Kurt Daluege
Encyclopedia
Kurt Daluege was a German Nazi
SS-Oberstgruppenführer
and Generaloberst der Polizei as chief of the Ordnungspolizei
(Order/uniformed Police) and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector after Reinhard Heydrich
's assassination.
n state official, was born in small Upper Silesia
n town Kreuzburg
(now Kluczbork) on September 15, 1897. He entered the Imperial German Army
in 1916 and served with the 7.Garde Regiment West. During his service on the Western Front
Daluege was severely wounded a number of times (declared 25% disabled) and also decorated for bravery.
Roßbach while studying engineering
at the Technical University in Berlin. Two years later, Daluege joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, NSDAP and his Nazi Party number was 31,981. In 1926, Daluege joined the Sturmabteilung (SA) eventually becoming the leader of Berlin's SA and Goebbels'
deputy gauleiter
, a deputy party-leader, in Berlin.
In July 1930, Daluege in accordance with Hitler's wishes resigned from SA
and joined the Schutzstaffel SS with the rank of SS-Oberführer
. His SS membership number was 1,119. Daluege's main responsibility was to spy on the SA and political opponents of NSDAP. Daluege's Berlin SS headquarters was strategically placed at the corner of Lützowstrasse and Potsdamerstrasse, across from the SA headquarters.
In August 1930, when Berlin SA leader, Walter Stennes had his men attack the Berlin party headquarters, it was Daluege's SS men who fought in its defence and put it down. Sometime afterwards in an open letter to Daluege, Adolf Hitler
proclaimed "SS Mann, deine Ehre heißt Treue!", and "Meine Ehre Heißt Treue" (my honor is called loyalty) was adopted by the SS as its motto. Hitler promoted both Daluege and Heinrich Himmler
to the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer with Daluege the SS leader of Northern Germany while Himmler controlled southern SS units out of Munich as well as serving as the National Leader for the entire SS as a whole. In 1932 Daluege became an NSDAP delegate in the Prussian state parliament and in November 1932 was elected to the Reichstag
for Electoral District Berlin
-Ost, a seat he retained until 1945. At the same time, Hermann Göring
moved him to the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, where he took over the non-political police with the rank of General der Polizei. In 1936, the entire German police force was reorganized and administrative functions previously exercised by the now largely defunct federal states were reassigned to the Reich Ministry of Interior. The same year, Daluege was appointed, by Wilhelm Frick
, the chief of the Ordnungspolizei, Orpo, which gave him administrative, though not executive, authority over most of the uniformed police in Nazi Germany
. He commanded the Ordnungspolizei
until 1943 reaching the rank of SS-Oberstgruppenführer
und Generaloberst der Polizei. Following the assassination
of Reinhard Heydrich
, Daluege also served as the Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia
. In June 1942, he carryed out Himmler's reprisal orders, after Heydrich's death, by having the village of Lidice
razed to the ground; the male inhabitants there and in the village of Ležáky
murdered. Further, many of the women and children were deported to Nazi concentration camps
.
and became seriously ill. In August, he was relieved of all of his daily duties and spent the rest of the war living on a property given to him by Hitler. In May 1945, Daluege was arrested by British troops in Lübeck
and interned at Nuremberg
until September 1946 when he was extradited to Czechoslovakia
. Kurt Daluege was hanged at Pankrác prison
in Prague
on October 24, 1946 after having been found guilty by a Czech court of war crimes commited in the territory of occupied Czechoslovakia
. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Prague's Ďáblice cemetery.
son, Lt. Yakov Dzhugashvili
, was captured by the Wehrmacht, Daluege is credited with the idea of offering POW Dzhugashvili back to the Red Army
in exchange for the release of Field Marshal Paulus
. Joseph Stalin
turned down the offer, allegedly stating that "a Lieutenant was not worth a General." Daluege then arranged for Dzhugashvili to be interned at Sachsenhausen concentration camp
where he died at the age of 36. The Germans stated officially that Yakov died by running into an electric fence. Some have contended that he committed suicide at the camp while others have suggested that he was murdered.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
SS-Oberstgruppenführer
Oberstgruppenführer
Oberst-Gruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler...
and Generaloberst der Polizei as chief of the Ordnungspolizei
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...
(Order/uniformed Police) and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector after Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
's assassination.
Early life and career
Kurt Daluege, a son of a PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n state official, was born in small Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
n town Kreuzburg
Kluczbork
Kluczbork is a town in southwestern Poland with 26,670 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Kluczbork County and an important railroad junction. In Kluczbork the major rail line from Katowice splits into two directions - westwards to Wroclaw and northwards to Poznań...
(now Kluczbork) on September 15, 1897. He entered the Imperial German Army
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
in 1916 and served with the 7.Garde Regiment West. During his service on the Western Front
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...
Daluege was severely wounded a number of times (declared 25% disabled) and also decorated for bravery.
1920s
After the war Daluege became leader of Selbstschutz Oberschlesien (SSOS) - Upper Silesian Self Defense — an Upper Silesian veterans’ organization, which was engaged in combat with the Poles in that region. In 1921 he became also active in the FreikorpsFreikorps
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...
Roßbach while studying engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
at the Technical University in Berlin. Two years later, Daluege joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, NSDAP and his Nazi Party number was 31,981. In 1926, Daluege joined the Sturmabteilung (SA) eventually becoming the leader of Berlin's SA and Goebbels'
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
deputy gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
, a deputy party-leader, in Berlin.
SS and Police Leader
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 joined the Schutzstaffel SS with the rank of SS-Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
. His SS membership number was 1,119. Daluege's main responsibility was to spy on the SA and political opponents of NSDAP. Daluege's Berlin SS headquarters was strategically placed at the corner of Lützowstrasse and Potsdamerstrasse, across from the SA headquarters.
In August 1930, when Berlin SA leader, Walter Stennes had his men attack the Berlin party headquarters, it was Daluege's SS men who fought in its defence and put it down. Sometime afterwards in an open letter to Daluege, 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...
proclaimed "SS Mann, deine Ehre heißt Treue!", and "Meine Ehre Heißt Treue" (my honor is called loyalty) was adopted by the SS as its motto. Hitler promoted both Daluege and Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich 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...
to the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer with Daluege the SS leader of Northern Germany while Himmler controlled southern SS units out of Munich as well as serving as the National Leader for the entire SS as a whole. In 1932 Daluege became an NSDAP delegate in the Prussian state parliament and in November 1932 was elected to the Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
for Electoral District 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...
-Ost, a seat he retained until 1945. At the same time, Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
moved him to the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, where he took over the non-political police with the rank of General der Polizei. In 1936, the entire German police force was reorganized and administrative functions previously exercised by the now largely defunct federal states were reassigned to the Reich Ministry of Interior. The same year, Daluege was appointed, by Wilhelm Frick
Wilhelm Frick
Wilhelm Frick was a prominent German Nazi official serving as Minister of the Interior of the Third Reich. After the end of World War II, he was tried for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials and executed...
, the chief of the Ordnungspolizei, Orpo, which gave him administrative, though not executive, authority over most of the uniformed police in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. He commanded the Ordnungspolizei
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...
until 1943 reaching the rank of SS-Oberstgruppenführer
Oberstgruppenführer
Oberst-Gruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler...
und Generaloberst der Polizei. Following the assassination
Operation Anthropoid
Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the targeted killing of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the...
of Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
, Daluege also served as the Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The 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...
. In June 1942, he carryed out Himmler's reprisal orders, after Heydrich's death, by having the village of Lidice
Lidice
Lidice is a village in the Czech Republic just northwest of Prague. It is built on the site of a previous village of the same name which, as part of the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was on orders from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, completely destroyed by German forces in reprisal...
razed to the ground; the male inhabitants there and in the village of Ležáky
Ležáky
Ležáky was a village in Czechoslovakia. In 1942 it was razed to the ground by Nazis during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia.Ležáky was a settlement inhabited by poor stone-cutters and little cottagers...
murdered. Further, many of the women and children were deported to Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
.
Illness, arrest and execution
In May 1943 Daluege suffered a massive heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and became seriously ill. In August, he was relieved of all of his daily duties and spent the rest of the war living on a property given to him by Hitler. In May 1945, Daluege was arrested by British troops in Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
and interned at Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
until September 1946 when he was extradited to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Kurt Daluege was hanged at Pankrác prison
Pankrác Prison
Pankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison , is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
on October 24, 1946 after having been found guilty by a Czech court of war crimes commited in the territory of occupied Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Prague's Ďáblice cemetery.
Personal life
In 1926, Daluege married Käthe Schwarz (born November 23, 1901) and had four children. Of the four, three were sons (b. 1937, 1938, 1940) and the fourth was a daughter (born. 1942).Dates of rank
- SS-OberführerOberführerOberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
: July 25, 1930 - SS-GruppenführerGruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
: July 1, 1932 - SS-ObergruppenführerObergruppenführerObergruppenführer 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...
: September 9, 1934 - Generalleutnant der LandespolizeiLandespolizeithumb|[[Germany|German]] police officer in [[Hamburg]]The Landespolizei are the main police forces of Germany. They are under the sole jurisdiction, funded and operated by the states of Germany.-History:...
: April 20, 1935 - GeneralGeneral (Germany)General is presently the highest rank of the German Army and Luftwaffe . It is the equivalent to the rank of Admiral in the German Navy .-Early history:...
der PolizeiOrdnungspolizeiThe 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...
: June 17, 1936 - SS-OberstgruppenführerOberstgruppenführerOberst-Gruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler...
und Generaloberst der PolizeiOrdnungspolizeiThe 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...
: April 20, 1942
Notable decorations
- Knights Cross of the War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe 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...
with swords (1943) - German CrossGerman CrossThe German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Silver (?) - Golden Nazi Party BadgeGolden Party BadgeThe Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it...
(1933) - Iron CrossIron CrossThe 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....
Second (1918) Class - War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe 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...
with Swords Second (1941) and First (1941) Classes - Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound 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. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in Black (1918) - Anschluss MedalAnschluss MedalThe Anschluss Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:Instituted on May 1, 1938, the medal commemorated the return of Austria to the German Reich...
(1938) - Sudetenland MedalSudetenland MedalThe The Sudetenland Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:...
(1939) with Prague Castle Bar (1939) - Memel MedalMemel MedalThe Return of Memel Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period, and the last of the series of Occupation Medals.-Description:...
(1939) - NSDAP-Long Service Award in Bronze (1940) and in Silver (1941)
- Cross of HonorCross of HonorThe Cross of Honor, also known as the Honor Cross or, popularly, the Hindenburg Cross, was a commemorative medal inaugurated on July 13, 1934 by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg for those soldiers of Imperial Germany who fought in World War I...
(1929) - SS-Honour RingSS-EhrenringThe SS-Ehrenring , unofficially called Totenkopfring , was an award of Heinrich Himmler's Schutzstaffel . It was not a state decoration, but rather a personal gift bestowed by Himmler...
(1933) - Danzig CrossDanzig CrossThe Danzig Cross was a Nazi decoration of the Free City of Danzig.The Danzig Cross was instituted in 31 August 1939 as two grade decoration by Danzig Gauleiter Albert Forster...
(1939) - Order of the Crown of ItalyOrder of the Crown of ItalyThe Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...
Grand Cross (1938)
Trivia
When Stalin'sJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
son, Lt. Yakov Dzhugashvili
Yakov Dzhugashvili
Yakov Iosifovich Dzhugashvili was one of Joseph Stalin's four children . Yakov was the son of Stalin's first wife, Ekaterina Svanidze...
, was captured by the Wehrmacht, Daluege is credited with the idea of offering POW Dzhugashvili back to the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in exchange for the release of Field Marshal Paulus
Friedrich Paulus
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus was an officer in the German military from 1910 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generalfeldmarschall during World War II, and is best known for having commanded the Sixth Army's assault on Stalingrad during Operation Blue in 1942...
. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
turned down the offer, allegedly stating that "a Lieutenant was not worth a General." Daluege then arranged for Dzhugashvili to be interned at Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
where he died at the age of 36. The Germans stated officially that Yakov died by running into an electric fence. Some have contended that he committed suicide at the camp while others have suggested that he was murdered.