Hermann Bartels (14 April 1900 – 13 January 1989) was a German architect and member of 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 ...

and 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 ...

(SS).

Career as an architect for the Nazi Party

Bartels was personally close to

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 ...

, who put Bartels to work on his pet project of rebuilding castles, and as such the

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 ...

gave Bartels the rank of SS-

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

in June 1942. In this capacity it was Bartels who redesigned the

Wewelsburg Wewelsburg () is a Renaissance castle located in the village of Wewelsburg, which is a district of the town of Büren, Westphalia, in the ''Landkreis'' of Paderborn in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The castle has a triangu ...

castle as both the SS school and host of meetings of the leadership. Bartels was attached to the Wewelsburg Office, headed by Standartenführer Siegfried Albert Taubert, from 1934 to 1937. Bartels designs made liberal use of the Black Sun occult symbol, specifically on the floor of the Marble Hall and as such helped to promote its later use by

neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...

and Nazi mystics. He also redesigned the official residence of

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

after the propaganda minister had declared himself unsatisfied with the original plans designed by

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of W ...

. Bartels also filled the role of ''Gaukulturwart'' (Districy cultural leader) in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

demonstrating a keen interest in

environmental conservation Environmental conservation may refer to: * Environmental protection * Nature conservation {{disambiguation ...

at this post.Frank Uekötter, ''The Green and the Brown: A History of Conservation in Nazi Germany'', Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 75

References

1900 births 1989 deaths 20th-century German architects Architects in the Nazi Party SS-Standartenführer People from Minden People from the Province of Westphalia {{Nazi-stub