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
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 ...
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.
See also
*
Berne Trial
The Berne Trial (also known under the name of "Zionistenprozess") was a famous court case in Berne, Switzerland which took place between 1933 and 1935. Two organisations, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities () and the Bernese Jewish Commun ...
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