Gustav Hermann Schmischke (born 19 December 1883 - death date unknown) was the

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 ...

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to ''Reichsleiter'' and to th ...

'' of Gau Anhalt and, later, Gau Anhalt-North Saxony Province (''Gau Anhalt-Provinz Sachsen Nord'').

Early life

Schmischke was born in Reichertswalde,

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...

(today the village of Markowo, Ostróda County,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

). He attended ''

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 primary ...

'' and '' gymnasium'' through 1903. He then studied at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

, earning a degree in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

in 1910. In 1913, he went into private practice as a general practitioner. In 1924 he was elected to the ''

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 in non- ...

'' of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, serving until 1928.

Nazi Party career

On 6 July 1925 Schmischke joined the

(membership number 9,355) and on 17 July 1925 he was entrusted with the leadership of Gau Anhalt, replacing Dr. Tesch of

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeburg ...

as ''

''. He worked at strengthening the internal cohesion of the Party and building a more efficient organization, and succeeded in forming several new local branches.Hitler's Voice: The Völkischer Beobachter, 1920-1933, Volume I, Organisation & Development of the Nazi Party, p.200
/ref> On 1 September 1926, Schmischke's jurisdiction was enlarged by a merger with the two neighboring Gaue of Magdeburg and Elbe-Havel. The new district was named Gau Anhalt-North Saxony Province. However, after differences developed between Schmischke and the ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) in

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Ro� ...

, he submitted his resignation on 28 February 1927. This was approved on 1 April 1927 and he was succeeded by his Deputy ''Gauleiter'',

Wilhelm Friedrich Loeper Wilhelm Friedrich Loeper (13 October 1883 – 23 October 1935) was a German Nazi politician. He served as the ''Gauleiter'' in the Gau of Magdeburg-Anhalt and was the '' Reichsstatthalter'' of the Free States of Anhalt and Brunswick Military ...

. Schmischke subsequently served as the Gau Representative for Population and Racial Policy. In 1935 he became the department head in the Party's Office of Public Health in Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt. In November 1941 he was named ''Gaugehundsheitsführer'' (Gau Health Leader). Schmischke was a recipient of the

Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge (german: Goldenes Parteiabzeichen) 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 fr ...

. Nothing further is known of his subsequent life.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmischke, Gustav Hermann 1883 births Year of death unknown Gauleiters German general practitioners Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians People from East Prussia Physicians in the Nazi Party