Kurt Gildisch
Encyclopedia
Kurt Gildisch became the third commander of Adolf Hitler
's personal bodyguard (SS-Begleitkommando des Führers
) on 11 April 1933. He was a trained teacher, who had failed to find a classroom job and ended up in the Prussian police force. Like his successor Bruno Gesche
, he was sacked for his Nazi affiliations, and joined the SA
in 1931. Later that year he was transferred to the SS.
. In January 1925 he was sent to the police school in Senburg which he left in September 1925 with the qualification for the accelerated promotion to officer.
In October 1925 Gildisch was transferred to Berlin
. He undermined his own reputation with heavy drinking and was dismissed in 1931 because of his ties to Nazi party. The direct excuse for his dismissal was the drunken singing of tendentious political songs within the police barracks.
Along with many of Hitler's inner core of old time friends and SS body guards, he was viewed with mistrust and dislike by Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler
. While nominally under Himmler's control, Gildisch and other close comrades of the Führers took their orders direct from Hitler, much to Himmler's eternal frustration. Gildisch had a drinking problem, which within months of his assuming command of the SS–Begleitkommando des Führers (the Führer's personal bodyguard commando), his drinking got the better of him.
On the 15 June 1934 Himmler had him removed from his post, and he was replaced by Bruno Gesche
. Hitler did not interfere but this was not the end of Gildisch's problems however. Despite the warning and demotion, Gildisch continued to drink heavily while on duty, and in 1936 this led to his expulsion from both the SS and the Nazi party.
He was a significant participant in the Night of the Long Knives
.
and from 20 April 1941 he was appointed Untersturmführer
der Waffen-SS
. From 1942 Gildisch actively fought on the Eastern Front
. There Gildisch was again involved in a drunken incident in Russia
: on 24 June 1942 Gildisch injured slightly drunken junior officers and soldiers of the Baubatallions 25.
Theodor Eicke
sentenced Kurt Gildisch on 27 December 1942 to several weeks of house arrest. From November to December 1943 Gildisch spent a few days rehabilitating in the concentration camp Buchenwald. In 1944 Gildisch was attached to the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland
on the Soviet front. In August 1944 Gildisch wounded on the Eastern Front
. On 2 May 1945 Gildisch was wounded again and fell into Soviet captivity during the Battle of Berlin
but he was released in August 1946.
After his return from captivity Gildisch had his right leg amputated and replaced by a prosthesis.
region and renamed Wolschskoe. Kurt Gildisch finally found work after retraining as a bookbinder for Schwerbeschädiger in the social works of the Protestant Evangelical-Lutheran emergency services work (Evangelischen Hilfsdienstes Arbeit).
In 1949 Gildisch was recognized at a Berlin
train station by an old friend who then denounced him to the police. Kurt Gildisch was arrested and after a case at the Berlin court convicted in May 1953 of the murder of Dr. Erich Klausener
during the Night of the Long Knives
. He was sentenced to fifteen years in jail.
Kurt Gildisch died in 1956 of an incurable liver disease in a Wilmersdorfer private hospital after the criminal sentence was suspended due to incompetence and lack of prison treatment.
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...
's personal bodyguard (SS-Begleitkommando des Führers
SS-Begleitkommando des Führers
SS-Begleitkommando des Führers was originally an eight-man SS squad assigned with protecting the life of Adolf Hitler during the early 1930s.-Formation:...
) on 11 April 1933. He was a trained teacher, who had failed to find a classroom job and ended up in the Prussian police force. Like his successor Bruno Gesche
Bruno Gesche
SS-Obersturmbannführer** Bruno Gesche was a Lieutenant Colonel of the SS in Nazi Germany, a member of Adolf Hitler's entourage, and the commander of Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard for the periods June 1934 – April 1942 and December 1942 – December 1944.-Early career:Gesche's aspirations for a...
, he was sacked for his Nazi affiliations, and joined the SA
SA
-Organizations:* S.A. , a type of corporation in various countries* Salvation Army, a Christian denomination founded by William Booth* Sewickley Academy, a private school in the United States...
in 1931. Later that year he was transferred to the SS.
Life
Kurt Gildisch was the fourth child of East Prussian schoolteacher Paul Gildisch and his wife Marie (nee Riel). In his childhood Kurt Gildisch attended primary school in the village of Potremschen (23 km south west of Insterburg). Subsequently he was trained as a teacher in Kaal, Insterburg until 1922. He undertook the schoolteachers test (Lehrerprüfung) in 1924. As he found no opportunities in the teaching profession, he applied for a job in the policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
. In January 1925 he was sent to the police school in Senburg which he left in September 1925 with the qualification for the accelerated promotion to officer.
In October 1925 Gildisch was transferred to 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...
. He undermined his own reputation with heavy drinking and was dismissed in 1931 because of his ties to Nazi party. The direct excuse for his dismissal was the drunken singing of tendentious political songs within the police barracks.
Along with many of Hitler's inner core of old time friends and SS body guards, he was viewed with mistrust and dislike by Reichsführer SS 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...
. While nominally under Himmler's control, Gildisch and other close comrades of the Führers took their orders direct from Hitler, much to Himmler's eternal frustration. Gildisch had a drinking problem, which within months of his assuming command of the SS–Begleitkommando des Führers (the Führer's personal bodyguard commando), his drinking got the better of him.
On the 15 June 1934 Himmler had him removed from his post, and he was replaced by Bruno Gesche
Bruno Gesche
SS-Obersturmbannführer** Bruno Gesche was a Lieutenant Colonel of the SS in Nazi Germany, a member of Adolf Hitler's entourage, and the commander of Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard for the periods June 1934 – April 1942 and December 1942 – December 1944.-Early career:Gesche's aspirations for a...
. Hitler did not interfere but this was not the end of Gildisch's problems however. Despite the warning and demotion, Gildisch continued to drink heavily while on duty, and in 1936 this led to his expulsion from both the SS and the Nazi party.
He was a significant participant 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...
.
World War Two
Kurt Gildisch participated in a leadership course at the SS Junker School in Bad TölzBad Tölz
Bad Tölz is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and administrative center of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.- History :Since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age, archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz...
and from 20 April 1941 he was appointed Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
der Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
. From 1942 Gildisch actively fought on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. There Gildisch was again involved in a drunken incident in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
: on 24 June 1942 Gildisch injured slightly drunken junior officers and soldiers of the Baubatallions 25.
Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke was a SS Obergruppenführer , commander of the SS-Division Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS and one of the key figures in the establishment of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. His Nazi Party number was 114,901 and his SS number was 2,921...
sentenced Kurt Gildisch on 27 December 1942 to several weeks of house arrest. From November to December 1943 Gildisch spent a few days rehabilitating in the concentration camp Buchenwald. In 1944 Gildisch was attached to the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland
11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland
The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, also known as Kampfverband Waräger, Germanische-Freiwilligen-Division, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 11 or 11. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, was a Waffen SS, Panzergrenadier division recruited from foreign volunteers...
on the Soviet front. In August 1944 Gildisch wounded on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. On 2 May 1945 Gildisch was wounded again and fell into Soviet captivity during the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
but he was released in August 1946.
After his return from captivity Gildisch had his right leg amputated and replaced by a prosthesis.
Post-war period
After the Second World War Gildisch was for some time incapable of work and due to his personal politics he could see limited work options. He was unable to return to his family hearth in Potremschen as it was incorporated into the newly created Soviet KaliningradKaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
region and renamed Wolschskoe. Kurt Gildisch finally found work after retraining as a bookbinder for Schwerbeschädiger in the social works of the Protestant Evangelical-Lutheran emergency services work (Evangelischen Hilfsdienstes Arbeit).
In 1949 Gildisch was recognized at a 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...
train station by an old friend who then denounced him to the police. Kurt Gildisch was arrested and after a case at the Berlin court convicted in May 1953 of the murder of Dr. Erich Klausener
Erich Klausener
Erich Klausener was a German Catholic politician who was murdered in the Night of the Long Knives as the Nazis purged their opponents.- Biography :...
during 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...
. He was sentenced to fifteen years in jail.
Kurt Gildisch died in 1956 of an incurable liver disease in a Wilmersdorfer private hospital after the criminal sentence was suspended due to incompetence and lack of prison treatment.
SS Career Summary
- 1 July 1931 : SS ScharführerScharführerScharführer was a Nazi Party title that was used by several paramilitary organizations from 1925 to 1945. Translated as “Squad Leader”, the title of Scharführer can trace its origins to the First World War, where a Scharführer was often a Sergeant or Corporal who commanded special action or shock...
- 1 October 1931 : SS TruppführerTruppführerTruppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , or Nazi Stormtroopers...
- 1 July 1933 : SS SturmführerSturmführerSturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the Sturmabteilung in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928...
- 1 September 1933 : SS ObersturmführerObersturmführerObersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
- 9 November 1933 : SS HauptsturmführerHauptsturmführerHauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
- 4 July 1934 : SS SturmbannführerSturmbannführerSturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
- 1936 Demotion to : SS MannMann (military rank)Mann , was a paramilitary rank used by several Nazi Party paramilitary organizations between 1925 and 1945. The rank is most often associated with the SS, and also as a rank of the SA where Mann was the lowest enlisted rank and was the equivalent of a Private.In 1938, with the rise of the...
and Expulsion from the SS - 1939 : Entry into Waffen-SSWaffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
- 1941 : SS OberscharführerOberscharführerOberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...
der Waffen-SS - 20 April 1941 : SS UntersturmführerUntersturmführerUntersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
der Waffen-SS