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Hitler's Chancellery

March 02, 2023

Hitler's Chancellery, officially known as the Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP ("Chancellery of the Führer of the Nazi Party"; abbreviated as KdF)[a] was a Nazi Party organization. Also known as the Privatkanzlei des Führers ("Private Chancellery of the Führer")[b] the agency served as the private chancellery of Adolf Hitler, handling different issues pertaining to matters such as complaints against party officials, appeals from party courts, official judgments, clemency petitions by NSDAP fellows and Hitler's personal affairs. The Chancellery of the Führer was also a key player in the Nazi euthanasia program.

Chancellery seal

Organization

 
Philipp Bouhler, chief of the KdF and Action T4 programme

The chancellery was established in November 1934 in Berlin as a separate agency, which was parallel to the German Reich Chancellery under Hans Heinrich Lammers and the Nazi Party Chancellery (until 1941: "Staff of the Deputy Führer"), led by Martin Bormann.[4] The Kanzlei des Führers was headed by SS-Obergruppenführer Philipp Bouhler, who bore the title of Chef der Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP.[5] His adjutant was SS-Sturmbannführer Karl Freiherr Michel von Tüßling.[6] Originally the KdF operated out of their Berlin office at Lützow Ufer.[7]

As chief of the KdF, Bouhler also held the rank of a Nazi Reichsleiter. He was appointed as chief on 17 November 1934 and held that position until 23 April 1945.[8] Hitler selected Bouhler for this role due to his intense loyalty and deferential nature. Bouhler was also known for his tenacious efficiency and ideological fanaticism.[9] In 1939, the KdF moved its seat close to the New Reich Chancellery building at Voßstraße No. 8. At this time, the KdF had twenty-six employees, which increased "five-fold by 1942."[9] Practically speaking, the KdF or "Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP" as Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw terms it, was originally designed to deal with correspondence between the Führer and Party officials, and so he could stay "in direct touch with the concerns of the people."[10] Much of the correspondence that came to the KdF consisted of "trivial complaints, petty grievances, and minor personal squabbles of Party members."[10] Bouhler's KdF worked in-tandem with the offices of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to "check Nazi Party publications for their ideological correctness."[11]

The KdF consisted of the following five main offices[12] (Hauptämter), all subordinated directly to Hitler:

  • Hauptamt I: Privatkanzlei (Personal Affairs of the Führer); chief: Albert Bormann.
  • Hauptamt II: Angelegenheiten betr. Staat und Partei (State and Party Affairs); chief: Viktor Brack.
    • IIa: Stellvertretender Leiter des Hauptamtes II (Deputy chief Hauptamt II); head of section: Werner Blankenburg
  • Hauptamt III: Gnadenamt für Parteiangelegenheiten (Pardon Office for Party Affairs); chief: Hubert Berkenkamp; later from 1941 forward: Kurt Giese.
  • Hauptamt IV: Sozial- und Wirtschaftsangelegenheiten (Social and Economic Affairs); chief: Heinrich Cnyrim.
  • Hauptamt V: Internes und Personal (Internal Affairs and Personnel Matters); chief: Herbert Jaensch.[12]

After 1941, Bouhler's influence and that of the KdF declined and he was largely disempowered by Martin Bormann.[13][14] Eventually the KdF was absorbed into the Reich Chancellery headed by Lammers during the war.[15]

Action T4

Hauptamt II officials under Viktor Brack played a vital role in organizing the killing of mentally ill and physically handicapped people in the Action T4 "euthanasia" programme, especially the child "euthanasia" from 1939.[16] By a (backdated) decree of 1 September,[17] Hitler appointed Bouhler and his personal physician Karl Brandt to manage the euthanasia program, where they would oversee the murder of physically and/or mentally disabled persons.[18] The implementation of the killing operations were left to subordinates such as Brack and SA-Oberführer Werner Blankenburg.[19][20] Besides Hitler's Chancellery, only a handful of personnel were privy to the inner workings of the euthanasia program so as to maintain secrecy, which is part of the reason Hitler chose Bouhler, as he knew the KdF "could direct the killings without involving too many people and without becoming too visible."[7]

In accordance with the Chancellery-directed plan, physicians were required to report any newborn with abnormalities or congenital defects to the local health department; doctors were likewise required to register children under three-years suffering from any such conditions.[21] During the killing phase related to euthanizing children, the KdF chose the cover title, Reich Committee for the Scientific Registration of Severe Hereditary Ailments, which only actually existed on paper; code names were also employed by members of the KdF for matters dealing with euthanasia.[22] To provide some additional semblance of legitimacy to the operation, three doctors or "certifiers" also had to concur over any diagnosis before a "merciful death" could be administered, which included the final signature of a psychiatrist—all of which really boiled down to the economic considerations regarding the person's ability to work.[23] To execute the deportations, the Gemeinnützige Krankentransport GmbH camouflage organization was established, residing on Tiergartenstraße No. 4.[24][25] Just like earlier euthanasia operations, secrecy was again paramount, as Hitler explicitly told Bouhler concerning Aktion T4, "the Führer's Chancellery must under no circumstances be seen to be active in this matter."[26] Many KdF employees who participated in T4 later joined Operation Reinhard, the Nazi plan under Odilo Globocnik to exterminate Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied Poland during World War II.[27]

Notes

  1. ^ Not to be confused with the Nazi leisure organization known as Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude), which is also abbreviated KdF.
  2. ^ Some historians, such as Christopher Browning have also referred to this office as the Führer's Chancellery[1] the Party Chancellery[2] or Hitler's Chancellery[3] in the same book, which can create additional confusion.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Browning 2004, pp. 88, 192, 368.
  2. ^ Browning 2004, pp. 178, 185, 391, 411.
  3. ^ Browning 2004, p. 304.
  4. ^ McNab 2009, pp. 78–80.
  5. ^ Miller 2006, pp. 155, 157.
  6. ^ Merker 1972, p. 310.
  7. ^ a b Friedlander 1997, p. 40.
  8. ^ Miller 2006, p. 157.
  9. ^ a b Kershaw 2001, p. 258.
  10. ^ a b Kershaw 2001, p. 257.
  11. ^ Evans 2006, p. 253.
  12. ^ a b Friedlander 1997, p. 41.
  13. ^ Hamilton 1984, p. 251.
  14. ^ Zentner & Bedürftig 1991, p. 104.
  15. ^ Stackelberg 2007, p. 186.
  16. ^ Schafft 2004, pp. 159–163.
  17. ^ Hilberg 1985, pp. 225–226.
  18. ^ Schafft 2004, p. 160.
  19. ^ Proctor 1988, pp. 206–208.
  20. ^ Miller 2006, p. 158.
  21. ^ Childers 2017, p. 345.
  22. ^ Friedlander 1997, p. 44.
  23. ^ Schafft 2004, pp. 160–161.
  24. ^ Röder, Kubillus & Burwell 1995, p. 54.
  25. ^ Friedlander 1997, p. 73.
  26. ^ Fleming 1994, p. 20.
  27. ^ Friedlander 1997, pp. 190, 296–298.

Bibliography

  • Browning, Christopher R. (2004). The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-1327-1.
  • Childers, Thomas (2017). The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-45165-113-3.
  • Evans, Richard (2006). The Third Reich in Power. New York: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14303-790-3.
  • Fleming, Gerald (1994). Hitler and the Final Solution. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-06022-9.
  • Friedlander, Henry (1997). The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to the Final Solution. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4675-9.
  • Hamilton, Charles (1984). Leaders & Personalities of the Third Reich, Vol. 1. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0-912138-27-0.
  • Hilberg, Raul (1985). The Destruction of the European Jews. New York: Holmes & Meier. ISBN 0-8419-0910-5.
  • Kershaw, Ian (2001). Hitler: 1936–1945, Nemesis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-39332-252-1.
  • McNab, Chris (2009). The Third Reich. Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-906626-51-8.
  • Merker, Paul (1972). Deutschland-Sein oder Nicht-sein?. Vol. 2. Frankfurt am Main: Materialismus Verlag. OCLC 873886991.
  • Miller, Michael (2006). Leaders of the SS and German Police, Vol. 1. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-9-3297-0037-2.
  • Proctor, Robert (1988). Racial Hygiene: Medicine under the Nazis. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674745780.
  • Röder, Thomas; Kubillus, Volker; Burwell, Anthony (1995). Psychiatrists–The Men Behind Hitler: The Architects of Horror. Los Angeles: Freedom Publishing. ASIN B002NHCJQ6.
  • Schafft, Gretchen E. (2004). From Racism to Genocide: Anthropology in the Third Reich. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-25207-453-0.
  • Stackelberg, Roderick (2007). The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-41530-861-8.
  • Zentner, Christian; Bedürftig, Friedemann (1991). The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. New York: MacMillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-897500-6.

March 02, 2023
hitler, chancellery, officially, known, kanzlei, führers, nsdap, chancellery, führer, nazi, party, abbreviated, nazi, party, organization, also, known, privatkanzlei, führers, private, chancellery, führer, agency, served, private, chancellery, adolf, hitler, h. Hitler s Chancellery officially known as the Kanzlei des Fuhrers der NSDAP Chancellery of the Fuhrer of the Nazi Party abbreviated as KdF a was a Nazi Party organization Also known as the Privatkanzlei des Fuhrers Private Chancellery of the Fuhrer b the agency served as the private chancellery of Adolf Hitler handling different issues pertaining to matters such as complaints against party officials appeals from party courts official judgments clemency petitions by NSDAP fellows and Hitler s personal affairs The Chancellery of the Fuhrer was also a key player in the Nazi euthanasia program Chancellery seal Contents 1 Organization 2 Action T4 3 Notes 4 References 4 1 Citations 4 2 BibliographyOrganization Edit Philipp Bouhler chief of the KdF and Action T4 programme The chancellery was established in November 1934 in Berlin as a separate agency which was parallel to the German Reich Chancellery under Hans Heinrich Lammers and the Nazi Party Chancellery until 1941 Staff of the Deputy Fuhrer led by Martin Bormann 4 The Kanzlei des Fuhrers was headed by SS Obergruppenfuhrer Philipp Bouhler who bore the title of Chef der Kanzlei des Fuhrers der NSDAP 5 His adjutant was SS Sturmbannfuhrer Karl Freiherr Michel von Tussling 6 Originally the KdF operated out of their Berlin office at Lutzow Ufer 7 As chief of the KdF Bouhler also held the rank of a Nazi Reichsleiter He was appointed as chief on 17 November 1934 and held that position until 23 April 1945 8 Hitler selected Bouhler for this role due to his intense loyalty and deferential nature Bouhler was also known for his tenacious efficiency and ideological fanaticism 9 In 1939 the KdF moved its seat close to the New Reich Chancellery building at Vossstrasse No 8 At this time the KdF had twenty six employees which increased five fold by 1942 9 Practically speaking the KdF or Chancellery of the Fuhrer of the NSDAP as Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw terms it was originally designed to deal with correspondence between the Fuhrer and Party officials and so he could stay in direct touch with the concerns of the people 10 Much of the correspondence that came to the KdF consisted of trivial complaints petty grievances and minor personal squabbles of Party members 10 Bouhler s KdF worked in tandem with the offices of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to check Nazi Party publications for their ideological correctness 11 The KdF consisted of the following five main offices 12 Hauptamter all subordinated directly to Hitler Hauptamt I Privatkanzlei Personal Affairs of the Fuhrer chief Albert Bormann Hauptamt II Angelegenheiten betr Staat und Partei State and Party Affairs chief Viktor Brack IIa Stellvertretender Leiter des Hauptamtes II Deputy chief Hauptamt II head of section Werner Blankenburg Hauptamt III Gnadenamt fur Parteiangelegenheiten Pardon Office for Party Affairs chief Hubert Berkenkamp later from 1941 forward Kurt Giese Hauptamt IV Sozial und Wirtschaftsangelegenheiten Social and Economic Affairs chief Heinrich Cnyrim Hauptamt V Internes und Personal Internal Affairs and Personnel Matters chief Herbert Jaensch 12 After 1941 Bouhler s influence and that of the KdF declined and he was largely disempowered by Martin Bormann 13 14 Eventually the KdF was absorbed into the Reich Chancellery headed by Lammers during the war 15 Action T4 EditHauptamt II officials under Viktor Brack played a vital role in organizing the killing of mentally ill and physically handicapped people in the Action T4 euthanasia programme especially the child euthanasia from 1939 16 By a backdated decree of 1 September 17 Hitler appointed Bouhler and his personal physician Karl Brandt to manage the euthanasia program where they would oversee the murder of physically and or mentally disabled persons 18 The implementation of the killing operations were left to subordinates such as Brack and SA Oberfuhrer Werner Blankenburg 19 20 Besides Hitler s Chancellery only a handful of personnel were privy to the inner workings of the euthanasia program so as to maintain secrecy which is part of the reason Hitler chose Bouhler as he knew the KdF could direct the killings without involving too many people and without becoming too visible 7 In accordance with the Chancellery directed plan physicians were required to report any newborn with abnormalities or congenital defects to the local health department doctors were likewise required to register children under three years suffering from any such conditions 21 During the killing phase related to euthanizing children the KdF chose the cover title Reich Committee for the Scientific Registration of Severe Hereditary Ailments which only actually existed on paper code names were also employed by members of the KdF for matters dealing with euthanasia 22 To provide some additional semblance of legitimacy to the operation three doctors or certifiers also had to concur over any diagnosis before a merciful death could be administered which included the final signature of a psychiatrist all of which really boiled down to the economic considerations regarding the person s ability to work 23 To execute the deportations the Gemeinnutzige Krankentransport GmbH camouflage organization was established residing on Tiergartenstrasse No 4 24 25 Just like earlier euthanasia operations secrecy was again paramount as Hitler explicitly told Bouhler concerning Aktion T4 the Fuhrer s Chancellery must under no circumstances be seen to be active in this matter 26 Many KdF employees who participated in T4 later joined Operation Reinhard the Nazi plan under Odilo Globocnik to exterminate Polish Jews in the General Government district of German occupied Poland during World War II 27 Notes Edit Not to be confused with the Nazi leisure organization known as Strength Through Joy Kraft durch Freude which is also abbreviated KdF Some historians such as Christopher Browning have also referred to this office as the Fuhrer s Chancellery 1 the Party Chancellery 2 or Hitler s Chancellery 3 in the same book which can create additional confusion References EditCitations Edit Browning 2004 pp 88 192 368 Browning 2004 pp 178 185 391 411 Browning 2004 p 304 McNab 2009 pp 78 80 Miller 2006 pp 155 157 Merker 1972 p 310 a b Friedlander 1997 p 40 Miller 2006 p 157 a b Kershaw 2001 p 258 a b Kershaw 2001 p 257 Evans 2006 p 253 a b Friedlander 1997 p 41 Hamilton 1984 p 251 Zentner amp Bedurftig 1991 p 104 Stackelberg 2007 p 186 Schafft 2004 pp 159 163 Hilberg 1985 pp 225 226 Schafft 2004 p 160 Proctor 1988 pp 206 208 Miller 2006 p 158 Childers 2017 p 345 Friedlander 1997 p 44 Schafft 2004 pp 160 161 Roder Kubillus amp Burwell 1995 p 54 Friedlander 1997 p 73 Fleming 1994 p 20 Friedlander 1997 pp 190 296 298 Bibliography Edit Browning Christopher R 2004 The Origins of the Final Solution The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy September 1939 March 1942 Lincoln University of Nebraska Press ISBN 0 8032 1327 1 Childers Thomas 2017 The Third Reich A History of Nazi Germany New York Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 1 45165 113 3 Evans Richard 2006 The Third Reich in Power New York Penguin ISBN 978 0 14303 790 3 Fleming Gerald 1994 Hitler and the Final Solution Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press ISBN 0 520 06022 9 Friedlander Henry 1997 The Origins of Nazi Genocide From Euthanasia to the Final Solution Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press ISBN 978 0 8078 4675 9 Hamilton Charles 1984 Leaders amp Personalities of the Third Reich Vol 1 R James Bender Publishing ISBN 0 912138 27 0 Hilberg Raul 1985 The Destruction of the European Jews New York Holmes amp Meier ISBN 0 8419 0910 5 Kershaw Ian 2001 Hitler 1936 1945 Nemesis New York W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0 39332 252 1 McNab Chris 2009 The Third Reich Amber Books ISBN 978 1 906626 51 8 Merker Paul 1972 Deutschland Sein oder Nicht sein Vol 2 Frankfurt am Main Materialismus Verlag OCLC 873886991 Miller Michael 2006 Leaders of the SS and German Police Vol 1 R James Bender Publishing ISBN 978 9 3297 0037 2 Proctor Robert 1988 Racial Hygiene Medicine under the Nazis Cambridge Massachusetts Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0674745780 Roder Thomas Kubillus Volker Burwell Anthony 1995 Psychiatrists The Men Behind Hitler The Architects of Horror Los Angeles Freedom Publishing ASIN B002NHCJQ6 Schafft Gretchen E 2004 From Racism to Genocide Anthropology in the Third Reich Urbana and Chicago University of Illinois Press ISBN 978 0 25207 453 0 Stackelberg Roderick 2007 The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany New York Routledge ISBN 978 0 41530 861 8 Zentner Christian Bedurftig Friedemann 1991 The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich New York MacMillan Publishing ISBN 0 02 897500 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hitler 27s Chancellery amp oldid 1120191503, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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