Kurt Gildisch (2 March 1904 – 3 March 1956) was the third commander 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 ...

's personal bodyguard ('' SS-Begleitkommando des Führers''), which he took command of on 11 April 1933. He was a trained teacher, who had failed to find a classroom job and thereafter joined the

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

police force. Like his successor

Bruno Gesche Bruno Gesche (5 November 1905 – 7 August 1982)Registry Office Hannover: Death Certificate 5188/1982. The published literature erroneously often states his year of death to be 1980 (see e.g. Rochus Misch: ''Der letzte Zeuge. Ich war Hitlers Tele ...

, he was sacked for his

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

affiliations, and joined 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) in 1931. Later that year he transferred to the SS. During

World War II 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 ...

, Gildisch was wounded and fell into

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

captivity during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

. He was released in August 1946. In May 1953, he was convicted in the murder of Dr.

Erich Klausener Erich Klausener (25 January 1885 – 30 June 1934) was a German Roman Catholic, Catholic politician and Catholic martyr in the "Night of the Long Knives", a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934, when the Nazi regime ...

, head of ''Katholische Aktion'' (Catholic Action) group, during the "

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...

" in 1934. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and died in 1956.

Early life

Kurt Gildisch was born in Potrempschen (now in Ozyorsky District) in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

, the fourth child of Paul Gildisch and his wife Marie (''nee'' Riel). In his childhood Kurt Gildisch attended primary school in the village of Potrempschen (23 km south west of

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (; German language, German: Insterburg) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrap ...

). Subsequently, he was trained as a school teacher. He undertook the schoolteachers test (''Lehrerprüfung'') in 1924. As he found no opportunities in the teaching profession, he applied for and joined the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. In October 1925 Gildisch was transferred to

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 ...

. He was suspended from the police force in 1930 for involvement in Nazi Party activities. He was later dismissed from the police force on 10 March 1931 because of his ties to 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 ...

SS career

He joined the SA on 1 April 1931 and then transferred to the SS on 29 September 1931. On 29 February 1932,

chose eight from a prospective twelve SS men presented by

Sepp Dietrich Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician, general and war criminal in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) during the Nazi era. Despite having no formal staff officer training, Dietrich was, along with Paul Hausser, t ...

to serve as his personal bodyguard, the '' SS-Begleitkommando des Führers''. One of the handpicked men was Gildisch. He was viewed with mistrust and dislike by ''

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 ...

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 ...

. While nominally under Himmler's control, Gildisch and other close comrades of the Führer took their orders direct from Hitler, much to Himmler's frustration. Gildisch had a heavy drinking problem, which within months of his assuming command of the ''SS–Begleitkommando'' from Willy Herzberger, got the better of him. On 15 June 1934, Himmler had Gildisch removed from his post because of his heavy drinking habits, and replaced by

as the commander of the ''SS-Begleitkommando''. Hitler did not interfere, but this was not the end of Gildisch's problems. Despite the warning and demotion, Gildisch continued to drink heavily and this led to his expulsion from both the SS and the Nazi Party in 1936. Prior to that, he had been a significant participant in the

, which took place from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Gildisch had been ordered by

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

to Dr.

's office to shoot him. Klausener had been a transportation official in the Prussian Ministry and head of the ''Katholische Aktion'' ("Catholic Action") group. After the killing on 30 June, Gildisch was promoted in rank to SS-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to Major (rank), major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, and the National Socialist Flyers Corps, NSFK ...

''.

World War II

After the war in Europe began, Gildisch joined the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

. He participated in a leadership course at the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz and on 20 April 1941, he was appointed ''

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of '' Sturmführer'', which had existed since the founding of the SA in 192 ...

der

''. From 1942 Gildisch actively fought on the Eastern Front where he "distinguished himself" in combat. In 1944 Gildisch was attached to the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. In August 1944 Gildisch was wounded on the Eastern Front. On 2 May 1945 Gildisch was wounded again and taken prisoner by Soviet

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 ...

troops at the end of the

Post-war period

He was released after the war in August 1946. Upon his return from captivity Gildisch had his right leg amputated and replaced by a prosthesis. Gildisch was for some time incapable of work and due to his personal

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

politics he could seek only limited work options. Kurt Gildisch finally found work after retraining as a bookbinder in an Evangelical-Lutheran maintained company that employed disabled people. In 1949 Gildisch was arrested. After a case at the Berlin court, he was convicted on 18 May 1953 of the murder of Dr.

during the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for

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 ...

. Kurt Gildisch died in 1956 of incurable liver disease in a Wilmersdorfer private hospital after the criminal sentence was suspended due to his poor health and lack of available medical treatment in prison.

SS career summary

* 1 July 1931: SS-''

Scharführer ''Scharführer'' (, ) was a title or rank used in early 20th century German military terminology. In German, ''Schar'' was one term for the smallest sub-unit, equivalent to (for example) a "troop", "squad", or " section". The word ''führer'' ...

'' * 1 October 1931: SS-''

Truppführer ''Truppführer'' (, "troop leader") was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA). Translated as "Troop Leader", the rank of ''Truppführer'' evolved from early '' Freikorps'' titles ...

'' * 1 July 1933: SS-''

Sturmführer ''Sturmführer'' (, "storm leader") was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928. Translated as "storm leader or assault leader", the origins o ...

'' * 1 September 1933: SS-''

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...

'' * 9 November 1933: SS-''

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

'' * July 1934: SS-''

'' * 1936: Expulsion from the SS * 1939: Entry into

* 1941: ''SS-

Oberscharführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberscharführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between 1932 and 1945. ''Oberscharführer'' was first used as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions ...

der Waffen-SS'' * 20 April 1941: ''SS-

der Waffen-SS''

Notes

References

* * Kempner, Robert M. W. ''SS im Kreuzverhör'', München 1964, S. 256ff. (Urteil des Schwugerichts Berlin in Auszügen) * * Hsi-Huey Liang: ''Die Berliner Polizei in der Weimarer Republik'', 1977, p. 185. * ''Verfahrensakten im Archiv des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte'', Sign. Gb 06.12. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gildisch, Kurt 1904 births 1956 deaths People from Ozyorsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast Military personnel from East Prussia SS-Sturmbannführer Waffen-SS personnel German amputees German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German people convicted of murder German people convicted of crimes against humanity Nazi assassins Nazis convicted of crimes People convicted of murder by Germany Perpetrators of the Night of the Long Knives Deaths from liver disease