Hans Krüger | |
|---|---|
 | |
Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims Germany | |
| In office 17 October 1963 – 7 February 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Wolfgang Mischnick |
| Succeeded by | Ernst Lemmer |
| President of theFederation of Expellees | |
| In office 1959–1964 | |
| Preceded by | Georg Baron Manteuffel-Szoege andLinus Kather |
| Succeeded by | Wenzel Jaksch |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 1957–1965 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1902-07-06)6 July 1902 |
| Died | 3 November 1971(1971-11-03) (aged 69) |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
Hans Krüger (6 July 1902 – 3 November 1971) was a former member of theNSDAP party and other Nazi organizations who served as anSS judge inoccupied Poland during theSecond World War. After the war he becameWest Germanpolitician of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU). He served asFederal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims of theFederal Republic of Germany from 17 October 1963 to 7 February 1964, in the First Cabinet of ChancellorLudwig Erhard, as President of theFederation of Expellees from 1959 to 1964, and as a Member of Parliament from 1957 to 1965. He stepped down from cabinet amid controversy about his war-time background.[1]
Krüger was born in Neustettin (Szczecinek) in theProvince of Pomerania. He completed studies ofpolitical sciences and law in 1922.[2] In 1934 he was appointed as ajudge in Pomerania[3] after passing two exams in the years 1927–1929.[3] In 1937 his work as criminal judge was praised by state officials as "avoiding undue sensitivity" and of "correct orientation" when passing out sentences.[3]
Krüger claimed to participate in theBeer Hall Putsch[4] inMunich. At the time he was a member of theNazi Party and other Nazi organisations such as theReichsbund Deutscher Beamter (German Civil Service), theNS-Rechtswahrerbund (National Socialist Lawyers Association), and theVolksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland (Association for Germanism Abroad). He worked as a judge inLauenburg (Lębork),Stargard (Stargard Szczeciński) and after 1940 inChojnice (Konitz), where he was made anNSDAP-Ortsgruppenleiter and where he passed several thousanddeath sentences.[4] From 1943 to 1945 he served in Nazi Germany'sKriegsmarine.[2]
After the war Krüger became a CDU politician and co-founder of theFederation of Expellees, joining the predecessor of the organisation in 1948 and serving as their president from 1959 to 1964. He was a member of the GermanBundestag from 1957 to 1965, and served as deputy chair of the Committee for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims from 1961 to 1963.
He became the Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims in 1963, serving until 1964. He resigned from the cabinet and the chairmanship of the Federation of Expellees in 1964,[5] amid controversy about his work during the Nazi era. The communist regime ofEast Germany, particularlyAlbert Norden, had attacked him heavily since December 1963. After he left parliament in 1965, Krüger worked as a lawyer. He died inBonn.[2]
First Erhard cabinet (1963–1965) | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
President:Eugen Gerstenmaier (CDU) | |||||||
| CDU/CSU |
| ||||||
| SPD |
| ||||||
| FDP |
| ||||||
| OTHER |
| ||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
