Paul Zimmermann (2 July 1895 – 21 May 1980) was a German

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 ...

SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in ...

'' and ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' of police. During 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 ...

he served as the

SS and Police Leader The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (''Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the o ...

in Nikolajew (today,

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

). He was also a member of the Economic Staff East, which planned and implemented exploitation of the occupied

Soviet Union 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 ...

Early life

Zimmermann was born 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 ...

, the son of a state building supervisor. After attending school in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

and receiving his

abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

, Zimmermann entered 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 ...

and fought in 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 ...

, 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 ...

, 1st and 2nd class. Discharged with the rank of ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' of reserves, he returned to civilian life and studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, passing his state examinations in 1924 and obtaining an advanced degree in engineering (Dipl. Ing.), specializing in roadways and railways.

Peacetime Nazi and SS career

In 1931, Zimmermann joined 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 ...

(membership number 940,783). In 1932 he became a representative of the Party's labor organization (''Nationalsozialistischer Arbeitsdienst'') in Gau Westphalia-North. In 1933 he served briefly as a Nazi deputy in 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 ...

'' of the

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

, before its dissolution in the Nazi consolidation of power. That spring, Zimmermann was appointed the North Westphalia District Leader of the newly created Reich Labor Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst'') and held this position until June 1936.Rüdiger Hachtmann: ''A success-story? Highlights of the history of the general administration of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in the "Third Reich", in: Research program "History of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society under National Socialism"'', Results Vol. 19, Berlin 2004, p. 10. On 1 August 1933, Zimmermann joined the SS as an 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 ...

'' (SS number 276,856). He was posted to the SS Main Office in

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 ...

and then became head of the Plön branch of the National Political Institutes of Education, elite preparatory schools charged with educating future leaders of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. In 1937 he was assigned to the Reich Ministry of Economics as head of the Reich Office for Metals. As Reich Commissioner for Metals he was a member of the

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Metal Research from October 1938. From 1 October 1937 through 30 June 1938, Zimmermann was the Chief of Staff (''Stabschef'') of SS-'' Oberabschnitt'' (Main Section) "Elbe," headquartered in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. He was promoted to SS-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically an NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geograph ...

'' on 20 April 1938.

Second World War

Zimmermann was promoted to SS-''Brigadeführer'' on 1 August 1940, and following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, he was appointed as a War Administrator on the Economic Staff East, which planned and organized the economic exploitation of the German-occupied Soviet territories. In 1942, he was attached to an economic policy group in the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories. In addition, in 1942 to early 1943 he was the liaison officer from the Reich Ministry to the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW). He was also involved in planning for the future occupation of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and the exploitation of its rich oil resources which were to be used in the German war effort. In January 1943 Zimmermann was appointed ''

'' of police. From mid-February 1943 he was posted to the office of SS-''

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 ...

Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

, the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) ''Russland-Mitte'' (Central Russia) in

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

. In April 1943 he was appointed

(SSPF) of the Nikolajew region, succeeding SS-''Brigadeführer'' Waldemar Wappenhans. In this post, he commanded all SS personnel and police in his jurisdiction, including the ''

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (''Orpo'', , meaning "Order Police") were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly of power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of t ...

'' (Orpo; regular uniformed police), the SD (

intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of info ...

) and the SiPo (security police), which included the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

(

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

). He remained in Nikolajew until 10 October 1943 and then was transferred to become an SSPF for special duties on the staff of SS-''Obergruppenführer'' Hans-Adolf Prützmann, the Supreme SS and Police Leader (HöSSPF) in ''Russland-Süd'' (Southern Russia). In early 1944, Zimmermann was deployed to the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

under HöSSPF SS-''Obergruppenführer'' Karl Wolff. His last assignment from September 1944 to the end of the war was as the motor vehicle transport chief for OKW. During the course of the war, he was awarded a Clasp to the Iron Cross, 2nd class.

Postwar activity

At the end of the war, Zimmermann was taken prisoner and

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

by the Americans. He was interrogated as a witness at the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

and subsequently worked in industry. In 1952, he joined the so-called

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 ...

, a group of former Nazis who attempted to infiltrate

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 ...

's Free Democratic Party. In connection with this, he was arrested along with ringleader

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 ...

and five others on 14-15 January 1953, but released on 16 June and never brought to trial.

References

Literature

* * * *

External links

Summaries of Zimmermann’s Nuremberg interrogations
in the archive of the Institute for Contemporary History {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Paul 1895 births 1980 deaths Naumann Circle members Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians Military personnel from Münster Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 2nd class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the War Merit Cross SS and police leaders SS-Brigadeführer German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Prisoners and detainees of the British military