Gerhard Wagner (18 August 1888 – 25 March 1939) was the first Reich Doctors' Leader (''Reichsärzteführer'') in the time 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 ...

Life

Pre-Nazism

Born a

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

's son, he studied medicine in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and served as a doctor at the front in

World War I 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 ...

(1914–1918). Among other things, he was awarded 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 ...

, first class. From 1919, Wagner ran his own medical practice in Munich, while also being a member of two ''

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 ...

'' between 1921 and 1923, ''von Epp'' and ''Oberland''. Just because of his

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

n origins, Wagner stayed on (till 1924) as leader of the Upper Silesia German Community Associations (''Deutschtumsverbände Oberschlesiens'') and was chief of Munich's division of the Loyal Upper Silesians ("Verbände heimattreuer Oberschlesier"). In May 1929, he switched to the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

1930s

Wagner was co-founder and, as of 1932, leader of the

National Socialist German Doctors' League The National Socialist German Doctors' League (''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Ärztebund'', abbreviated as NSDÄB or NSD-Ärztebund) was a division of the Nazi Party with the mission of integrating the German medical profession within the f ...

, and also functioned from 1933 as a member of the Palatinate ''

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 ...

'' until its dissolution in October 1933. At the November parliamentary election, Wagner was elected as a deputy to the '' Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 27 (

Pfalz Pfalz, Pfälzer, or Pfälzisch are German words referring to Palatinate (disambiguation), Palatinate. They may refer to: Places *Pfalz, the Palatinate (region) of Germany **Nordpfalz, the North Palatinate **Vorderpfalz, the Anterior Palatinat ...

). He was reelected in March 1936 from the now enlarged Rheinpfalz–Saar constituency and, at the April 1938 election, switched to represent constituency 3, Berlin East, and held this seat until his death. In 1934, Wagner was appointed to the position of Reich Doctors' Leader. Moreover, he was "The Führer's Commissioner for National Health". By 1933, he had already become leader of the Main Office for National Health, and in 1936 came his appointment as that office's Main Service Leader (''Hauptdienstleiter''). In December 1935, Wagner became leader of the ''Reichsärztekammer'' (Physicians' Chamber). At the 1936

Nuremberg Rally The Nuremberg rallies ( , meaning ) were a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party and held in the German city of Nuremberg from 1923 to 1938. The first nationwide party convention took place in Munich in January 1923, but the ...

, Wagner discussed the

racial laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout the history of antisemitism and Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". During the 1930s and early 1940s, some law ...

. As was typical of Nazi propaganda at this time, this was more in terms of the pure and growing race than the evil of the Jews.Race and Population Policy
A shift in his political career came in 1937 when he was promoted to SA-''

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 ...

''. Meanwhile, he was also commissioner for collegiate issues on

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

's staff. Wagner died of cancer in 1939. His successor was

Leonardo Conti Leonardo Conti (; 24 August 1900 – 6 October 1945) was the Reich Health Leader and an SS-''Obergruppenführer'' in Nazi Germany. He was involved in the planning and execution of Action T4 that murdered hundreds of thousands of adults and chi ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Gerhard 1888 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel Deaths from cancer in Germany German Army personnel of World War I German eugenicists Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936 Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938 Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Nazi Party officials People from Chorzów Physicians from the Province of Silesia Physicians in the Nazi Party Proponents of scientific racism SA-Obergruppenführer

Life

Pre-Nazism

1930s

See also

References

External links