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{{Short description|German Nazi politician and SS-Obergruppenführer}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox criminal
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Udo von Woyrsch
| image_name = Udo von Woyrsch.jpg
| name = Udo von Woyrsch
| image_size = 160px
| image = WoyrschUdovon.jpg
| image_caption =
| image_size =
| image_caption =
|birth_name=
| birth_name = Udo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch
| birth_date = July 24, 1895
| birth_date = 24 July 1895
| birth_place = [[Zwanowice, Brzeg County|Schwanowitz]], [[German Empire]]
| birth_place = [[Zwanowice, Brzeg County|Schwanowitz]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1983|1|14|1895|7|24}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1983|1|14|1895|7|24}}
| death_place = [[Biberach an der Riss]], [[West Germany]]
| death_place = [[Biberach an der Riss]], [[Baden-Württemberg]], [[West Germany]]
| cause =
| alias =
| cause =
| motive = [[Nazism]]
| occupation = [[Military officer]]<br />Estate manager
| charge =
| party = [[Nazi Party]]
| conviction = Crimes against humanity
| spouse =
| parents =
| conviction_penalty = Sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, released early
| conviction_status =
| children =
<!--Military service-->
| occupation =
| spouse =
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{flag|German Empire}}<br />{{flag|Weimar Republic}}<br />{{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| parents =
| branch = [[Imperial German Army]]<br />''[[Reichswehr]]''<br />''[[Schutzstaffel]]''
| children =
| serviceyears = 1914–1920<br />1930–1945
| rank = ''[[Oberleutnant]]''<br />SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]]''
| unit =
| commands = ''[[Einsatzgruppe]]'' VII<br />[[Higher SS and Police Leader]] "Elbe"
| battles = [[World War I]]<br />[[World War II]]
| mawards = [[Iron Cross]], 1st and 2nd class<br />[[War Merit Cross]], 1st and 2nd class, with swords
| footnotes =
}}
}}


'''Udo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch''' (24 July 1895 &ndash; 14 January 1983) was a [[Nazi Party]] politician and SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]]'' in [[Nazi Germany]] who participated in the massacre of [[Jews]] in Poland, and was later convicted of being an accessory to manslaughter in connection with the [[Night of the Long Knives]] murders.
'''Udo von Woyrsch''' (24 July 1895<ref name = Reichstag>{{de icon}} [http://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?pnd=121027562&recherche=ja Reichstag official records digital database]</ref> &ndash; 14 January 1983) was a high-ranking [[SS]] official in [[Nazi Germany]] who was responsible for implementing the regime's racial policies during World War II.


== First World War ==
== Early life ==
Woyrsch was a member of an aristocratic [[Silesia]]n family. His father was a ''[[Rittmeister]]'' and estate owner and his uncle was [[Remus von Woyrsch]], a [[Prussia]]n [[Field Marshal]] in the [[First World War]]. Born in 1895, he was tutored at home until 1905 then went to secondary school in Brieg (today, [[Brzeg]] in Poland) followed by cadet school in Wahlstatt (today, [[Legnickie Pole]]) and the military academy at [[Lichterfelde, Berlin]]. Commissioned as a ''[[Leutnant]]'' in the Prussian Army in August 1914, he served on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|eastern front]] during the First World War and earned the [[Iron Cross]] first and second class. He was captured by the Russians but after the end of the war was repatriated in December 1918. He remained in the ''[[Reichswehr]]'', was promoted to ''[[Oberleutnant]]'' in May 1920 but was decommissioned in the following October. He then took up studies in economics and agriculture. In May 1923, upon his father's death, he inherited the family estate at Schwanowitz (today, [[Zwanowice, Brzeg County]]) that he then managed.{{sfn|Williams|2018|p=405}} According to the historian [[Richard Grunberger]], Woyrsch also was a member of the [[Freikorps]] during the early 1920s.{{sfn|Grunberger|1971|p=42}}
From early 1914 to 9 February 1919, Woyrsch served with the Germany Army as junior officer during [[World War I]].<ref name = Reichstag/> From 10 February 1919 to 23 August 1920, he was associated with an organization called the ''Grenzschutz'' ("Border Defense").<ref name = Reichstag/> He was awarded the [[Iron Cross]] (First Class).<ref name = Reichstag/>


== Nazi career ==
== Nazi career ==
On 1 October 1929, Woyrsch joined the Nazi Party (membership number 162,349) and represented it on the Brieg District Assembly and District Committee. As an early Party member, he would later be awarded the [[Golden Party Badge]]. On 10 June 1930, he also joined the [[SS]] (member number 3,689). The ''[[Reichsführer-SS]]'' [[Heinrich Himmler]] charged Woyrsch with organizing the SS in [[Gau Silesia]].{{sfn|Williams|2018|p=406}} Woyrsch was given command of several SS-''[[Standarte]]n'' there from March to September 1931. He then was selected as the first commander of SS-''[[Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel#Allgemeine SS commands|Abschnitt]]'' (SS–District) VI headquartered in Brieg until 15 March 1932. He next became the commander of SS-''Gruppe'' (later, SS-''Oberabschnitt'') (SS–Main District) "Südost" where he served until 1 January 1935.{{sfn|Yerger|1997|p=34}}
According to the historian [[Richard Grunberger]], Woyrsch had been a member in the [[Freikorps]] during the 1920s.<ref>Grunberger, Richard, ''Hitler's SS'' (1970), p. 42.</ref> Early on, Woyrsch joined the NSDAP (Membership number 162,349) and the [[SS]] (Member Number 3,689). [[Himmler]] charged him with organising the [[SS]] in the [[Nazi]] [[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]] of [[Silesia]]; as such Woyrsch became the first commander of the ''[[SS-Oberabschnitt Südost]]''.


In 1933, Woyrsch was elected to the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]].<ref name="Reichstag" /> He was the [[SS and Police Leader]] in [[Elbe]], and in 1934 Woyrsch participated in the [[Night of the Long Knives]], ordering the execution of his [[SS]] rival [[Emil Sembach]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG4ud0PxeDMC|title=The Third Reich in Power|last=Evans|first=Richard J.|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780143037903|language=en}}</ref> On 30 June 1934, "he took command in Silesia, and on the orders of Göring arrested a number of SA leaders, disarmed all SA headquarters' guards and occupied the Breslau police headquarters. Woyrsch's men executed some of the SA officers as a result of an on-going private feud."<ref>Ailsby, Christopher, ''SS: Role of Infamy'' (1997), p. 183.</ref>
While in this posting, Woyrsch led his forces in the [[Night of the Long Knives]]. On 30 June 1934, "he took command in Silesia, and on the orders of Göring arrested a number of SA leaders, disarmed all SA headquarters' guards and occupied the Breslau police headquarters. Woyrsch's men executed some of the SA officers as a result of an on-going private feud."{{sfn|Ailsby|1997|p=183}} The settlement of personal scores was particularly savage in Silesia, where numerous personal vendettas resulted in murder and "vengeance was the order of the day."{{sfn|Höhne|1971|p=138}} This included Woyrsch's ordering the execution of his SS rival [[Emil Sembach]], despite a prior agreement with Himmler that he was to be arrested and taken to Berlin.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG4ud0PxeDMC|title=The Third Reich in Power|last=Evans|first=Richard J.|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Penguin| page=36 |isbn=9780143037903|language=en}}</ref>


Described as highly opinionated and headstrong, Woyrsch often was embroiled in disputes with the Party ''[[Gauleiter]]'' and other civilian authorities. Woyrsch had a close friendship with Himmler who often defended him in these instances. However, one such dispute with Silesian ''Gauleiter'' [[Helmuth Brückner]] and other officials resulted in Woyrsch being removed from his command in Dresden and assigned to Himmler's Personal Staff in January 1935. In January 1939, he was detailed for six weeks to the ''[[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]]'', the Nazi Party intelligence service.{{sfn|Williams|2018|p=406}}
Woyrsch had a close friendship with [[Heinrich Himmler]] and [[Reinhard Heydrich]], and was on Himmler's personal staff.<ref name="Reichstag" /> On 1 January 1935 he was promoted to [[SS]] ''[[Obergruppenführer]]'' (then the second-highest rank in the SS).<ref name="Reichstag" />


Aside from his SS activities, Woyrsch continued his political career in these years, being elected to the [[Landtag of Prussia]] in April 1932 and serving there until March 1933 when he was elected as a deputy to the ''[[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Reichstag]]'' from electoral constituency 7 (Breslau). On 10 July 1933, he was also named to the [[Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany)|Prussian State Council]]. He would retain these seats throughout the Nazi regime.{{sfn|Williams|2018|p=406}}
=== Einsatzgruppe ===
In September 1939 Woyrsch commanded the [[Einsatzgruppe]] ("Special Purpose Operational Group") specifically charged with terrorizing and murdering the Jewish population of [[Poland]]. Woyrsch was responsible for some of the deadliest massacres of Jews in Poland in 1939, where in [[East Upper Silesia]] he led the group that murdered 500 Jews in [[Kattowitz]], [[Będzin]], and [[Sosnowiec]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUz33XJnJOMC|title=Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich|last=Gerwarth|first=Robert|date=2011-01-01|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0300177461|language=en}}</ref> The brutality of this [[Einsatzgruppe]] in [[Kattowitz]] was such that some [[Wehrmacht]] officers interceded with the [[Gestapo]] to have it withdrawn.<ref name="Browning">Browning, ''Origins of the Final Solution'', pp. 16-19, 21, and 29.</ref> However many junior military commanders actively supported Woyrsch's campaign.<ref name=":1" />
=== Einsatzgruppe and war years ===
On the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] in September 1939, Woyrsch commanded ''[[Einsatzgruppe]]'' VII. Woyrsch was responsible for some of the deadliest massacres of Jews in Poland in 1939, where in [[East Upper Silesia]] he led the group that murdered 500 Jews in [[Kattowitz]], [[Będzin]], and [[Sosnowiec]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUz33XJnJOMC|title=Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich|last=Gerwarth|first=Robert|date=2011-01-01|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300177466|language=en}}</ref> At this early stage of the war Poland was still considered a military operational area under the command of ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Gerd von Rundstedt]]. The brutality and illegal measures of the ''Einsatzgruppe'', involving the mass shootings of Jews, shocked many of the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' officers. On 20 September 1939, they complained that it was having an effect on the morale of German troops who resented that the SS were not fighting the enemy on the front but instead "demonstrating their courage against defenceless civilians." Rundstedt told Himmler that the anti-Jewish measures already underway must cease and that the ''Einsatzgruppe'' would no longer be tolerated in the operational zone.{{sfn|Höhne|1971|pp=342–343}}


Himmler gave way and was forced to recall Woyrsch to Germany where, on 20 April 1940, he was appointed the Higher [[SS and Police Leader]] (HSSPF) "Elbe" and commander of SS-''Oberabschnitt'' "Elbe," both headquartered in [[Dresden]]. On 15 April 1941, he was given the additional title of ''[[General (Germany)|General]]'' of Police. By 1942 he was the seventh most senior officer in the SS.{{sfn|Schiffer Publishing Ltd.|2000|p=7}} However, his personality conflicts continued with denunciations and disputes with other authorities. Finally, Himmler lost patience with him and Woyrsch was removed from his command on 13 February 1944 and again assigned to Himmler's immediate staff where he remained for the remainder of the war. Ostensibly, his removal was for health reasons but the real issue was conflicts and disputes with ''Gauleiter'' [[Martin Mutschmann]] whom he accused of cowardice.{{sfn|Yerger|1997|p=34}} According to [[Richard Grunberger]], Woyrsch was part of Himmler's entourage trailing about northern [[Germany]] in May 1945 close to the end of hostilities.{{sfn|Grunberger|1971|p=102}} Woyrsch last saw Himmler on 5 May 1945 in [[Flensburg]] before moving on to [[Eckernförde]] where he surrendered to British forces on 11 May 1945.{{sfn|Williams|2018|p=407}}
Between 20 April 1940 and February 1944, Woyrsch was the Higher [[SS and Police Leader]] in military district IV and district leader in [[Dresden]]. Woyrsch was removed from office in 1944 for incompetence.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Z1jAwAAQBAJ|title=War, Pacification, and Execution, 1939: The Einsatzgruppen in Poland|last=Matthäus|first=Jürgen|last2=Böhler|first2=Jochen|last3=Mallmann|first3=Klaus-Michael|date=2014-04-18|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442231429|language=en}}</ref> According to [[Richard Grunberger]] Woyrsch was part of [[Himmler]]'s entourage trailing about northern [[Germany]] in 1945.<ref>Grunberger, Richard, ''Hitler's SS'' (1970), p. 102.</ref>

{| class="wikitable float-right"
|-
! colspan="2"|SS ranks<ref>[https://www.dws-xip.com/reich/biografie/1937/1937.html SS Seniority List, 1 December 1937, pp.8-9, #8] Retrieved 28 April 2023.</ref>{{sfn|Williams|2018|p=407}}
|-
! Date
! Rank
|-
| 13 November 1930
| SS-''[[Sturmbannführer]]''
|-
| 1 March 1931
| SS-''[[Standartenführer]]''
|-
| 1 September 1931
| SS-''[[Oberführer]]''
|-
| 15 March 1932
| SS-''[[Gruppenführer]]''
|-
| 1 January 1935
| SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]]''
|-
| 15 April 1941
| ''[[General (Germany)|General]] der Polizei''
|}


== Trials and convictions ==
== Trials and convictions ==
Woyrsch was interned until 1948.<ref name="Weiß495f2">Hermann Weiß (Hrsg.): ''Biographisches Lexikon zum Dritten Reich'', Frankfurt am Main 1998, S. 495 f.</ref> In 1948, a denazification court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for his membership in the SS, citing his knowledge of the organization's atrocities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Z1jAwAAQBAJ|title=War, Pacification, and Execution, 1939: The Einsatzgruppen in Poland|last1=Matthäus|first1=Jürgen|last2=Böhler|first2=Jochen|last3=Mallmann|first3=Klaus-Michael|date=2014-04-18|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442231429|language=en}}</ref> However, Woyrsch was released early in 1952.<ref name=":0" /> In 1957, he was sentenced by a court in [[Osnabrück]] to a further 10 years in prison after being convicted as an accessory to six counts of manslaughter for his role in the murders during the Night of the Long Knives, including that of Emil Sembach. Woyrsch was released once more in 1960, and died in 1983.<ref name=":0" />
Woyrsch was interned by the British from 1945 to 1948.{{Citation needed|date=March 2016}} In 1948, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934.<ref name=":0" /> However, he was released in 1952.<ref name=":0" /> He was tried again in 1957 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.<ref name=":0" />


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
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== References ==
== References ==
*[[Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels]], Adelige Häuser A Band VII, Seite 403, Band 34 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn), 1965, {{ISSN|0435-2408}}
*[[Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels]], Adelige Häuser A Band VII, Seite 403, Band 34 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn), 1965, {{ISSN|0435-2408}}
*{{cite book |last = Ailsby |first = Christopher |title= SS: Roll of Infamy |publisher =Motorbooks Intl. |year = 1997 |isbn = 978-0-760-30409-9}}
* {{de icon}} Birn, Ruth Bettina : ''Die Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer. Himmlers Vertreter im Reich und in den besetzten Gebieten.'' Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1986, {{ISBN|3-7700-0710-7}}
*[[Ruth Bettina Birn|Birn, Ruth Bettina]] : ''Die Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer. Himmlers Vertreter im Reich und in den besetzten Gebieten.'' Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1986, {{ISBN|3-7700-0710-7}}
* [[Christopher Browning|Browning, Christopher]], and [[Jürgen Matthäus|Matthäus, Jürgen]]. ''The Origins of the Final Solution - The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 - March 1942''. University of Nebraska Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8032-1327-1}}
* [[Christopher Browning|Browning, Christopher]], and [[Jürgen Matthäus|Matthäus, Jürgen]]. ''The Origins of the Final Solution - The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 - March 1942''. University of Nebraska Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8032-1327-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Grunberger |first=Richard |title=Hitler's SS |publisher=Delacorte Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-760-30409-9}}
* {{de icon}} [[Ernst Klee|Klee, Ernst]]: ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich''. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-596-16048-8}} (Aktualisierte 2. Auflage)
*{{cite book |last= Höhne |first= Heinz |title= The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS |publisher= Ballantine Books |location= New York |year= 1971 |isbn= 0-345-28333-3}}
* [[Richard Grunberger]], ''Hitler's SS'' (1970), {{ISBN|978-0-440-03653-1}}
*[[Ernst Klee|Klee, Ernst]]: ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich''. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, (Aktualisierte 2. Auflage). {{ISBN|978-3-596-16048-8}}
* Christopher Ailsby, ''SS: Role of Infamy'' (1997), {{ISBN|978-0-7603-0409-9}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Schiffer Publishing Ltd. |title= SS Officers List: SS-Standartenführer to SS-Oberstgruppenführer (As of 30 January 1942) |publisher= Schiffer Military History Publishing |location= |year= 2000 |isbn= 0-7643-1061-5}}
*{{cite book |last= Williams |first= Max |title= SS Elite: The Senior Leaders of Hitler's Praetorian Guard |volume=3 |publisher= Fonthill Media LLC |year= 2018 |isbn= 978-1-781-55638-2}}
*{{cite book |last = Yerger |first = Mark C. |title= Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS |publisher =Schiffer Publishing Ltd. |year = 1997 |isbn = 0-7643-0145-4}}

== External links ==
* {{ReichstagDB|121027562}}


{{Einsatzgruppen}}
{{Einsatzgruppen}}
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[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:SS and Police Leaders]]
[[Category:People from Brzeg County]]
[[Category:Holocaust perpetrators in Poland]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Silesia]]
[[Category:German untitled nobility]]
[[Category:Silesian nobility]]
[[Category:Silesian nobility]]
[[Category:Einsatzgruppen personnel]]
[[Category:German Protestants]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic]]
[[Category:Nazi Party politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag 1933]]
[[Category:20th-century Freikorps personnel]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945]]
[[Category:Members of the Landtag of Prussia]]
[[Category:Members of the Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany)]]
[[Category:SS-Obergruppenführer]]
[[Category:SS-Obergruppenführer]]
[[Category:SS and Police Leaders]]
[[Category:German Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:20th-century Freikorps personnel]]
[[Category:Waffen-SS personnel]]
[[Category:Einsatzgruppen personnel]]
[[Category:Holocaust perpetrators in Poland]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Nazis convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of the Night of the Long Knives]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Germany]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the War Merit Cross]]
[[Category:Nobility in the Nazi Party]]
[[Category:20th-century German nobility]]

Latest revision as of 00:43, 5 August 2024

Udo von Woyrsch
Personal details
Born
Udo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch

24 July 1895
Schwanowitz, German Empire
Died14 January 1983(1983-01-14) (aged 87)
Biberach an der Riss, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Political partyNazi Party
OccupationMilitary officer
Estate manager
Military service
Allegiance German Empire
 Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
Branch/serviceImperial German Army
Reichswehr
Schutzstaffel
Years of service1914–1920
1930–1945
RankOberleutnant
SS-Obergruppenführer
CommandsEinsatzgruppe VII
Higher SS and Police Leader "Elbe"
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsIron Cross, 1st and 2nd class
War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class, with swords

Udo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch (24 July 1895 – 14 January 1983) was a Nazi Party politician and SS-Obergruppenführer in Nazi Germany who participated in the massacre of Jews in Poland, and was later convicted of being an accessory to manslaughter in connection with the Night of the Long Knives murders.

Early life

[edit]

Woyrsch was a member of an aristocratic Silesian family. His father was a Rittmeister and estate owner and his uncle was Remus von Woyrsch, a Prussian Field Marshal in the First World War. Born in 1895, he was tutored at home until 1905 then went to secondary school in Brieg (today, Brzeg in Poland) followed by cadet school in Wahlstatt (today, Legnickie Pole) and the military academy at Lichterfelde, Berlin. Commissioned as a Leutnant in the Prussian Army in August 1914, he served on the eastern front during the First World War and earned the Iron Cross first and second class. He was captured by the Russians but after the end of the war was repatriated in December 1918. He remained in the Reichswehr, was promoted to Oberleutnant in May 1920 but was decommissioned in the following October. He then took up studies in economics and agriculture. In May 1923, upon his father's death, he inherited the family estate at Schwanowitz (today, Zwanowice, Brzeg County) that he then managed.[1] According to the historian Richard Grunberger, Woyrsch also was a member of the Freikorps during the early 1920s.[2]

Nazi career

[edit]

On 1 October 1929, Woyrsch joined the Nazi Party (membership number 162,349) and represented it on the Brieg District Assembly and District Committee. As an early Party member, he would later be awarded the Golden Party Badge. On 10 June 1930, he also joined the SS (member number 3,689). The Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler charged Woyrsch with organizing the SS in Gau Silesia.[3] Woyrsch was given command of several SS-Standarten there from March to September 1931. He then was selected as the first commander of SS-Abschnitt (SS–District) VI headquartered in Brieg until 15 March 1932. He next became the commander of SS-Gruppe (later, SS-Oberabschnitt) (SS–Main District) "Südost" where he served until 1 January 1935.[4]

While in this posting, Woyrsch led his forces in the Night of the Long Knives. On 30 June 1934, "he took command in Silesia, and on the orders of Göring arrested a number of SA leaders, disarmed all SA headquarters' guards and occupied the Breslau police headquarters. Woyrsch's men executed some of the SA officers as a result of an on-going private feud."[5] The settlement of personal scores was particularly savage in Silesia, where numerous personal vendettas resulted in murder and "vengeance was the order of the day."[6] This included Woyrsch's ordering the execution of his SS rival Emil Sembach, despite a prior agreement with Himmler that he was to be arrested and taken to Berlin.[7]

Described as highly opinionated and headstrong, Woyrsch often was embroiled in disputes with the Party Gauleiter and other civilian authorities. Woyrsch had a close friendship with Himmler who often defended him in these instances. However, one such dispute with Silesian Gauleiter Helmuth Brückner and other officials resulted in Woyrsch being removed from his command in Dresden and assigned to Himmler's Personal Staff in January 1935. In January 1939, he was detailed for six weeks to the SD, the Nazi Party intelligence service.[3]

Aside from his SS activities, Woyrsch continued his political career in these years, being elected to the Landtag of Prussia in April 1932 and serving there until March 1933 when he was elected as a deputy to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 7 (Breslau). On 10 July 1933, he was also named to the Prussian State Council. He would retain these seats throughout the Nazi regime.[3]

Einsatzgruppe and war years

[edit]

On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Woyrsch commanded Einsatzgruppe VII. Woyrsch was responsible for some of the deadliest massacres of Jews in Poland in 1939, where in East Upper Silesia he led the group that murdered 500 Jews in Kattowitz, Będzin, and Sosnowiec.[8] At this early stage of the war Poland was still considered a military operational area under the command of Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt. The brutality and illegal measures of the Einsatzgruppe, involving the mass shootings of Jews, shocked many of the Wehrmacht officers. On 20 September 1939, they complained that it was having an effect on the morale of German troops who resented that the SS were not fighting the enemy on the front but instead "demonstrating their courage against defenceless civilians." Rundstedt told Himmler that the anti-Jewish measures already underway must cease and that the Einsatzgruppe would no longer be tolerated in the operational zone.[9]

Himmler gave way and was forced to recall Woyrsch to Germany where, on 20 April 1940, he was appointed the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) "Elbe" and commander of SS-Oberabschnitt "Elbe," both headquartered in Dresden. On 15 April 1941, he was given the additional title of General of Police. By 1942 he was the seventh most senior officer in the SS.[10] However, his personality conflicts continued with denunciations and disputes with other authorities. Finally, Himmler lost patience with him and Woyrsch was removed from his command on 13 February 1944 and again assigned to Himmler's immediate staff where he remained for the remainder of the war. Ostensibly, his removal was for health reasons but the real issue was conflicts and disputes with Gauleiter Martin Mutschmann whom he accused of cowardice.[4] According to Richard Grunberger, Woyrsch was part of Himmler's entourage trailing about northern Germany in May 1945 close to the end of hostilities.[11] Woyrsch last saw Himmler on 5 May 1945 in Flensburg before moving on to Eckernförde where he surrendered to British forces on 11 May 1945.[12]

SS ranks[13][12]
Date Rank
13 November 1930 SS-Sturmbannführer
1 March 1931 SS-Standartenführer
1 September 1931 SS-Oberführer
15 March 1932 SS-Gruppenführer
1 January 1935 SS-Obergruppenführer
15 April 1941 General der Polizei

Trials and convictions

[edit]

Woyrsch was interned until 1948.[14] In 1948, a denazification court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for his membership in the SS, citing his knowledge of the organization's atrocities.[15] However, Woyrsch was released early in 1952.[15] In 1957, he was sentenced by a court in Osnabrück to a further 10 years in prison after being convicted as an accessory to six counts of manslaughter for his role in the murders during the Night of the Long Knives, including that of Emil Sembach. Woyrsch was released once more in 1960, and died in 1983.[15]

Notes

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  1. ^ Williams 2018, p. 405.
  2. ^ Grunberger 1971, p. 42.
  3. ^ a b c Williams 2018, p. 406.
  4. ^ a b Yerger 1997, p. 34.
  5. ^ Ailsby 1997, p. 183.
  6. ^ Höhne 1971, p. 138.
  7. ^ Evans, Richard J. (2006-01-01). The Third Reich in Power. Penguin. p. 36. ISBN 9780143037903.
  8. ^ Gerwarth, Robert (2011-01-01). Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300177466.
  9. ^ Höhne 1971, pp. 342–343.
  10. ^ Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2000, p. 7.
  11. ^ Grunberger 1971, p. 102.
  12. ^ a b Williams 2018, p. 407.
  13. ^ SS Seniority List, 1 December 1937, pp.8-9, #8 Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  14. ^ Hermann Weiß (Hrsg.): Biographisches Lexikon zum Dritten Reich, Frankfurt am Main 1998, S. 495 f.
  15. ^ a b c Matthäus, Jürgen; Böhler, Jochen; Mallmann, Klaus-Michael (2014-04-18). War, Pacification, and Execution, 1939: The Einsatzgruppen in Poland. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442231429.

References

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  • Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Adelige Häuser A Band VII, Seite 403, Band 34 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn), 1965, ISSN 0435-2408
  • Ailsby, Christopher (1997). SS: Roll of Infamy. Motorbooks Intl. ISBN 978-0-760-30409-9.
  • Birn, Ruth Bettina : Die Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer. Himmlers Vertreter im Reich und in den besetzten Gebieten. Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1986, ISBN 3-7700-0710-7
  • Browning, Christopher, and Matthäus, Jürgen. The Origins of the Final Solution - The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 - March 1942. University of Nebraska Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8032-1327-1
  • Grunberger, Richard (1971). Hitler's SS. Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0-760-30409-9.
  • Höhne, Heinz (1971). The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-28333-3.
  • Klee, Ernst: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, (Aktualisierte 2. Auflage). ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8
  • Schiffer Publishing Ltd., ed. (2000). SS Officers List: SS-Standartenführer to SS-Oberstgruppenführer (As of 30 January 1942). Schiffer Military History Publishing. ISBN 0-7643-1061-5.
  • Williams, Max (2018). SS Elite: The Senior Leaders of Hitler's Praetorian Guard. Vol. 3. Fonthill Media LLC. ISBN 978-1-781-55638-2.
  • Yerger, Mark C. (1997). Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7643-0145-4.
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