Hans Schwedler | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 October 1878 |
| Died | 2 May 1945 (age 66) |
| Allegiance | German Empire Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Imperial German Army Schutzstaffel Waffen-SS |
| Years of service | 1898–1919 1932–1945 |
| Rank | Major SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of theWaffen-SS |
| Commands | SS and Police Leader, "Krakau" |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class Wound Badge, in black |
Otto Hugo Hans Schwedler (17 October 1878 – 2 May 1945) was aGermanNazi SS-Brigadeführer andGeneralmajor of theWaffen-SS who served as theSS and Police Leader in theKraków District during the establishment of theKraków Ghetto. He also was involved in the administration of theNazi concentration camp system, and committedsuicide close to the end of theSecond World War in Europe.
Schwedler was born inBerlin, the son of a businessman. After completing his education, he sought a professional military career by joining theImperial German Army and was commissioned aLeutnant in 1898. He served in theFirst World War as acompany andbattalion commander. He earned theIron Cross, 1st and 2nd class, and theWound Badge, in black. In February 1919 he was discharged from the army with the rank ofMajor. In 1920 he joinedDer Stahlhelm, the German militaryveterans organization.[1]
Schwedler joined theNazi Party in February 1931 (membership number 455,899) and theSS (membership number 60,740) in November 1932.[2] On 31 July 1933 he was commissioned an SS-Untersturmführer. Advancing rapidly up the ranks, he served from July 1933 to 10 June 1934 as the Chief of Staff in SS-Abschnitt (District) I, based inMunich. He next commanded the 79th SS-Standarte, with headquarters inUlm until 4 December 1934. From December 1934, he served at theSS-Junker School inBad Tölz as an instructor and, from January to November 1938, as Deputy Commandant. He then transferred to the SS leadership school inBraunschweig until January 1940 when he was promoted to SS-Oberführer and returned to Bad Tölz. He remained there until July 1940 and, at the same time, was also assigned to the inspectorate of theSS-Totenkopfverbände (Death's Head Units) which administered the system ofNazi concentration camps. From July to October 1940, he served as Inspector of theSS-Totenkopfstandarten (Death's Head Regiments).[3]
Schwedler was named the secondSS and Police Leader (SSPF) of theKraków District (German:Krakau Distrikt) in theGeneral Government on 1 October 1940, succeeding SS-GruppenführerKarl Zech. In this post, he commanded all SS personnel and police in his jurisdiction, including theOrdnungspolizei (Orpo; regular uniformed police), theSD (intelligence service) and theSiPo (security police), which included theGestapo (secret police). He held this posting until 4 August 1941.[4] His tenure as SSPF was marked by the establishment of theKraków Ghetto in March 1941. The ghetto, which would hold some 15,000 to 20,000Jews, was enclosed by a wall made of barbed wire and stone, constructed using Jewishforced labor.[5]
On 4 August 1941, Schwedler was made anOberführer of theWaffen-SS and transferred to become the SSgarrison commander ofPrague, the seat of theProtectorate of Bohemia-Moravia, where he remained until March 1942. From that time until August 1943, he headed the supply command of the Waffen-SS and police under SS-ObergruppenführerHans-Adolf Prützmann, the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) ofRussland-Süd (southern Russia). On 9 November 1942, Schwedler was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer andGeneralmajor of the Waffen-SS. From August 1943 he worked at SS headquarters in Berlin in theSS-Führungshauptamt (SS Leadership Main Office) the administrative and operational headquarters for the Waffen-SS. There he first headed Amt XI (Officer Training) and, from autumn 1944, Inspectorate 7 (Signals). Just days before the end of the war in Europe, Schwedler committed suicide on 2 May 1945.[1]
| SS Ranks[6][1] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Rank |
| 31 July 1933 | SS-Untersturmführer |
| 9 November 1933 | SS-Obersturmführer |
| 20 April 1934 | SS-Sturmhauptführer |
| 20 April 1935 | SS-Sturmbannführer |
| 1 January 1936 | SS-Obersturmbannführer |
| 9 November 1938 | SS-Standartenführer |
| 30 January 1940 | SS-Oberführer |
| 4 August 1941 | Oberführer der Waffen-SS |
| 9 November 1942 | SS-Brigadeführer undGeneralmajor der Waffen-SS |