Dr.Jur.
Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (May 6, 1898 - May 10, 1945) was the most important pro-
NaziNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
politician in
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and leader of Sudeten German separatists.
Early life
Born in
Maffersdorf (Vratislavice nad Nisou)Vratislavice nad Nisou is a district of the city of Liberec, in the north of the Czech Republic. It has around 6,700 inhabitants and straddles the Nisa river between Liberec and Jablonec, around 3.5 km south-east of Liberec city centre.-History:...
- now a borough of
LiberecLiberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the sixth-largest city in the Czech Republic....
(German: Reichenberg), Czech Republic (then
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
). In light of his being a leader of the Sudeten German movement, Henlein's origin was not without problems. His mother, Hedvika Anna Augusta Dvořáček, was daughter of a German-speaking mother but her father was Czech. As Henlein pursued a policy against mixed marriages after 1938, he was forced to change his still-living mother's name from Dvořáček to the more German spelling of Dworatschek, which would be thus more comfortable for Henlein's career as a high Nazi official.
He attended a business school in
Jablonec nad NisouJablonec nad Nisou is a town in northern Bohemia, the second largest town of the Liberec Region. It is known as a mountain resort in the Jizera Mountains, an education centre, and a centre of world-production of glass and jewellery...
. After serving in the Austrian army in the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, during which he spent time in
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
captivity, and the subsequent breakup of
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
, he worked as a bank clerk in Czechoslovakia while taking an active part in Sudeten German communal life.
Leader of SdP
In the first half of the 1930s, Henlein held a pro-Czechoslovak and overtly anti-Nazi view in his public speeches and did not become a follower of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
until 1937, when the pro-German camp within the Sudeten German Party (SdP) represented by
Karl Hermann FrankKarl Hermann Frank was a prominent Sudeten German Nazi official in Czechoslovakia prior to and during World War II and an SS-Obergruppenführer...
emerged victorious. He then swiftly aligned himself with the slogan "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!" (One People, One Country, One leader), thus calling for the predominantly (typically more than 80%) German-speaking
SudetenlandSudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia.The name is derived from the...
to be a part of Germany. Henlein's political party's dominance of the Sudetenland in the 1930s ultimately led to the
Munich AgreementThe Munich Agreement was an agreement permitting German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along borders of Czechoslovakia, mainly inhabited by Czech Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe...
on September 30, 1938, which he helped to accomplish by influencing the British delegate
Lord RuncimanWalter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford PC was a prominent Liberal, later National Liberal politician in the United Kingdom from the 1900s until the 1930s.-Background:...
during the latter's visit of Czechoslovakia. Henlein presented his party's policy as striving to fulfill the "justified claims" of the then largely nazified German minority in Czechoslovakia. He said "We must make demands that cannot be satisfied". In September 1938, he helped organize hundreds of terrorist attacks and two
coupA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
attempts in the Sudetenland and instigated Hitler's frenetic speech in
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
. Since the attempted uprising was quickly suppressed by Czechoslovak forces, Henlein fled to Germany and made numerous intrusions into Czechoslovak territory as a commander of Sudeten German guerilla bands of
FreikorpsThe designation of Freikorps was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards...
. After the final
secessionSecession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity.-Secession theory:...
of the Sudetenland, Henlein's party merged with Hitler's NSDAP on November 5, 1938. Henlein then became
GruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
(later
ObergruppenführerObergruppenführer 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...
) SS and a
ReichstagThe Reichstag was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently of the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945...
deputy. In March and April 1939 he served as the head of civil service in the
Protectorate of Bohemia and MoraviaThe Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...
but soon most of the power went to the hands of another Sudeten German politician,
Karl Hermann FrankKarl Hermann Frank was a prominent Sudeten German Nazi official in Czechoslovakia prior to and during World War II and an SS-Obergruppenführer...
. On May 1, 1939 he was named
GauleiterA Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Etymology:...
of the Sudetenland, a position he held until the end of the war.
In May 1945, while in
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
captivity in the barracks of Plzeň, he committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
by cutting his veins with his broken glasses. He was buried anonymously in the Pilsen Central Cemetery.
Notable decorations
- War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
without swords Second (?) and First (?) Classes
- SS Honour Ring
The SS-Ehrenring , unofficially called Totenkopfring , was an award of Heinrich Himmler's Schutzstaffel...
(?)
- Golden Party Badge
The Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. It was worn by the first 100,000 members of the party , and by other individuals at the discretion of Adolf Hitler .The Golden Party Badge was the basic Nazi Party Badge with the addition of a...
(?)
- Wound Badge
Wound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War...
in Black (?)
External links