Kurt Melcher (8 July 1881 – 14 October 1970) was a German lawyer and politician who served as the police chief of

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

and

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 ...

between 1919 and 1933. He was also briefly the ''

Oberpräsident The ' (Supreme President) was the highest administrative official in the Prussian provinces. History The Oberpräsident of a Prussian province was the supreme representative of the Prussian crown, until its downfall in 1918, in the province. In ...

'' of the Prussian

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

, and served as the Trustee of Labour for public service from 1935 to 1945.

Early life

Melcher was born in Barop (since 1929, a part of

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

), the son of a mine director, and graduated from the Gymnasium there in 1899. He studied law at

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

and

Kiel University Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...

, and was a member of the

student corps Corps (or Korps; "''das ~''" (''Grammatical gender, n''), (''sg.''), (''pl.'')) are the oldest still-existing kind of ''Studentenverbindung'', Germany's traditional Corporation (university), university corporations; their roots date back to the ...

''Suevia Tübingen''. He obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in law, passed his '' Referendar'' examination and began a legal clerkship at the higher regional court in

Hamm Hamm may refer to: Places ;Germany: * Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia, a city north-east of Dortmund * Hamm (Sieg), a municipality in the eponymous ''Verbandsgemeinde'' in the district of Altenkirchen, Rhineland-Palatinate * Hamm, Bitburg-Prüm, part ...

in 1902. He performed mandatory military service with the Royal Prussian Army as a

one-year volunteer A one-year volunteer, short EF (German language, de: ''Einjährig-Freiwilliger''), was, in a number of national armed forces, a Conscription, conscript who agreed to pay his own costs for the procurement of equipment, food and clothing, in return ...

from October 1902 with the 7th (Rhenish)

Uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

Regiment, based in

Sankt Johann (Saarbrücken) Sankt Johann () is part of the city of Saarbrücken in Saarland, Germany. It lies on the right bank of the Saar (river), Saar, opposite historic Saarbrücken, and is northeast of Metz, France. Sankt Johann got its name from a chapel erected there ...

. Following completion of his '' Assessor'' examination in February 1907, he was employed as a lawyer at the coal and smelting works in

Hamborn Hamborn is a district of the city of Duisburg, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Hamborn has a population of 71,528 an area of 20.84 km2. Since 1 January 1975, has been one of seven districts or boroughs (Stadtbezirk) of Duisburg. History ...

, at the

Ilseder Hütte The Ilseder Hütte is a former ironworks in Ilsede ( district of Peine) in Lower Saxony, Germany History Funded by the bank Ephraim Meyer & Sohn. Carl Hostmann founded an Ironworks based on supposed both coal- and orefields in this area. ...

ironworks in Ilsede and at its

rolling mill In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness, to make the thickness uniform, and/or to impart a desired mechanical property. The concept is simi ...

Peine Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, northeast of Hildesheim, and east of Hanover ...

. In January 1910, Melcher was made a magistrate in Herne. He then went to work for the government office in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

on 16 August 1912, becoming a government administrative lawyer in March 1913 and attaining the rank of ''Regierungsrat'' (Government Councilor) on 1 December 1915. He returned to military service in the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

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 ...

. He served as a ''

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

'' of reserves and commander of the ''

Feldgendarmerie The term ''Feldgendarmerie'' (; ) refers to military police units of the armies of the Kingdom of Saxony (from 1810), the German Empire and Nazi Germany up to the end of World War II in Europe. Early history (1810-1918) From 1810 to 1812 King ...

'' of the VII

Army Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

, earning 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 and second class.

Police and political career

Discharged from the service at the end of the war, Melcher became Police President of the city of

on 29 September 1919. During 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 ...

, he was temporarily expelled from the area between 1923 and 1925 by the occupation authorities. Resuming his post after the end of the occupation, he continued to serve as head of the police until 20 July 1932. On that date, the takeover of the Prussian state government by the Reich under Reich Chancellor

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and army officer. A national conservative, he served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as Vice-Chancell ...

took place. Franz Bracht, the ''

Oberbürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

'' of Essen, was named Prussian Commissioner for the Interior and he installed Melcher as Police President of

, succeeding the

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

Albert Grzesinski Albert Carl Grzesinski (28 July 1879 – 12 January 1948) was a German SPD politician and Minister of the Interior of Prussia from 1926 to 1930. Biography Grzesinski was born Albert Lehmann in Treptow an der Tollense, Germany, the illegitimate ...

. In December 1932, Melcher announced a crackdown on the city's nightlife, in particular, dance halls and

nightclubs A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and ...

catering to homosexuals. This resulted in the closure of dozens of establishments, including the famed Eldorado. However, soon 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 ...

on 30 January 1933, Melcher, who was a member of the

German People's Party The German People's Party (German: , DVP) was a conservative-liberal political party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. Along with the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), ...

, was replaced on 15 February 1933 by 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 ...

member Magnus von Levetzow. On 29 May 1933, Melcher received the post of ''

'' of the Prussian

and, on 13 September 1933, he was named to 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 ...

by Prussian Minister president

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

. However, on 29 September 1933, he was replaced as ''Oberpräsident'' by Curt von Ulrich but retained his seat on the State Council until the fall of the Nazi regime in 1945. In 1934, Melcher was appointed to the Prussian Provincial Council from 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. ...

. He was assigned as a ''Sondertreuhänder'' (Special Trustee) for the civil service from 1 January 1935, and subsequently was elevated to ''Reichstreuhänder'' ( Reich Trustee) for the civil service from 19 October 1938 until May 1945. In 1937, he also functioned as the transition commissioner for the incorporation of the

Free City of Lübeck Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction * Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality * Free (gratis), Free (''gratis''), free of charge * Gratis versus libre, the di ...

into the state of Prussia under the provisions of the

Greater Hamburg Act The Greater Hamburg Act (), in full the Law Regarding Greater Hamburg and Other Territorial Readjustments (), was passed by the government of Nazi Germany on 26 January 1937, and mandated the exchange of territories between Hamburg and the Free S ...

. Nothing is known of his post-war life. He died in Berlin on 14 October 1970.

References

Sources

*
Kurt Melcher entry
in th

Kurt Melcher entry
i
Das Deutsche Führerlexikon 1934-1935, pp. 305–306
* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melcher, Kurt 1881 births 1970 deaths 20th-century German civil servants 20th-century German judges 20th-century German lawyers Corps students German Army personnel of World War I German People's Party politicians German police chiefs Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Members of the Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany) Politicians from Dortmund Provincial presidents of Saxony Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Trustees of Labour University of Kiel alumni University of Tübingen alumni