Friedrich "Fritz" Görnnert (18 March 1907 – 1 May 1984) was a German engineer who, during

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 ...

, was a personal

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to ''

Reichsmarschall (; ) was an honorary military rank, specially created for Hermann Göring during World War II, and the highest rank in the . It was senior to the rank of (, equivalent to field marshal, which was previously the highest rank in the ), but ...

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 ...

from January 1937 until Göring's capture in May 1945. He also was a civil servant in the Reich Aviation Ministry with the rank of ''Ministerialdirigent'' and an SA-''

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 ...

'' in the Nazi Party

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

organization, 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).

Early life and education

Görnnert was born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

in 1907. After attending the local '' Gymnasium'' and obtaining his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'', he studied mathematics and sciences 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 ...

from 1927 to 1928, and mechanical engineering and aircraft-construction at the Technical College of Karlsruhe (today,

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; ) is both a German public research university in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, and a research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 when the University of Karlsruhe (), founde ...

) from 1928 to 1933. He was active in the

National Socialist German Students' League The National Socialist German Students' Union ( German: ''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund'', abbreviated NSDStB) was founded in 1926 as a division of the Nazi Party with the mission of integrating University-level education and ...

and was awarded a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

from Karlsruhe in 1939.Rüdiger Hachtmann: Wissenschaftsmanagement im "Dritten Reich", Band 2, Wallstein-Verl., Göttingen 2007, p. 867 . He was an assistant to Professor Töpfer, who held the chair of aircraft construction at Karlsruhe.

Nazi Party career

Görnnert 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 ...

in 1931 while still a student (membership number 411,588). He joined the ''

'' (SA) in 1933, eventually attaining the rank of SA-''

''. After his studies, he worked as an instructor at the SA-''Reichsführerschule'' (SA Reich Leadership School).Helmut Maier: ''Forschung als Waffe: Rüstungsforschung in der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft und das Kaiser-Wilhelm-institut für Metallforschung 1900–1945/48'' (Band 16, Teile 1–2), Wallstein, 2007, p. 729f. He entered the Reich Aviation Ministry in January 1937, where he became a personal

to ''Reichsminister''

. 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 joined 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 ...

'' on 1 April 1940 where he attained the rank of ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

''. At that time, he also was named as a ''Ministerialrat'' (ministerial councilor) in the ministry, advancing to ''Ministerialdirigent'' (ministerial conductor) on 1 January 1944.Ministerialdirigent Dr.Ing. Friedrich Görnnert
i

/ref> He was made an honorary citizen of the Karlsruhe Technical University in 1941.Ernst Klee: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945, Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt-am-Main, 2007, p. 191, . Toward the end of the war, with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

approaching Göring's

Carinhall Carinhall was the country residence of Hermann Göring, built in the 1930s on a large hunting estate north-east of Berlin in the Schorfheide Forest, in the south of Brandenburg, between the lakes of Großdöllner See and Wuckersee. History Name ...

country estate northeast of

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 ...

, Görnnert was placed in charge of evacuating much of Göring's looted artworks aboard a special train headed to

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...

but which was diverted to , Göring's residence in

Neuhaus an der Pegnitz Neuhaus an der Pegnitz is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Nürnberger Land in Bavaria in Germany. References

Nürnberger Land {{NürnbergerLand-geo-stub ...

near

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

.Kenneth D. Alford: Nazi Plunder: Great Treasure Stories Of World War II. DaCapo Press, 2003, pp. 29–30, .

Post-war life

At the end of the war in Europe, Görnnert was captured by American forces in May 1945. He was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

but was not charged with

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

. He submitted an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...

in defense of

Viktor Brack Viktor Hermann Brack (9 November 1904 – 2 June 1948) was a member of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) and a convicted Nazi war criminal and one of the prominent organisers of the involuntary euthanasia programme Aktion T4; this Nazi initiative result ...

, who was tried and convicted of war crimes and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

in the Doctors Trial at Nuremberg.''Der Nürnberger Ärzteprozeß 1946/47. Wortprotokolle, Anklage- und Verteidigungsmaterial, Quellen zum Umfeld. Erschließungsband zur Mikrofiche-Edition''. Im Auftrag der Hamburger Stiftung Sozialgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Deutsche Ausgabe, Mikrofiche-Edition, München 2000, S. 97 After his release from confinement in 1947, Görnnert returned to live in Karlsruhe where he died in 1984.

References

External links

Ministerialdirigent Dr.Ing. Friedrich Görnnert
i

Photo of the SA Honor Dagger presented to Fritz Görnnert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gornnert, Fritz 1907 births 1984 deaths Hermann Göring Engineers from Karlsruhe German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Heidelberg University alumni Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni Luftwaffe personnel of World War II Nazi Party members SA-Brigadeführer Witnesses to the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg