Hans Krebs (SS general)

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For other people named Hans Krebs, see Hans Krebs (disambiguation).
Gauleiter
Hans Krebs
Krebs as an SS-Oberführer c. 1938–1940
Regierungspräsident of the
Regierungsbezirk Aussig [de]
In office
15 November 1938 – 8 May 1945
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Honorary Gauleiter
In office
26 April 1938 – 8 May 1945
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Press Chief of the Reich Ministry of the Interior
In office
30 January 1934 – 15 November 1938
Personal details
Born26 April 1888
Iglau, Moravia,
Austria-Hungary
Died15 February 1947 (aged 58)
Pankrác Prison,
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Political partyNazi Party
Other political
affiliations		German Workers' Party
German National Socialist Workers' Party
OccupationJournalist
Civilian awardsGolden Party Badge
Military service
Allegiance Austria-Hungary
 Nazi Germany
Branch/serviceAustro-Hungarian Army
Schutzstaffel
Years of service1914–1918
1938–1945
RankOberleutnant
SS-Brigadeführer
Unit4th Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War I
Military awardsMedal for Bravery, in Bronze and in Silver (1st class)
War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class without Swords

Hans Krebs (26 April 1888 – 15 February 1947) was an

German nationalist who emigrated to Nazi Germany. He joined the Nazi Party, was elected to the Reichstag and was appointed a Regierungspräsident (district president) in the Sudetenland. He was also a member of the SS, rising to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer. In 1947, Krebs was executed in Prague for high treason by the Czechoslovak Republic
.

Early life

Krebs was born the son of an innkeeper and clothmaker in Iglau (today,

Oberrealschule in Iglau through 1906. He was involved with German nationalism from his youth, joining the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, DAP) in 1907. The party's program included elements of pan-Germanism and antisemitism.[1] He became the secretary of the Deutschen Volkswehr (German militia) in Iglau the following year. In 1910, he was made editor of the DAP news organ, the Deutsche Arbiterpresse, and publisher of the parliamentary correspondence paper, the Deutsche Arbiterkorrespondenz, both in Vienna. The same year, he rose to become general secretary of the central commission of the German Employees Association of Austria. In 1912 he became the general manager of the DAP in Vienna.[2]

Upon the outbreak of the

First World War in August 1914, Krebs volunteered for service in the Austro-Hungarian Army and was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment. From July 1915 he served on the front lines in Serbia and in Italy. As a Leutnant, he was a machine-gun platoon commander from August to December 1916, when he was declared unfit for further front-line service. He received several decorations, including the Medal for Bravery in two classes, and was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant before being discharged in October 1918.[3]

Political activities in Czechoslovakia

Returning to civilian life in the newly-formed nation of

Germans in Czechoslovakia. Also in 1918, Krebs was named the general manager of the DNSAP in the Sudetenland and the editor-in-chief of the Nationalsozialistischen Korrespondenz in Bohemia, positions which he would continue to hold until 1931. From 1918 to 1919, Krebs sat in the Bohemian Landtag and, from 1920 to 1931, he was the leader of the party secretariat for the Sudetenland. He first met Adolf Hitler in 1920. In 1925, he was elected a member of the City Council of Aussig (today, Ústí nad Labem) and a member of the Czechoslovak Chamber of Deputies, positions that he would retain until 1933. In addition, from 1927 to 1933 Krebs was the DNSAP Landesleiter (state leader) in Bohemia. He was also, between 1928 and 1930, the acting Landesleiter in Austria but largely was an absentee leader and left this post to concentrate his energies in Czechoslovakia.[4]

On 15 May 1929, Krebs became a co-founder and Landesleiter of a DNSAP paramilitary organization under the guise of a sporting organization, the Volkssport Verband (People's Sport Association). Based on the model of the Nazi Party Sturmabteilung (SA) in Germany, its members wore brown uniforms like those of the SA and staged large rallies and marches agitating for unification with Germany. They held joint exercises with the SA and in one of these, in January 1931, SA troops crossed the border into Czech territory. The Czechoslovak government first banned the wearing of the brown uniform and, on 1 March 1932, outlawed the organization entirely. Several Volkssport Verband members were indicted and put on trial for high treason in Brno between 8 August and 24 September 1932. During the trial, Krebs was implicated but was protected by parliamentary immunity. In November, prosecutors sought permission from the parliament to proceed against him and, on 28 February 1933, Krebs was indicted, then arrested and imprisoned for several months. Released on parole on the condition that he not engage in further unlawful activities, he broke parole by fleeing to Germany in July.[5]

Career in Nazi Germany

Gauleiter Hans Krebs (on left), in the Reich Ministry of the Interior, 1938

In Germany, Krebs became an advisor to Hitler on Czechoslovak issues. He joined the

Sudeten German case: Kampf in Böhmen (Berlin, 1936) and Wir Sudetendeutsche (Berlin, 1937). Krebs was advanced to Oberregierungsrat (Senior Government Councilor) on 30 January 1937 and also was promoted to SA-Standartenführer. In October 1937, Franz von Papen was rumored to be leaving his post as German ambassador to Austria and Krebs was the preferred choice as his replacement among Austrian Nazis.[7] In the end, no replacement was named, as Papen stayed on until just before the Austrian Anschluss in March 1938. Krebs left the SA and transferred to the Schutzstaffel (SS) on 1 April 1938 (SS number 292,802) and was assigned to the SS Main Office. He would subsequently be promoted to SS-Oberführer (16 October 1938) and to SS-Brigadeführer (9 November 1940) when he was assigned to the staff of the Reichsführer-SS. On the occasion of Krebs' 50th birthday on 26 April 1938, Hitler awarded him the title of Honorary Gauleiter. He was also later awarded the Golden Party Badge.[8]

State Secretary, Interior Ministry, Krebs and Adolf von Bomhard, Generalleutnant of the Ordnungspolizei

From August to October 1938, Krebs headed the Sudeten German Refugee Relief Program in

extermination camps. Of the approximately 1,250 members of the Jewish community in Aussig, it is estimated that only about 200 people survived the war by emigrating. Just a few of the survivors returned to the city after the war.[12]

In 1942, Krebs was considered for the post of Gauleiter in the planned but never established

Party Chancellery, and the post went to Hermann Neuburg [de] in the fall of that year. Krebs then served on the staff of the SS-Oberabschnitt Elbe in Dresden and, on 1 May 1944, was transferred to the staff of the SS-Oberabschnitt Böhmen-Mähren headquartered in Prague.[13]

Post-war

After the

high treason and executed by hanging in Prague in February 1947.[14]

SA and SS ranks
date rank
1933 SA-Obersturmbannführer
30 January 1937 SA-Standartenführer
1 April 1938 SS-Standartenführer
16 October 1938 SS-Oberführer
9 November 1940 SS-Brigadeführer

Writings

  • Kampf in Böhmen, (Berlin: Volk und Reich Verlag, 1936)
  • Wir Sudetendeutsche, (Berlin: Runge, 1937)

See also

References

  1. ^ Bullock 1962, p. 66.
  2. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, p. 132.
  3. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, pp. 132, 138.
  4. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, pp. 132–133.
  5. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, pp. 133–134.
  6. ^ Hans Krebs entry in the Reichstag Database
  7. ^ "Papen Transfer Rumored". New York Times. 21 October 1937. p. 2.
  8. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, pp. 134, 138.
  9. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, pp. 131, 136.
  10. ^ Evans 2005, p. 678.
  11. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, p. 136.
  12. ^ On the history of the Jewish community in Usti nad Labem/Aussig', on Radio Prague International. Retrieved 31 October 2023
  13. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, pp. 136–137.
  14. ^ Miller & Schulz 2017, p. 137.

Sources

External links
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