August Jäger | |
|---|---|
 August Jäger as aGerman Student Corps member in 1909 | |
| Regierungspräsident, RegierungsbezirkPosen | |
| In office 26 October 1939 – 8 May 1945 | |
| Governor | Arthur Greiser |
| Ministerialdirektor, Prussian Ministry of Science, Culture and Public Education | |
| In office May 1933 – 26 October 1934 | |
| Minister | Bernhard Rust |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1887-08-21)August 21, 1887 Diez,Kingdom of Prussia,German Empire |
| Died | June 17, 1949(1949-06-17) (aged 61) Poznań,Polish People's Republic |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Education | Doctor of Law |
| Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Kiel University |
| Profession | Lawyer; Judge |
| Known for | Persecution of PolishCatholics |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  German Empire |
| Branch/service | Imperial German Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1918 |
| Rank | Oberleutnant |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 2nd class |
August Friedrich Christian Jäger (21 August 1887 – 17 June 1949) was a German lawyer, judge and government official inNazi Germany. He was also an SA-Brigadeführer in the NaziSturmabteilung (SA). During the early years of the regime, he was a leader in the efforts to unify the GermanProtestant churches under the Nazileadership principle. During theSecond World War, he was the deputy to theReichsstatthalter inReichsgau Wartheland and was involved in the persecution of PolishCatholics. At the end of the war, he was extradited to Poland, placed on trial, found guilty of crimes against humanity and hanged.
Jäger was born inDiez in thePrussianProvince of Hesse-Nassau, the son of aLutheran pastor. He passed hisAbitur at the humanisticGymnasium inWiesbaden in 1906. He performed compulsory military service as aone-year volunteer in 1906–1907 with the 116th (2nd Grand Ducal Hessian) Infantry Regiment inGiessen. He then began studying law at theLudwig Maximilian University of Munich. In 1908 he was accepted into theCorps Suevia München [de].[1] He transferred toKiel University and received hisDoctor of Law degree, passing his first state law examination in 1911 and beginning a legal clerkship. From 1914 to 1918, he served in theImperial German Army and took part in theFirst World War, attaining the rank ofOberleutnant and earning theIron Cross, 2nd class. Discharged at the end of the war, he passed his secondAssessor examination in 1920, worked as apublic prosecutor, anAmtsgericht (local court) judge from 1921 and aLandgericht (district court) judge at Wiesbaden from 1926.[2]
On 1 March 1933, Jäger joined theNazi Party (membership number 1,490,118)[3] and theSturmabteilung (SA), the Party'sparamilitary organization. In the Greater Wiesbaden church district, he was the leader of theGerman Christians. He was also the political director for Protestant church affairs in the Party'sReichsleitung (national leadership). Following theNazi seizure of power, Jäger was appointed aMinisterialdirektor and head of the church department in thePrussian Ministry of Science, Culture and Public Education in May 1933.[2] He was also designated theReichskommissar for all Protestant churches inPrussia from 25 June to 15 July 1933.[4]
Jäger led the effort at unification andNazification of theEvangelical Church in Prussia. In conformance with theFührerprinzip, he dissolved all elected bodies in the Prussian churches and replaced many officials with fellow-German Christians.[5] On 11 April 1934, Jäger was appointed legal advisor to theGerman Evangelical Church (DEK) by Reich BishopLudwig Müller. However, his tactics to force the integration of the state churches ofWürttemberg andBavaria failed in the autumn of 1934. He dismissed their bishops and placed them under house arrest, which led to mass public demonstrations that resulted in their reinstatement.[6] Therefore, on 26 October 1934, Jäger was forced to resign from his posts in the DEK and the Prussian ministry. He returned to his legal pursuits and, in 1936, became president of the Senate of theKammergericht inBerlin.[7]
Following the outbreak of theSecond World War and the invasion ofPoland in September 1939, Jäger was appointed as the deputy toArthur Greiser, theChief of Civil Administration in theWarthegau, an area that was annexed to Germany. On 26 October 1939, Jäger was namedRegierungspräsident of the newly-establishedRegierungsbezirk (government district) ofPosen and the deputy to Greiser, who had meanwhile risen to the position ofReichsstatthalter (Reich Governor). Jäger attained his highest rank in the SA on 20 May 1944, when he was promoted to SA-Brigadeführer. He earned the nickname "Kirchen-Jäger" (Church hunter) for the vehemence of his hostility to theCatholic Church and his persecution of Polish Catholics.[8] Priests, monks and other church officials were arrested, deported to theGeneral Government, transported toNazi concentration camps in Germany or shot. Some 1,700 priests were sent toDachau and over half died there. HistorianRichard J. Evans notes that: "By the end of 1941, the Polish Catholic Church had been effectively outlawed in the Wartheland. It was more or lessGermanized in the other occupied territories, despite an encyclical issued by the Pope as early as 27 October 1939 protesting against this persecution."[9]
Shortly after Germany's surrender in May 1945, Jäger was arrested in Germany by the British occupation authorities and wasextradited toPoland on 25 May 1946. There he was tried in 1948, sentenced to death on 13 December and executed by hanging on 17 June 1949 inPoznań.
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