'' ("company leader") is a German paramilitary title that has existed since the First World War. Originally, the title of ''Kompanieführer'' was held by the officer commanding an infantry company (most often a ''Hauptmann'' or ' ...

'', company commander and platoon leader. Scherner was injured by shell splinters and rifle fire in the ankle and head respectively and was hospitalized between 1914-1915. After Scherner was released from the hospital, in 1915, he returned to his military unit but was captured by the French in May 1915. Scherner was awarded the Iron Cross second class and the Wound Badge in black and subsequently discharged from the military on March 30, 1920 with the rank of Oberleutnant.Yerger, Mark (January 1997). Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS.

Schiffer Publishing Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (also known for its imprints Schiffer, Schiffer Craft, Schiffer Military History, Schiffer Kids, REDFeather MBS, Cornell Maritime Press, Tidewater Publishers, Thrums Books, Geared Up Publications ) is a family-owned publi ...

. p. 52. . After retiring from the military in 1920, he joined the ''

Freikorps Oberland The ''Freikorps Oberland'' (also ''Bund Oberland'' or ''Kameradschaft Freikorps und Bund Oberland'') was a voluntary paramilitary organization that, in the early years of the Weimar Republic, fought against Communist and Polish insurgents. It w ...

.'' Following the war, Scherner worked as a bank clerk from 1920 until 1924, then as a shop assistant until 1930 and after that as a partner in a merchant’s business until 1934. Scherner married Rosita S (born May 1, 1899) on May 1, 1924. Scherner and his wife had two children. In 1923, Scherner took part in the Hitler-Ludendorff Putsch and was ultimately injured and arrested following the failure and ensuing chaos.

SS career

Scherner joined the SS on December 28, 1932 and became a salaried SS officer in June 1934. Scherner commanded the SS training camp at Dachau between October 1937 and March 1940. Scherner eventually relocated to the SS Officer School at Bad Tölz. From September 1939 to 11 November 1939 he was regimental commander of the ''SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 11 "Reinhard Heydrich"''. From summer to the winter of 1940, he was commander of the ''8 Totenkopf-Standarte''. As an SS garrison commander of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, between January to September 1941, Scherner supervised preparations for the establishment of a Waffen-SS training camp at Beneschau, Bohemia. On 4 August 1941, Scherner was appointed SS and Police Leader in German-occupied

Early corruption

Scherner was a close acquaintance of

Oberscharführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberscharführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between 1932 and 1945. ''Oberscharführer'' was first used as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions ...

Heinz Klare, meeting with him on numerous occasions. Scherner aided Klare in receiving extended work leave and enabled Klare’s entry into the

Waffen SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from th ...

while also guaranteeing Klare sick leave for a heart problem. Klare joined Scherner’s staff as ordnance officer and on December 15, 1941 became Scherner's personal adjutant. Scherner borrowed money numerous times from Klare personally and from Klare’s expense account, in violation of standing orders, over the course of 1941-1942. Klare and Scherner were condemned for living indecently and for possession of illegal food and spirits. The following investigation resulted in Klare’s arrest for possible involvement in black market dealings. Klare alleged that Scherner owed him money and had embezzled food stuffs and inappropriately used his service vehicle. The investigation yielded little punishment for Scherner. However, Scherner was reprimanded by the Reichsführer,

Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, for his luxurious lifestyle. Himmler gave Scherner a serious warning and then tasked the court with investigating Scherner’s dealings. SS-Obergruppenführer Fredrich- Wilhelm Krüger, an acquaintance of Scherner's since childhood, asserted confidence in Scherner saying " cherneris very companionable and helpful towards everyone. He gets close very quickly to every person, but unfortunately does not possess the ability to recognise '' ic' and comply with the prescribed boundaries that apply to him in his official position towards subordinates." The judge decided Scherner had inappropriately abused his resources as well as helped Klare avoid the draft. The judge further concluded that Scherner had not been a party to military corruption and did not find Scherner's actions worthy of a court punishment. Scherner was sentenced to 14 days of, ''Stubenarrest'', house arrest but this punishment was postponed until after the war and ultimately never imposed.Emmett, Stuart (May 30, 2017). Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei: Himmler's Wartime Institutions for the Detention of Waffen-SS and Polizei Criminals. Fronthill Media. p. 11941-11996. .

Destruction of the Krakow ghetto

Scherner along with Richard Wendler, were supportive of the murder and deporting of Jews as the "solution to the Jewish question". On May 28–29, 1942, Scherner began deportations from Krakow. Police battalions, commanded by Scherner, encircled the ghetto and announced all Jews were to required to register and would be killed if they did not comply. Browning, Christopher (October 15, 2007). ''Every Day Lasts a Year: A Jewish Family's Correspondence from Poland''. Cambridge University Press. p. 729-730 . After the initial deportation, in May 1942, Scherner began an extensive murder campaign against the Jews within his jurisdiction. The murder operation moved through Tarnow, Rzeszow, Debica, Przemysl, Jaroslaw, Jaslo, Krosno, Nowy Sacz, Nowy Targ, Sanok and Miechow.Browning, Christopher (October 15, 2007). ''Every Day Lasts a Year: A Jewish Family's Correspondence from Poland''. Cambridge University Press. p. 744 . Tarnow became the location for numerous mass shootings, the victims of which number approximately 10,000. In June 1942, 6,000 Jews from the Tarnow ghetto including men, women, children and hundreds of orphan children were murdered. Although, the exact date is unclear, the official agreement to build the

Płaszów Płaszów is a suburb of Kraków, Poland, now part of Podgórze district. Formerly a separate village, it became a part of the Greater Kraków in 1911 under the Austrian Partition of Poland as the 21st cadastral district of the city. During World ...

concentration camp was likely in the fall of 1942. Scherner gave orders regarding the construction of Płaszów, appointed the camp officers, was responsible for important camp matters and personally visited the camp. In November 1942, Scherner ordered all employed Jews to be congregated into forced labor camps. In 1943, Scherner gave orders to further isolate the working Jews. This was done as a preventative measure after Jewish rebellions. Scherner was responsible for the deportations to the Bełżec extermination camp, the mass shootings in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

and all 'evacuations' that took place during his time there - including Aktion Krakau. He liquidated

Kraków Ghetto The Kraków Ghetto was one of five major metropolitan Nazi ghettos created by Germany in the new General Government territory during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It was established for the purpose of exploitation, terror, and ...

by deporting its inhabitants to Auschwitz. His position afforded him a great deal of authority in many areas, as the title of SS and Police Leader was conferred to high-ranking Nazi Party members, reporting directly to Himmler's deputy. Like

Amon Göth Amon Leopold Göth (; alternative spelling ''Goeth''; 11 December 1908 – 13 September 1946) was an Austrian SS functionary and war criminal. He served as the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in Płaszów in Germa ...

, Scherner was far too interested in the confiscated goods from the Płaszów camp. Scherner was transferred to Dachau in April 1944 and appeared before an SS Court (the dreaded ''

Hauptamt SS-Gericht The SS Court Main Office (german: Hauptamt SS-Gericht) - one of the 12 SS main departments - was the legal department of the SS in Nazi Germany. It was responsible for formulating the laws and codes for the SS and various other groups of the poli ...

'') on 16 October 1944. As a result, Scherner was demoted from SS-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

der Reserve'' in the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

to SS-''

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

der Reserve'' and transferred to the

Dirlewanger Brigade , image = File:Dirlewanger Crossed Grenades symbol.svg , image_size = 180 , caption = Symbol of the Division , dates = 1940–45 , country ...

(formally the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS) under SS-''Oberführer'' Dr.

Oskar Dirlewanger Oskar Paul Dirlewanger (26 September 1895 – ) was a German military officer ('' SS-Oberführer'') who served as the founder and commander of the Nazi SS penal unit "Dirlewanger" during World War II. Serving in Poland and in Belarus, his nam ...

. He was found dead shortly before the war ended in a wooded area near

Niepołomice Niepołomice (pronounced ; ) is a town in southern Poland, within the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999). It is situated on the Vistula River, on the verge of the large virgin Niepołomice Forest. There is a 14th-century hunting castle ...

in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, under unknown circumstances.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherner, Julian 1895 births 1945 deaths People from Bagamoyo District Tanzanian people of German descent Nazi Party politicians Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Nazi Party officials SS and Police Leaders SS-Oberführer Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Waffen-SS personnel German Army personnel of World War I German people in German East Africa