Franz Maierhofer | |
|---|---|
| DeputyGauleiter ofUpper Palatinate | |
| In office 1 November 1929 – 15 November 1930 | |
| Gauleiter ofUpper Palatinate | |
| In office 15 November 1930 – 17 August 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Edmund Heines |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| In office 1 April 1932 – 17 August 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Otto Erbersdobler |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Gauleiter of Lower Bavaria-Upper Palatinate | |
| In office 17 August 1932 – 13 January 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1897-12-21)21 December 1897 |
| Died | 22 August 1943(1943-08-22) (aged 45) |
| Cause of death | Killed in action |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | German Empire Nazi Germany |
| Branch/service | Royal Bavarian Army German Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1920 1937–1943 |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II •Fourth Battle of Kharkov † |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class |
Franz Maierhofer (21 December 1897 – 22 August 1943) was aGauleiter of theNazi Party for theUpper Palatinate andLower Bavaria. He was also a member of theSchutzstaffel (SS) and theWehrmacht. He was killed in action on theeastern front inWorld War II.
The tenth child of a locomotive operator, he grew up inRegensburg. After high school, at the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914 he enlisted as a volunteer with the 11th Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment. He attended officer training classes and was promoted toLeutnant in August 1916. In April 1917, he was wounded and taken prisoner by the French. He was awarded theIron Cross, first and second class. He returned to Germany in April 1920, and was discharged from the service with a 20 percent disability. He resumed his education, training as an elementary school teacher inAmberg from 1920 to 1922. He passed his teaching examinations in December 1922. In 1923 he became an assistant teacher and in 1925 he was employed as a teacher. In 1930 he took up a teaching position inAuerbach in theUpper Palatinate (Oberpfalz). He was eventually dismissed from public school service on 1 November 1932 due to his political activities.[1]
On 16 April 1927, Maierhofer joined the Nazi Party (membership number 59,524). He served asBezirksleiter (District Leader) in Auerbach from 1927. He was named DeputyGauleiter of the Upper Palatinate in November 1929 whenGauleiterAdolf Wagner was transferred to Greater Munich. As such, he administered theGau until June 1930 whenEdmund Heines came in as ActingGauleiter. When Heines left to take up a staff position in theSturmabteilung (SA) high command, Maierhofer was namedGauleiter of the Upper Palatinate on 15 November 1930. In September 1930, he was elected to theReichstag from electoral constituency 25 (Lower Bavaria–Upper Palatinate) and served only one term until the next election in July 1932. In April 1931, he became the editor of a Nazi daily newspaper namedSchaffendes Volk.[2]
On the resignation ofOtto Erbersdobler of the neighboringGau of Lower Bavaria (Niederbayern) on 1 April 1932, Maierhofer was assigned the leadership of that jurisdiction in addition to his own. On 17 August theGaue of Upper Palatinate and Lower Bavaria were formally merged and Maierhofer becameGauleiter of the newly namedGau Lower Bavaria-Upper Palatinate (Niederbayern-Oberpfalz). However just several months later, the SA leadership of theGau filed a complaint alleging that Maierhofer had not properly allocated money due to the SA. He was relieved of his office on 13 January 1933. On 19 January, hisGau was merged withUpper Franconia intoGau Bavarian-East March (Bayerische Ostmark) under the leadership ofHans Schemm, the Upper FranconianGauleiter.[1]
In November 1933, Maierhofer joined theSchutzstaffel (SS) and held several staff positions between 1935 and 1937, including in the office of theReichsführer-SS. On 20 April 1936 he attained the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. In 1937 he secured a position with the Bavarian State government as an advisor in the Ministry of Education and Culture.[3]
In 1937, Maierhofer reentered military service as aLeutnant of the reserves. At the outbreak of World War II, he served on active duty with Infantry Regiment 50 of the 3rd Infantry Division. After 1941, he saw action on theEastern Front, advancing to the rank ofHauptmann in July 1942. In February 1943, he was promoted toMajor as commander of Grenadier Regiment 315 of the 167th Infantry Division, but was killed in action at theFourth Battle of Kharkov on 22 August 1943.[4]
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| People | |
