Friedrich Uebelhoer (25 September 1893 – legally declared dead 31 December 1950) was a German

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 ...

politician and an SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in ...

''. 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 ...

, he served as the district president in

Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

and participated in

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

actions against the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

. He went missing in May 1945 and was legally declared dead in December 1950.

Early life

Uebelhoer was born at

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...

in the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

. He was educated through the secondary school level, locally and at Wurzburg. He joined the 14th (Baden) Foot Artillery in Strassburg (today,

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

) in 1914. He served as an officer in the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He fought on the western front, served as a staff officer with the 1st Infantry Division and earned the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, 1st and 2nd class. After the war, he joined the Lettow-Vorbeck ''

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 ...

''. He then studied law and political science for six semesters at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

and the University of Würzburg . He worked in industry for ten years.

Nazi Party career

Uebelhoer joined the

initially in 1922, then again in 1925, following the revocation of the ban placed on it after the

Beer Hall putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and other leaders i ...

. 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 ...

. He became the Party ''

Kreisleiter (; "District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several mu ...

'' in

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

in 1931. He was ''

Oberbürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

'' (mayor) of Naumburg from 1933 to 1939, as well as the ''Landrat'' (district administrator) and the head of the

National Socialist People's Welfare The National Socialist People's Welfare (, NSV) was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was originally established in 1931 as a small Nazi Party-affiliated charity, which was active locally in the city of Berlin. On 3 Ma ...

in Gau Halle-Merseburg. At the March 1933 parliamentary election, he was elected to the '' Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 11 (

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

). He would continue to hold this ''Reichstag'' seat until the fall of the Nazi regime.

SS activity

Uebelhoer held the rank of SS-''

'' in the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'' and received commendation for his involvement in the annexation of the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

and for his part in the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

''.Michal Unger, ''Reassessment of the Image of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski'', Wallstein Verlag, 2004, p. 24 Following the conquest and occupation of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, he served as an inspector in the

Reichsgau Wartheland The Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, also Warthegau) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Second Polish Republic, Polish territory Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed in 1939 during World War ...

. He ordered the construction of the Jewish ghetto in Łódź on 10 December 1939, a measure he described as only temporary, adding that ultimately the Nazis intended to "burn out this plague dump". In March 1940, he was made the ''

Regierungspräsident A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'' (district president) of

. In early October 1941, Uebelhoer drew the ire of

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

when he vehemently protested against the intended deportation of 60,000 German Jews to the already overcrowded ghetto. In a letter to Uebelhoer, Heydrich threatened to draw "appropriate conclusions" if Uebelhoer did not change his stance. Through negotiations with

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

, the number eventually reached was 20,000 Jews and 5,000

Gypsies {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , ...

sent to Łódź, with tens of thousands sent to other ghettos. In November that year, to assuage Uebelhoer's qualms about ghetto arson started by Gypsies, ''

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 ...

advised Uebelhoer to shoot ten Gypsies for every fire that broke out within the ghetto. Those Gypsies who did not perish in the Łódź Ghetto were killed by gas vans in January 1942 in

Chełmno Chełmno (; older ; , formerly also ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional importance ...

. Uebelhoer was dismissed from his post as district president of Łódź in December 1942 after being accused of embezzlement by ''

Reichsstatthalter The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Reich lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany. ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918) The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalter'' ...

Arthur Greiser Arthur Karl Greiser (22 January 1897 – 21 July 1946) was a German Nazi Party politician, SS-''Obergruppenführer'', ''Gauleiter'' and ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) of the German-occupied territory of ''Wartheland''. He was one of the ...

. The charges were ultimately unproven, but the suspicion damaged his reputation and halted his advancement in the SS. In October 1943, he was appointed ''Regierungspräsident'' of the Merseburg district. Uebelhoer disappeared in the latter days of the

and remained unaccounted for. He was legally declared dead in 1950.

References

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uebelhoer, Friedrich 1893 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel German Army personnel of World War I Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Kreisleiter Łódź Ghetto Mayors of places in Saxony-Anhalt Members of the Reichstag 1933 Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936 Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938 Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Nazi Party officials People declared dead in absentia People from Ansbach (district) People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Romani genocide perpetrators SS-Brigadeführer University of Freiburg alumni University of Würzburg alumni