Udo von Woyrsch: Difference between revisions
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'''Udo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch''' (24 July 1895<ref name = Reichstag>{{in lang|de}} [http://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?pnd=121027562&recherche=ja Reichstag official records digital database]</ref> – 14 January 1983) was a high-ranking [[SS]] official in [[Nazi Germany]] who |
'''Udo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch''' (24 July 1895<ref name = Reichstag>{{in lang|de}} [http://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?pnd=121027562&recherche=ja Reichstag official records digital database]</ref> – 14 January 1983) was a high-ranking [[SS]] official in [[Nazi Germany]] who participated in implementation of the regime's racial policies during World War II. |
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== First World War == |
== First World War == |
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=== Einsatzgruppe === |
=== Einsatzgruppe === |
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In September 1939 Woyrsch commanded [[Einsatzgruppe]] VII |
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=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[[Einsatzgruppe]] in [[Kattowitz]] was such that some [[Wehrmacht]] officers interceded with the [[Gestapo]] to have it withdrawn.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" /> |
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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> |
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> |
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Revision as of 20:30, 6 May 2021
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2016) |
Udo von Woyrsch | |
|---|---|
| File:Udo von Woyrsch.jpg | |
| Born | 24 July 1895 |
| Died | 14 January 1983 (aged 87) |
| Motive | Nazism |
| Conviction(s) | Crimes against humanity |
| Criminal penalty | Sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, released early |
Udo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch (24 July 1895[1] – 14 January 1983) was a high-ranking SS official in Nazi Germany who participated in implementation of the regime's racial policies during World War II.
First World War
From early 1914 to 9 February 1919, Woyrsch served with the Germany Army as junior officer during World War I.[1] From 10 February 1919 to 23 August 1920, he was associated with an organization called the Grenzschutz ("Border Defense").[1] He was awarded the Iron Cross (First Class).[1]
Nazi career
According to the historian Richard Grunberger, Woyrsch had been a member in the Freikorps during the 1920s.[2] 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 of Silesia; as such Woyrsch became the first commander of the SS-Oberabschnitt Südost.
In 1933, Woyrsch was elected to the Reichstag.[1] 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.[3] 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."[4]
Woyrsch had a close friendship with Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich, and was on Himmler's personal staff.[1] On 1 January 1935 he was promoted to SS Obergruppenführer (then the second-highest rank in the SS).[1]
Einsatzgruppe
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.[5] The brutality of this Einsatzgruppe in Kattowitz was such that some Wehrmacht officers interceded with the Gestapo to have it withdrawn.[6] However many junior military commanders actively supported Woyrsch's campaign.[5]
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.[7] According to Richard Grunberger, Woyrsch was part of Himmler's entourage trailing about northern Germany in 1945.[8]
Trials and convictions
Woyrsch was interned by the British from 1945 to 1948.[citation needed] In 1948, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934.[7] However, he was released in 1952.[7] He was tried again in 1957 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g (in German) Reichstag official records digital database
- ^ Grunberger, Richard, Hitler's SS (1970), p. 42.
- ^ Evans, Richard J. (2006-01-01). The Third Reich in Power. Penguin. ISBN 9780143037903.
- ^ Ailsby, Christopher, SS: Role of Infamy (1997), p. 183.
- ^ a b Gerwarth, Robert (2011-01-01). Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300177461.
- ^ Browning, Origins of the Final Solution, pp. 16-19, 21, and 29.
- ^ a b c d Matthäus, Jürgen; Böhler, Jochen; Mallmann, Klaus-Michael (2014-04-18). War, Pacification, and Execution, 1939: The Einsatzgruppen in Poland. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442231429.
- ^ Grunberger, Richard, Hitler's SS (1970), p. 102.
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
- (in German) 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
- (in German) Klee, Ernst: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8 (Aktualisierte 2. Auflage)
- Richard Grunberger, Hitler's SS (1970), ISBN 978-0-440-03653-1
- Christopher Ailsby, SS: Role of Infamy (1997), ISBN 978-0-7603-0409-9
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1895 births
- 1983 deaths
- People from Brzeg County
- German military personnel of World War I
- SS and Police Leaders
- Holocaust perpetrators in Poland
- Silesian nobility
- Einsatzgruppen personnel
- Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic
- Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany
- 20th-century Freikorps personnel
- SS-Obergruppenführer