Ernst Leonhardt (September 25, 1885 – March 26, 1945) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

military figure and pro-

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

politician.

Biography

Ernst Leonhardt was born to a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born

father on September 25, 1885, in Tracy City,

Grundy County, Tennessee Grundy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee, bordering East Tennessee. As of 2021, the population was 13,622. Its county seat is Altamont. The county is named in honor of Felix Grundy. ...

, United States.Walter Wolf,
Leonhardt, Ernst
', in: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, 2008 (in German, French, Italian) Leonhardt moved to Switzerland at an early age to attend school at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, before joining the

Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...

, where he rose to the rank of major.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pr ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 229 Leonhardt became involved in politics in 1932 when he joined the National Front, and before long he had risen to the rank of ''Gauführer'' (equivalent to

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

) in both

Basel-City Basel-Stadt or Basel-City (german: Kanton ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Citad; french: Canton de Bâle-Ville; it, Canton Basilea Città) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as t ...

and the

Canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (german: Kanton Solothurn rm, Chantun Soloturn french: Canton de Soleure; it, Canton Soletta) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. Hi ...

. However he clashed with his superiors and in 1933 he left the Front and set up his own ''Volksbund'' with fellow dissident Emil Sonderegger. The group was dominated by the forceful personality of Leonhardt, a strong factor in its failure to attract much of a following. He also founded the ' (SGAD) (Swiss Society of Friends of an Authoritarian Democracy) in 1938 (a group officially banned in 1940, although in existence until 1941), whilst he was also a member of

Franz Burri Franz Burri (1901–1987) was a Swiss political figure who, from his base in Germany, became the leading disseminator of Nazi propaganda in the country. Born in Lucerne, to a half-German working-class family, Burri was a supporter of Nazi Germany f ...

's ' and ''Nationalsozialistische Bewegung in der Schweiz''. Although Leonhardt continued to be involved in Swiss pro-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

movements, he had in fact relocated to Germany in 1939 and continued his activism from there. He worked closely with Burri to distribute Nazi propaganda into Switzerland, whilst also recruiting volunteers for the SS and arguing for an ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

''-style takeover of Switzerland by

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

. Leonhardt's Swiss citizenship was revoked in 1943 due to this idea. In his absence, the Swiss courts found Leonhardt guilty of attacking the Swiss Confederation's independence and illegally recruiting for a foreign military (''i. e.'' the SS), sentencing him to fifteen and a half years in prison. However, he remained free in Germany for the rest of his life, continuing to produce

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. He was killed in an air raid on March 26, 1945, in

Oberndorf am Neckar Oberndorf am Neckar (; Swabian: ''Oberndorf am Näggô'') is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, north of Rottweil. It historically was and currently is a major center of t ...

Rottweil (district) Rottweil is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg region in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald regional district. Neighboring districts are (from north c ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, Germany.

References

External links

Courtroom Battle of World War II (Part 1 of 3).
contains information on the careers and fates of some of the Nazi collaborators.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonhardt, Ernst 1885 births 1945 deaths American emigrants to Switzerland American collaborators with Nazi Germany American anti-communists American fascists American prisoners and detainees Deaths by airstrike during World War II Nazi propagandists People from Tracy City, Tennessee National Front (Switzerland) politicians Swiss military officers Swiss collaborators with Nazi Germany Swiss Nazis Swiss anti-communists Swiss emigrants to Germany American civilians killed in World War II German civilians killed in World War II

Biography

See also

References

External links