August Heißmeyer (or Heissmeyer – born 11 January 1897 in Gellersen, nowadays part of Aerzen; died 16 January 1979 in Schwäbisch Hall) was a leading member of the SS. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Aerzen is a municipality in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Schwäbisch Hall (or Hall for short is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg; it is the capital of the District of The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the After the World War II, he was sentenced to a prison term as a war criminal. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied His nephew, Kurt Heissmeyer, was an SS physician, as well.

Life

After finishing school, Heißmeyer joined the Prussian military. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state In World War I he was a lieutenant and was decorated many times with, among other things, the Iron Cross, First Class. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia

Heissmeyer with Gertrud and their children

Previously married with six children in his custody, Heissmeyer married Gertrud Scholtz-Klink – the "Reich Women's Leader" ("Reichsfrauenführerin") – who had two previous marriages herself. Gertrud Scholtz-Klink ( February 9, 1902 - March 24, 1999; nee Treusch) was a fervent National Socialist German Workers Party Gertrud Scholtz-Klink ( February 9, 1902 - March 24, 1999; nee Treusch) was a fervent National Socialist German Workers Party After giving up his studies, he busied himself as a driving teacher. In 1923 he first came into contact with the Nazis, whom he joined in 1925. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In early 1926, Heissmeyer also joined the SA in which he participated actively, was responsible for building up the SA-Gausturm Hannover-Süd, and was for a time the acting Gauleiter. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The, abbreviated SA, ( German for "Assault detachment" or "Assault section" usually translated as " stormtroop(ers A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) or the head of a Gau or of a

In January 1930, Heissmeyer applied to join the SS and was accepted as the 4370th member. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From 1932, Heissmeyer was an associate at the SS main office and was promoted many times. From 1935, he was "Head of the SS Main Office", thus reaching a key position in the SS hierarchy, relieving Heinrich Himmler as the Office Head. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. On 9 November 1936, Heissmeyer was appointed SS Obergruppenführer and Inspector of the National Political Institutes of Education (NPEA). Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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 National Political Institutes of Education ( German: Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten; officially abbreviated NPEA commonly abbreviated Napola for Nationalpolitische

In April 1939, Richard Schulze served as an adjutant to Heissmeyer until his transfer on June 8. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Richard Schulze ( 2 October 1914 in Berlin – 3 July 1988 in Düsseldorf) was a Waffen-SS officer Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable Furthermore, in 1939, Heissmeyer was appointed SS Oberabschnittsleiter "East" and in 1940 "Higher SS and Police Leader Spree". He thereby oversaw the Berlin-Brandenburg area. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Heissmeyer now saw fit to set up the "Dienststelle SS-Obergruppenführer Heissmeyer" – his own bureau – and was thereby responsible for NPEA students' military training.

August Heissmeyer took over the General Inspection of the Strengthened SS Totenkopf Standard in 1940 from the outgoing Theodor Eicke, who in 1939 had begun commanding a front line division and therefore gave his supervision over the concentration camps back to the SS Main Leadership Office (SS-Führungshauptamt). SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3 Theodor Eicke ( October 17 1892 &ndash February 26, 1943) was a Nazi official SS- Obergruppenführer, commander A front line is a line of confrontation in an Armed conflict, most commonly a War. A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers See also List of Nazi-German concentration camps, Extermination camp Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany under Hitler maintained Heissmeyer was provisionally in charge of this bureau until May 1942. Then, he left the position to the new "concentration camp inspector" SS Gruppenführer Richard Glücks. Gruppenführer (literally “Group Leader” was an early Paramilitary Rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior Richard Glücks ( April 22, 1889 &ndash May 10, 1945) was a high-ranking Nazi official

On 14 November 1944, Heissmeyer was given the right to bear the title "General of the Waffen-SS" along with his regular SS rank, thereby affording him a prestigious position in the Waffen-SS. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" In April 1945, he was given command of Battle Group Heissmeyer, a collection of Volkssturm and Hitlerjugend tasked with protecting the Spandau airfield outside Berlin. The Volkssturm (lit "Folkstorm" "People's" or "National Militia" Sturm lit For the SS division with the nickname Hitlerjugend see 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth ( German:, For the Spandau machine gun see Maschinengewehr 08. For the 1980s New Romantic group see Spandau Ballet. An aerodrome is an area on land or water (including any buildings installations and equipment used for the arrival and departure of aircraft Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany.

On February 29, 1948, Heissmeyer was captured by French authorities near Tübingen, and held for trial the following month. Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Tübingen, a traditional University town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is situated 30 km (19 miles southwest of Stuttgart, on a ridge between He served 18 months in prison before being released in 1949, but the following year he was sentenced by the de-Nazification appeals court to 3 years imprisonment as a "major Nazi offender" and forfeiture of property.

After his release, Heissmeyer went to live in Schwäbisch Hall. Schwäbisch-Hall is a district ( Kreis) in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He became the director of the West German Coca-Cola bottling plant. West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany ( Coca-Cola is a carbonated Soft drink sold in stores restaurants and Vending machines in more than 200 countries He died on January 16, 1979, five days after his 82nd birthday.

External links

• August Heissmeyer in the German National Library catalogue