Josef Grohé (6 November 1902 – 27 December 1987) 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 ...

official. He was the long-serving ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' of Gau Cologne-Aachen and ''

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official governatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Ger ...

'' for Belgium and Northern France toward the end of 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 ...

Background

Grohé was born the son of a farmer and shopkeeper. He tried to join the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

during 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 ...

in 1918, but was refused for being underage. He attended business school from 1919 to 1921 and worked as a clerk in the hardware industry. Grohé was already active in anti-democratic and racist organizations as an adolescent. He joined the

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

'' Deutschvölkischer Schutz und Trutzbund'', and became a member of the Nazi Party in March 1922. He was co-founder of the Nazi ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in 1922. He worked as a purchasing agent in a factory, and participated in armed resistance and acts of sabotage against the French

occupation of the Ruhr The occupation of the Ruhr () was the period from 11 January 1923 to 25 August 1925 when French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr region of Weimar Republic Germany. The occupation of the heavily industrialized Ruhr district came in respons ...

in 1922 and 1923. He briefly fled to

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 ...

in early 1923 but returned to Cologne in October and resumed his employment. There in early 1924 he co-founded the Völkisch-Social Bloc of Cologne and served for a time as its local business manager.

Nazi career

The Nazi Party had been banned after the abortive

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 ...

of November 1923. When the ban was lifted and the party was re-founded, Grohé immediately rejoined it on 27 February 1925. On 17 July he succeeded

Robert Ley Robert Ley (; 15 February 1890 – 25 October 1945) was a German Nazi politician and head of the German Labour Front during its entire existence, from 1933 to 1945. He also held many other high positions in the Nazi Party, including , and . So ...

as the deputy ''

'' of Gau Southern Rhineland, also serving as Gau business manager. In 1926 he became the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Nazi newspaper, the ''Westdeutscher Beobachter'' (West German Observer). On 17 November 1929 he became a city councilor in Cologne and chairman of the Nazi faction in that body. On 1 June 1931 when the Rhineland Gau was divided in two, he was promoted to ''Gauleiter'' of the newly formed Gau Cologne-Aachen, a post he would retain until April 1945. On 24 April 1932 he was elected to the

Landtag of Prussia The Landtag of Prussia () was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameralism, bicameral legislature consisting of the upper Prussian House of Lords, House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower Prussian ...

and was named to its executive board in May. After the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, Grohé was involved in leading the overthrow of the elected government in the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

. On 12 March 1933, speaking from the balcony of Cologne City Hall, he announced the removal of

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

as '' Oberbürgermeister'' (lord mayor) of Cologne. Grohé was named the Rhine Province

Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

to the '' Reichsrat'', a post he held until its abolition on 14 February 1934. On 14 September 1933, Grohé was made a member of the

Prussian State Council The Prussian State Council ( German: ''Preußischer Staatsrat'') was the second chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Free State of Prussia between 1921 and 1933; the first chamber was the Prussian Landtag (). The members of the State Cou ...

and on 12 November 1933 he was elected to the '' Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 20, Cologne-Aachen. He would continue to hold these seats until the end of the Nazi regime. On 17 November 1934, came his appointment as Prussian Provincial Councilor for Rhine Province. In September 1935, he became a member of the

Academy for German Law The Academy for German Law () was an institute for legal research and reform founded on 26 June 1933 in Nazi Germany. After suspending its operations during the Second World War in August 1944, it was abolished after the fall of the Nazi regime on ...

. A virulent anti-Semite, during speeches in March 1935 Grohé advocated renewed

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

s and intensified attacks on Jews as a means to raise support for the Party among the lower middle classes. He also called for physical attacks on anyone ignoring the boycott and continuing to patronize Jewish businesses. Unlike most all other ''Gauleiters'', Grohé did not belong to the SA or the SS; however, from 30 January 1939 he was promoted to ''

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 ...

'' in the

National Socialist Motor Corps The National Socialist Motor Corps (, NSKK) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that officially existed from May 1931 to 1945. The group was a successor organisation to the older National Socialist Automobile Corps (, NS ...

(''Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrerkorps'' or NSKK). On 10 February 1942, Grohé was named

Reich Defense Commissioner Reich Defense Commissioner (German: ''Reichsverteidigungskommissar'', RVK) was a governmental position created in Nazi Germany at the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939. Charged with overall defense of the territory of the German Reich, th ...

for ''

Wehrkreis The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military dist ...

'' (Military District) VI which comprised his Gau together with Gau Dusseldorf,

Gau Essen The Gau Essen was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the northern parts of the Prussian Rhine Province. Before that, from 1928 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area. History Establi ...

and most of Gau Westphalia-North and Gau Westphalia-South. Although charged with responsibility for civil defense measures, there was little Grohé could do to protect his jurisdiction from Allied air attacks, though he was awarded the

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

first class with Swords for his efforts in assisting the residents of his Gau in the wake of the raids. Operation Millennium on 30–31 March 1942 was the first thousand-bomber air raid conducted by the RAF. It resulted in the deaths of over 450 people in Cologne and approximately 45,000 were left homeless. On 16 November 1942, the jurisdiction of the Reich Defense Commissioners was changed from the ''Wehrkreis'' to the Gau level, and he remained Commissioner for only his Gau. On 18 July 1944, Grohé was made the ''

'' of the newly created ''Reichskommissariat'' of Belgium and Northern France. However, his reign was short, as from September 1944 the territory's liberation by the Allied armies had begun and Grohé effectively could exercise no authority; on 15 December the ''Reichskommissariat'' was formally dissolved. Also in September 1944 Grohé, like all ''Gauleiters'', assumed command of the ''

Volkssturm The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...

'' militia units in his Gau. In early March 1945, Grohé ordered the demolition of five large bridges over the Rhine. On 6 March 1945 he abandoned Cologne, crossing the Rhine via motorboat ahead of advancing US forces. A fanatical follower of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, Grohé continued to resist

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 ...

's plea to ignore the

scorched earth policy A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...

mandated by Hitler's Nero Decree. Finally on 8 April he dissolved his Gau organization and fled toward the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

where he stayed until the end of the war before returning to western Germany. In his diary entry of 3 April 1945,

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 ...

harshly criticized Grohé's actions:

Our ''Gauleiters'' both in the West and the East have acquired a bad habit: having lost their Gau, they defend themselves in long memoranda seeking to prove that they were in no way responsible. For instance there is another one of these exposés, this time from Grohé. It is not in the least convincing. Despite a series of pompous declarations, Grohé has not defended his Gau. He deserted it before the civil population had been removed and now wants to present himself as a great hero.Hugh Trevor-Roper (editor), Final Entries, 1945: The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels, Avon Books, 1978, pp. 374-375,

Post-war life

After surviving a

suicide attempt A suicide attempt is an act in which an individual tries to kill themselves but survives. Mental health professionals discourage describing suicide attempts as "failed" or "unsuccessful", as doing so may imply that a suicide resulting in death is ...

, Grohé worked as a farm laborer under an assumed name in Heringhausen and managed to evade capture until he was arrested by the British occupation authorities on 22 August 1946. Turned over to Belgian authorities on 7 May 1947, he was sent back to Germany on 30 September 1949 without having been prosecuted. On 18 September 1950, he was sentenced to years' imprisonment (

time served In typical criminal law, time served is an informal term that describes the duration of pretrial detention (remand), the time period between when a defendant is arrested and when they are convicted. Time served does not include time served ...

) by a

denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

court in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

for being a part of the political leadership of the Nazi Party. He had known of

the 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 ...

, but the court was not able to prove his involvement in atrocities. After being released from imprisonment, he continued his professional career as a sales representative for German toy manufacturers. Between 1951 and 1953, he was associated with the group of former Nazis known as the

Naumann Circle The Naumann Circle (), also sometimes referred to as the Circle or the Naumann Affair, was an organization of former German adherents of the Nazi Party that was formed in the German Federal Republic (West Germany) several years after the end o ...

, headed by

Werner Naumann Werner Naumann (16 June 1909 – 25 October 1982) was a German civil servant and politician. He was State Secretary in Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda during the Nazi Germany era. He was appointed head of th ...

, which tried to infiltrate the Free Democratic Party of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Grohé remained dedicated to the Nazi cause for the rest of his life and showed no remorse. He died on 27 December 1987.

Sources

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