Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger
Encyclopedia
Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger (27 February 1894 – 9 May 1945) was a Nazi
official and high-ranking member of the SA
and SS. Between 1939 and 1943 he was SS and Police Leader
in the General Government
in German-occupied Poland and in that capacity he organized and supervised numerous acts of war crimes.
, Alsace-Lorraine
, Germany
(nowadays in France
) in 1894; he received elementary school education, but ultimately left school before graduating to begin a military career as a cadet in military schools in Karlsruhe
and Gross-Lichterfelde. In June 1914, Krüger was commissioned a second lieutenant
in the German Army when World War I
broke out. During the course of the war, he was wounded three times and awarded the 1st and 2nd class Iron Cross
es. After the war, Krüger first joined a naval brigade; in August 1919, he became a member of the Freikorps
von Lützow
, which he left again in March 1920. Returning to civil employment, he worked as a clerk in Berlin
until 1923, then assumed another position as the director of a refuse company in 1924. He stayed in that position until 1928, then left the company and began a career as a self-employed entrepreneur. Krüger married in 1922; he and his wife had two children, and adopted three foster child
ren.
for the first time; Daluege, who was an engineer at the company at that time, later on became SS commander in Berlin and leader of the Ordnungspolizei ("order police"), and the two men soon formed a friendship. In November 1929, Krüger joined the NSDAP (as member 171199); in February 1931, he also joined the SS (6123), which he left again abruptly in April to transfer to the SA. With the help of Daluege, Krüger instantly acquired the SA rank and the power necessary to conduct reforms of the SA Formation East; he was promoted to SA-Gruppenführer (equivalent to major-general) in 1932 and joined Ernst Röhm
's personal staff.
and appointed chief of the Ausbildungswesen ("training", AW). Cooperating closely with the Reichswehr
, he used his new position to school the SA's best recruits (an estimated 250,000) to become officers. Krüger was not caught in the Night of the Long Knives
, in which Röhm and many other high-ranking SA members were killed, and it has been speculated that his switch from the SS to the SA was only carried out due to pragmatic reasons, especially in the light of Krüger transferring the SA armouries of which he was in charge to the Reichswehr
as soon as the purge began. Nevertheless, Krüger was left without a job temporarily, until he entered the SS again, still keeping his SA rank as well.
In 1935, Krüger was appointed SS-Oberabschnittsführer; his career was discussed by the SS leadership and Adolf Hitler
, and on 21 February 1936, he was appointed inspector of border guard units as well as Hitler's personal representative at a variety of formal and informal NSDAP events. Krüger enjoyed continued promotions as a result of his loyalty to Nazism
as well as his military, police and administration skills.
, appointed him to as Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF East) (Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer) in the part of German-occupied Poland called the General Government
. Krüger thus became one of the most powerful men in occupied Poland. Among other things he was responsible for crushing rebellion in the extermination camps, setting up forced labour camps, the employment of police and SS in the evacuations of the ghettos, in Warsaw ghettos, the execution Aktion Erntefest, the so-called "anti-partisan" fight in the General Government, and the driving out of over 100.000 Polish farmers from the area around Zamość
. Authority quarrels with governor general Hans Frank
led on 9 November 1943 to his dismissal. He was replaced by Wilhelm Koppe
. The Polish Secret State
ordered his death, but an assassination attempt on 20 April 1943 in Kraków failed when two bombs hurled at his car missed the target. Half a year later, he wrote in a letter "I have lost honour and reputation due to my four year struggle in the GG (General Government
) (Ich habe für meinen vierjährigen Kampf im GG Ehre und Reputation verloren.)",
in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia
. While ostensibly engaged in anti-partisan actions in Yugoslavia, this unit became notorious for committing terrible atrocities against the civilian population.
Later from June to August Krüger took over the command over the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord
in northern Finland
. From August 1944 until February 1945 Krüger was commanding general of the Fifth SS Mountain Infantry Corps
. In February 1945 he was Himmler's representative at the German southeast front, in April and May 1945 he was commander of a combat team of the Order Police
(Ordnungspolizei) at Army Group South
(known as Army Group Ostmark
after 1 May 1945). At the end of the war Krüger committed suicide
in upper Austria.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
official and high-ranking member of the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
and SS. Between 1939 and 1943 he was SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
in the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
in German-occupied Poland and in that capacity he organized and supervised numerous acts of war crimes.
Early life
Krüger was born into a military family in StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(nowadays in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) in 1894; he received elementary school education, but ultimately left school before graduating to begin a military career as a cadet in military schools in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
and Gross-Lichterfelde. In June 1914, Krüger was commissioned a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the German Army when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out. During the course of the war, he was wounded three times and awarded the 1st and 2nd class Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
es. After the war, Krüger first joined a naval brigade; in August 1919, he became a member of the Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
von Lützow
Lützow
Lützow can refer to:* Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow , a Prussian lieutenant general** The Lützow Free Corps, a Prussian volunteer force during the Napoleonic wars commanded by Ludwig von Lützow...
, which he left again in March 1920. Returning to civil employment, he worked as a clerk in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
until 1923, then assumed another position as the director of a refuse company in 1924. He stayed in that position until 1928, then left the company and began a career as a self-employed entrepreneur. Krüger married in 1922; he and his wife had two children, and adopted three foster child
Foster Child
Foster Child is a 1987 documentary film by Gil Cardinal, exploring the filmmaker's search, at age thirty-five, for biological family. Cardinal often meets with frustration during his search, but eventually finds his natural family and discovers his Métis roots.This National Film Board of Canada...
ren.
Joins the Nazi party
While working at the refuse company, he probably also met Kurt DaluegeKurt Daluege
Kurt Daluege was a German Nazi SS-Oberstgruppenführer and Generaloberst der Polizei as chief of the Ordnungspolizei and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector after Reinhard Heydrich's assassination.-Early life and career:Kurt Daluege, a son of a Prussian state official,...
for the first time; Daluege, who was an engineer at the company at that time, later on became SS commander in Berlin and leader of the Ordnungspolizei ("order police"), and the two men soon formed a friendship. In November 1929, Krüger joined the NSDAP (as member 171199); in February 1931, he also joined the SS (6123), which he left again abruptly in April to transfer to the SA. With the help of Daluege, Krüger instantly acquired the SA rank and the power necessary to conduct reforms of the SA Formation East; he was promoted to SA-Gruppenführer (equivalent to major-general) in 1932 and joined Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
's personal staff.
Career after Nazi seizure of power
In June 1933, Krüger was promoted again to SA-ObergruppenführerObergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
and appointed chief of the Ausbildungswesen ("training", AW). Cooperating closely with the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
, he used his new position to school the SA's best recruits (an estimated 250,000) to become officers. Krüger was not caught in the Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
, in which Röhm and many other high-ranking SA members were killed, and it has been speculated that his switch from the SS to the SA was only carried out due to pragmatic reasons, especially in the light of Krüger transferring the SA armouries of which he was in charge to the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
as soon as the purge began. Nevertheless, Krüger was left without a job temporarily, until he entered the SS again, still keeping his SA rank as well.
In 1935, Krüger was appointed SS-Oberabschnittsführer; his career was discussed by the SS leadership and Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, and on 21 February 1936, he was appointed inspector of border guard units as well as Hitler's personal representative at a variety of formal and informal NSDAP events. Krüger enjoyed continued promotions as a result of his loyalty to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
as well as his military, police and administration skills.
Forced labor, murder and other war crimes in Poland
On 4 October 1939, because of his ambition and his loyalty to the party, Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, appointed him to as Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF East) (Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer) in the part of German-occupied Poland called the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
. Krüger thus became one of the most powerful men in occupied Poland. Among other things he was responsible for crushing rebellion in the extermination camps, setting up forced labour camps, the employment of police and SS in the evacuations of the ghettos, in Warsaw ghettos, the execution Aktion Erntefest, the so-called "anti-partisan" fight in the General Government, and the driving out of over 100.000 Polish farmers from the area around Zamość
Zamosc
Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...
. Authority quarrels with governor general Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
led on 9 November 1943 to his dismissal. He was replaced by Wilhelm Koppe
Wilhelm Koppe
Wilhelm Koppe was a German Nazi commander who was responsible for numerous atrocities against Poles and Jews in Reichsgau Wartheland and the General Government during the German occupation of Poland in World War II.-Biography:Born in Hildesheim, he fought in the First World War...
. The Polish Secret State
Polish Secret State
The Polish Underground State is a collective term for the World War II underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were put in place in the final days of the...
ordered his death, but an assassination attempt on 20 April 1943 in Kraków failed when two bombs hurled at his car missed the target. Half a year later, he wrote in a letter "I have lost honour and reputation due to my four year struggle in the GG (General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
) (Ich habe für meinen vierjährigen Kampf im GG Ehre und Reputation verloren.)",
Later career and suicide
From November 1943 until April 1944 Krüger served with the 7th SS mountain infantry "Prince Eugen" division7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen
The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen. was formed on March 1942 from Volksdeutsche volunteers from Vojvodina, Croatia, Hungary and Romania, it was initially called the SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen....
in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. While ostensibly engaged in anti-partisan actions in Yugoslavia, this unit became notorious for committing terrible atrocities against the civilian population.
Later from June to August Krüger took over the command over the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord
6th SS Mountain Division Nord
The 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord" was a German unit of the Waffen SS during World War II, formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord ....
in northern Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. From August 1944 until February 1945 Krüger was commanding general of the Fifth SS Mountain Infantry Corps
V SS Mountain Corps
V SS Mountain Corps was a Waffen SS, formation at the end of World War II.The Corps fought on the Oder line as part of the 9th Army, in the Frankfurt am Oder area and in the Battle of Berlin that followed...
. In February 1945 he was Himmler's representative at the German southeast front, in April and May 1945 he was commander of a combat team of the Order Police
Ordnungspolizei
The Ordnungspolizei or Orpo were the uniformed regular police force in Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei...
(Ordnungspolizei) at Army Group South
Army Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
(known as Army Group Ostmark
Army Group Ostmark
Army Group Ostmark was a German army group formed very late in World War II.Army Group Ostmark was formed on 2 April 1945 from the remnants of Army Group South . Army Group Ostmark was operational in Austria and Czechoslovakia. Army Group Ostmark was one of the last major German military...
after 1 May 1945). At the end of the war Krüger committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in upper Austria.