Benno Martin (12 February 1893 – 2 July 1975) was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. He served as

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

chief and Higher SS and Police Leader in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. Martin was a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

, joining in 1933.

Career

Martin fought in the

German Imperial Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in which he was awarded

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

first and second class. After Germany's defeat, he joined the paramilitary ''

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

'' in 1919. He obtained his Juris Doctor after the war ended and then joined the police department in Nuremberg in 1923, rising through the ranks to chief of police in Nuremberg. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

ended in Europe, he was indicted and tried for complicity in the deportation of Franconia Jews to Auschwitz. Martin was acquitted of the charges.The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin from the Interrogations of Otto Guensche and Heinze Linge, Hitler's Closest Personal Aides by Henrik Eberle, Matthias Uhl p. 316

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Benno 1893 births 1975 deaths SS and Police Leaders People from Kaiserslautern People from the Palatinate (region) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Waffen-SS personnel SS-Obergruppenführer 20th-century Freikorps personnel