Baldur von Schirach

Baldur von Schirach (March 9th 1907 with Berlin - August 8th 1974 with Kröv-year-DER-Mosel) was the chief of the Jeunesses hitlériennes and also Gauleiter of Vienna. He was condemned to twenty years of prison following the Procès of Nuremberg and was imprisoned with the Prison of Spandau.

Biography

Childhood and adolescence

Baldur von Schirach was born the March 9th 1907 with Berlin. It is resulting from a family of officers rich aristocrats and is the last of the four children von Schirach. His/her father, the officer Carl von Schirach married Emma, the girl of an American lawyer. In 1908, Carl resigned of the army to become director of the theater of the large-ducal Court of Weimar. Baldur knows a privileged childhood, marked by the music, the theater and the literature. Very early, it showed a talent of poet and likes Goethe particularly. Unfortunately, the First World War put quickly fine at this life without concern. At 10 years, the young person von Schirach became member of the Ligue of the Young Germans, a nationalist and racist organization.

The shortly after the German defeat of 1918, his/her father was revoked and remained some time without employment. The disorders which agitated the Germany then durably traumatisèrent the family von Schirach. The oldest son not supporting the dishonor of his fatherland put an end to his days. Disillusioned, Carl von Schirach turns to the extreme-right-hand side and became one of the partisans of the left national-Socialist.

During its adolescence, Baldur was marked by the hatred of his/her father towards the Weimar Republic. During a voyage which it accomplished with his mother with the the United States, its American family proposed to him to settle on the other side of the Atlantic to start a career. But Baldur chooses to turn over in Germany. The August 29th 1925, at the time of a dinner organized in the family home, it became acquainted with Adolf Hitler. The teenager deeply impressed by this meeting adhered shortly after to NSDAP. In 1927, Baldur entered with SA and settled with Munich where it was registered at the university to follow there courses of history of art, English and German literature.

The N.S.D.A.P.

In spite of its young age, von Schirach very quickly formed part of the intimate circle of the leaders of NSDAP. Thus, the July 20th 1928, it was named with the head of Union of the students hitlériens. In 1929 its political commitment pushed it to give up its studies. Propagandist and remarkable organizer of the student movement, it inspired in his companions the ideals of friendship, the sacrifice, the discipline, courage and the honor. It gained thus with the Nazi cause of the hundreds of thousands of jeunes.
The effectiveness of its action near youth and the devotion plugs that it expresses in its poems are worth the regard of Hitler to him. The October 30th 1931, this one appointed it chief of the Jeunesses hitlériennes, station that Hitler crééa especially for him. Baldur, which did not have that 24 years, became thus colonel SA. In March 1932, it married Henriette Hoffmann, the girl of the personal photographer of Hitler, Heinrich Hoffmann. Their witness, Hitler, offered a dog to them. The couple will have four children, three boys and a girl. The July 31st, von Schirach enters to the Reichstag. A few months later, at the beginning of October 1932, it organized a monumental walk of youth Nazi. Tens of thousands of young people, come to foot from all the Germany, thus paid homage to Hitler during a procession which lasted nearly 7 a.m. The Führer was itself very impressionné.
From January 1933, von Schirach worked like a navvy to achieve its goal: to inculcate in German youth the ideals Nazis. It took possession thus, by the force, of the offices of the committee of associations of youth of Reich, then of the organization of the inns of youth. The June 17th 1933, at the time of a ceremony in the presence of Hitler, von Schirach became chief of Youths of German Reich. The Hitlerjugend was thus released from supervision SA and became autonomous party.

Between January 1933 and 1934, youths hitlèriennes passed from one to 3,5 million members. Following the decree of February 1st 1936 which made an organization of State of it, the members were increasingly numerous. Von Schirach then became Secretary of State to youth. From now on, it did not depend any more that of Hitler and was " entirely responsible for physical education, ideological and morals of youth allemande".

In January 1937, with the assistance of Doctor Ley, it opened the schools Adolf Hitler to form the elite of the III {{E}} Reich. Its organization worked in close cooperation with the ministry for the propaganda which had as a chief Joseph Goebbels. Presented like a kind of hero, adulated by the young Nazis like a god, the photographs of the chief of youths hitlériennes were diffused of number as a whole of Reich.
En 1938, von Schirach declared: “ the combat for the unification of German youth is finished. I regard as my duty to lead it in a way hard and intransigent and I promise to the German people that the youth of Reich, the youth of Adolf Hitler, will achieve its duty according to the spirit of the man to whom only their lives belong. ” the March 25th 1939, adhesion with youths hitlériennes became obligatory for the young people wanting to make sports activities or to go to school. They gathered 12 million young people then. Von Schirach thus transformed German youth into " object of propaganda vivante" , thus making the enrollment of the parents by their children. It is at that time that von Schirach pronounced celebrates it sentence in a meeting, uniting to it epic with the word: “ When I hear the word " culture" , I leave my revolver! ”

This sentence, thereafter, was unduly allotted to Goering, error solid in the collective culture. Actually, although it was actually taken again by B von Schirach as by other national-Socialists, it is a German writer, Hans Johst (1890-1978), itself national-Socialist, who is the author of this formula that he placed like retorts of a character of the one of his plays entitled " Schlageter" (1933).

Training ground of the future officers, youths hitlériennes also became starting from the August 26th 1938 the fish pond of the S: following a first agreement concluded between Baldur von Schirach and Heinrich Himmler, the best recruits were directed towards the black Ordre after having followed a particular drive. An liaison office between the S and Hitlerjugend was set up on October 1st, and a new agreement reinforcing this collaboration was signed the December 17th 1938. As for the co-operation with the army, it was reinforced the August 11th 1939. Von Schirach then signed a new convention with Wilhelm Keitel, commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht, following which Hitlerjugend will carry out the drive pre-soldier according to the rules fixed by the army which, n the other hand, was committed training each year 30.000 instructors for youth hitlérienne.

However, Jugendführer did not have only friends within NSDAP. One of its principal enemies, Martin Bormann, made in kind harm its reputation by jokes on its behavior. It was true that the grassouillet Baldur hardly appreciated the life Spartan that it made reign in the camps of the Hitlerjugend, and was distant towards its troops during its displacements. Some time after the release of the war, in December 1939, to undoubtedly cross short to the insinuations of its opponents, von Schirach voluntarily joined the army. After having undergone a drive, it was useful on the face of the west as from April 1940 and took part in the countryside of France. In June 1940, promoted lieutenant, it accepted the Croix of iron of second class, before being recalled to Berlin by Hitler. Its opposition to the war and of the internal litigations led it to be replaced with the head of youths hitleriennes; there remained nevertheless Reichsleiter, in charge of the education of German youth.

The exile in Vienna

Disappointed by its protected, Hitler exiled it by naming it in 1940 governor of area of Vienna and Reich police chief with defense. As from September 1940, it was also in charge of the evacuation of the children of the cities to protect them from the British bombardments. In the metropolis Viennese, Baldur von Schirach gave sumptuous festivals. On the spot, its responsibilities covered the saving in war, the administration of Vienna and that of Gau under the supervision of the Minister of Interior Department. It was responsible for the forced work program there.

Especially, as of its taking of, von Schirach precipitated the deportation of the Jews of the area of Vienna. The October 2nd 1940, whereas it took part in a meeting in the office of Hitler, it required of the chief of the General Government, to take care of the Jews which were still present in Vienna. The December 3rd 1940, following its reports/ratios, it accepted a letter announcing to him that Hitler had decided to off-set the 60.000 Jews remaining in Vienna towards the General Government. On the whole, it took part directly in the sending in the East of 185.000 Jews. Expulsion that it juga, in one of its speeches, as being " an active contribution with the culture européenne".

Von Schirach does not have from now on any more a real influence within Reich. Its relationship with its Führer will be being degraded until the end of the conflict. Besides Bormann made in kind of envenimer their relations. After the November 17th 1942, a new administrative distribution discharged it from the responsibility for the the lower Danube and the higher Danube. In 1943, it attracted itself the lightnings of Hitler to have organized in Vienna an exposure on " art décadent". The rupture was practically consumed during a dinner with the Führer, the June 24th 1943. Von Schirach would then have required that a better treatment be granted to the people of the East, in particular to the Russian civilians, and would have protested against the conditions under which is carried out the deportation of the Jews. As for his Henriette wife, she would have declared herself opposed to the deportations and would have asked the Führer if it had allowed itself that the Jews are maltreated. Hitler, furious, would have left the part with crash.

The lawsuit of Nuremberg

At the time of the catch of Vienna by the Red Army the April 13rd 1945, von Schirach initially tried to escape the capture. Under the name of Falk, he worked with Schwaz, in the the Tyrol, as interprets for the American army. However, a few days before the German capitulation, the May 5th 1945, it revealed by letter its identity with the Americans and was constituted captive. The November 20th, it was put in charge by the court of Nuremberg for " concerted plan or complot" and " crimes against the humanité". The principal bill of indictment rested on its participation in the deportations of the Jews of Austria.

During the Lawsuit of Nuremberg, von Schirach was only, with Speer and Hans Frank, to recognize the culpability of the Nazi regime and to show some repentance. He declared: " In front of God, in front of the German nation, in front of the German people, I carry only the culpability to have involved youth to support a man who during long years was regarded as being irreproachable and which assassinated million people ". He brought the proof that he had protested at Bormann against the inhuman treatment inflicted to the Jews and, informant who the committed crimes will remain for centuries a spot in the German history, he ensured not to have been informed of the existence of the death camps. Extremely doubtful assertion, since its functions were worth to him to receive the reports/ratios of the SD on the application of the " Finale" solution;. It was defended by declaring that its " main activities in Vienna were social and culturelles".

October 1st 1946, cleared of the first count of indictment, von Schirach was recognized guilty of Crime against humanity and was condemned to 20 years of prison. During its years of imprisonment, it started to write its memories secretly. In 1950, the husbands von Schirach divorced. The same year, his/her children asked for his grace, in vain.

“End” of Baldur von Schirach

It was a man sick and prematurely out-of-date who left the prison of Spandau the September 30th 1966. Until its death, he lived withdrawn in the south-west of the the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1967, it published Ich glaubte year Hitler (I believed in Hitler), trying to explain fascination that the Führer had exerted on him and on German youth.

He died in his sleep in a small hotel of Kröv-year-DER-Mosel on August 8th, 1974.

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