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Friedrich Alpers (25 March 1901 – 3 September 1944) was a German
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
politician, a ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' officer and an SS-''
Obergruppenführer (, ) 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 commissioned SS rank after ...
''. He was also a Minister of the
Free State of Brunswick The Free State of Brunswick () was a Administrative divisions of Weimar Germany, state of the German Reich in the time of the Weimar Republic. It was formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick in the course of the German revolution of ...
, and ''Generalforstmeister'' (General Forest Master) in the government of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. Alpers was responsible for numerous
political crimes In criminology, a political crime or political offence is an offence that prejudices the interests of the state or its government. States may criminalise any behaviour perceived as a threat, real or imagined, to the state's survival, including ...
in Brunswick. He died during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, most likely by suicide.


Early life

Born the son of a Sonnenberg ''
Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' () generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primar ...
'' teacher in 1901, Alpers went to school in that town and the '' Gymnasium'' in
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
until 1919. He performed military service with the ''
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'' from May 1919 until March 1920 as a volunteer with the ''
Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...
'' ''"Landesjäger"'', headed by General Georg Maercker. He then studied
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
and political science at
Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...
, the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
and the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...
, and passed his preliminary law exams in 1923. He then was employed as a salesman with
Grotrian-Steinweg Grotrian-Steinweg, known as Grotrian in the US, was a German manufacturer of prestige pianos. The company is based in Braunschweig, Germany, commonly known as Brunswick in English. Grotrian-Steinweg made premium grand pianos and upright pianos. ...
in Braunschweig and with shipping businesses in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
through the end of 1924. He returned to Germany and his legal studies through 1928, qualifying as an assessor in the spring of 1929 and went into practice as a lawyer in Braunschweig through May 1933.


SS and Nazi political career

On 1 June 1929, Alpers joined the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
(membership number 132,812). As an early Party member, he later would be awarded the
Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge () 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 from 1 to 100,000 (issued on 1 Oc ...
. On 1 May 1930, he joined the ''
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...
'' (SA), the Nazi Party paramilitary organization, becoming the SA leader in Braunschweig with the rank of SA-'' Sturmführer''. At the 14 September 1930 Brunswick state election, he was elected to the Brunswick ''
Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...
'' as a Nazi Party deputy. On 1 March 1931, he transferred to the SS (membership number 6,427) and became an SS-''Sturmführer'' in SS-''
Standarte In Nazi Germany, the ''Standarte'' (pl. ''Standarten'') was a paramilitary unit of Nazi Party (NSDAP), ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), NSKK, NSFK, and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). Translated literally as "Regimental standard", the name refers to the flag pa ...
'' 12, headquartered in Braunschweig. From 8 October 1932 to 3 May 1933, he served as the first commander of SS-''Standarte'' 49, also in Braunschweig. After the
Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...
at the national level, Alpers was active in the persecution of political opponents during the ''
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all ...
'' (coordination) process of taking over the German states. In March 1933, he was made the chief of the ''
Hilfspolizei The ''Hilfspolizei'' (''HiPo'' or ''Hipo''; meaning "auxiliary police") was a short-lived auxiliary police force in Nazi Germany in 1933. The term was later semi-officially used for various auxiliary organizations subordinated to the ''Ordnungsp ...
'' (Auxiliary Police) in Brunswick. This force was directly answerable to '' Ministerpräsident'' Dietrich Klagges and consisted of SA, SS and '' Der Stahlhelm'' men. On 11 March, Alpers ordered his SS men to break into two Jewish-owned warehouses disguised as robbers and vandalize the properties, and then in a public address he cast the blame on the
Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
. On 4 July 1933, together with Brunswick Police President Friedrich Jeckeln, Alpers was involved in the Rieseberg Murders of eleven Communists and labor organizers in Rieseberg (today, part of ( Königslutter), about east of Braunschweig. Alpers was temporarily suspended from the SS following complaints of excessive violence made against him during the takeover of Brunswick. He was later briefly transferred to a staff position with the SS-''Oberabschnitt'' (SS-Main District) ''Nord'' based in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
until 15 September when he returned to Braunschweig on the staff of SS-''Oberabschnitt Nordwest'' (renamed SS-''Oberabschnitt Mitte,''1 April 1936), commanded by Jeckeln. In November 1937, Alpers was assigned to the personal staff of ''
Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest Uniforms and insignia of the Schut ...
''
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
, and he became a member of the ''
Lebensborn ''Lebensborn e.V.'' (literally: "Fount of Life") was a secret, SS-initiated, state-registered association in Nazi Germany with the stated goal of increasing the number of children born who met the Nazi standards of "racially pure" and "heal ...
'' Society that year. During these years, Alpers also advanced his political career, becoming Finance Minister and Justice Minister of Brunswick on 8 May 1933 in the Klagges cabinet. He left the Justice portfolio at the end of 1934 when the Reich assumed the administration of all state justice ministries, but remained at the head of Finance until the end of October 1937. In 1934 he also was named the ''Gaujägermeister'' (District Hunt Master) of Brunswick and, on 1 November 1937, after leaving the Finance Ministry, he became the State Minister for Forestry and Hunting in the Brunswick state government. Also on 1 November 1937, at the Reich level, he was named State Secretary and ''Generalforstmeister'' (General Forest Master) in the Reich Forestry Office, as well as the permanent representative of
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
, who headed the Office as ''Reichsforstmeister''. He became Göring's protégé, and was named by him to the
Prussian State Council The Prussian State Council ( German: ''Preußischer Staatsrat'') was the second chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Free State of Prussia between 1921 and 1933; the first chamber was the Prussian Landtag (). The members of the State Cou ...
. He was also a member of ''Generalrat'' (General Council) of the Four Year Plan, also headed by Göring. In June 1938, he became the leader of the Reich Forestry Association and on 27 November was made the leader of the forestry officials professional group in the '' Reichsbund der Deutschen Beamten'' (Reich Federation of German Civil Servants). On 11 May 1939, he became vice-president of the International Forest Center in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
.


Military and wartime service

In January 1937, Alpers entered military service with the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' reserve. He trained as an aerial observer and was assigned to a long range reconnaissance unit in Braunschweig. On the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he served with Reconnaissance Group 22 during the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
and later in the western campaign. In his capacity as a State Secretary, Alpers was a participant in a meeting of the Economic Leadership Staff East on 2 May 1941 in Berlin. This meeting developed the
Hunger Plan The Hunger Plan () was a partially implemented plan developed by Nazi Germany, Nazi bureaucrats during World War II to seize food from the Soviet Union and give it to German soldiers and civilians. The plan entailed the genocide by Starvation (cri ...
that envisioned mass starvation in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
as a result of confiscation of foodstuffs to support the planned German invasion. Following the launch of
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
, Alpers again served with Reconnaissance Group 22 on the eastern front from June 1941 to January 1942. From January to October 1942, he commanded Long Range Reconnaissance Group 4 in Nikolajew (today,
Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...
). During his years of service with the ''Luftwaffe'', he advanced in rank from ''
Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...
'' to ''
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
'' by June 1942. Alpers was also given police duties with the auxiliary urban and rural police forces (''Stadt- und Landwacht'') that were established by Himmler. Alpers transferred in March 1944 to a paratroop (''
Fallschirmjäger The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-comman ...
'') regiment in the 3rd Parachute Division posted in
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. After the
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
invasion on 6 June, it moved to
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
and was engaged in heavy fighting on the western front. Alpers became the regimental commander on 21 August.


Death

Badly wounded in battle near
Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...
, he died on 3 September 1944 in Quévy after being captured by Allied troops. There is some question about the manner of his death, with most sources indicating that he committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
though another indicates he may have been shot.


SS and ''Luftwaffe'' ranks


Awards

*
German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...
in Gold on 9 April 1942 as ''
Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...
'' in the 3.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 121 *
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
on 14 October 1942 as
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
and commander of Fernaufklärungs-Gruppe 4 *
Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge () 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 from 1 to 100,000 (issued on 1 Oc ...
on 30 January 1943


See also

* List SS-Obergruppenführer


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External sites


Brief Biography of Friedrich Alpers

Forestry of the Third Reich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpers, Friedrich 1901 births 1944 suicides 1944 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel Burials at Lommel German war cemetery Fallschirmjäger of World War II German mass murderers German military personnel who died by suicide Heidelberg University alumni Holocaust perpetrators in Russia Holocaust perpetrators in Ukraine Lawyers in the Nazi Party Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Luftwaffe personnel Members of the Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany) Military personnel from Lower Saxony Nazis who died by suicide in prison custody People from Peine (district) People from the Duchy of Brunswick Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichswehr personnel SA-Sturmführer SS-Obergruppenführer Suicides by firearm in Belgium University of Greifswald alumni