Friedrich Alpers (25 March 1901 – 3 September 1944) was a German

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

politician and SS-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

''. He was also a Minister of the Free State of Brunswick, and ''Generalforstmeister'' (General forest supervisor). Alpers was responsible for numerous political crimes in Brunswick. Grafsteen Friedrich Alpers, 26-05-2013

Life and career

Born in 1901, Alpers studied law and political science at the

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: link=no, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of ...

and

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western ...

. He became a lawyer in 1929.

NSDAP and SS

In June 1929, Alpers joined 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 ...

(NSDAP membership number 132,812). In May 1930 he joined the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment (military), Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing pro ...

'' (SA). On 1 March 1931 he joined the SS (membership number 6,427). He was an active member in the SS, rising to the rank of ''

''. Since October 1930, he was Minister of the Brunswick State Parliament. Alpers was twice temporarily suspended from the SS in 1933 following complaints of excessive violence made against him during the Nazi

takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...

of Brunswick.

Minister of the Free State of Brunswick

After the

Nazi seizure of power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

, Alpers became Finance and Justice Minister of Brunswick on 8 May 1933 (a position in which he served until 1934) under the '' Ministerpräsident'' Dietrich Klagges. Along with Klagges and

Friedrich Jeckeln Friedrich Jeckeln (2 February 1895 – 3 February 1946) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. He served as a Higher SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II. Jeckeln was the commander of one of the largest ...

, Alpers was one of the main persons responsible for the ''

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied ...

'' and persecution of political opponents in the Free State of Brunswick. Subordinated to Alpers was Klagges ''"Hilfspolizei"'' ("Auxiliary Police"). This force was directly answerable to Klagges and consisted of SA, SS and '' Der Stahlhelm'' men. On 4 July 1933, Alpers was directly involved in the Rieseberg Murders of eleven communists and labor organizers in Rieseberg, about east of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

World War II

From 1941, Alpers served as a military officer, being made a battalion commander of paratroops in February 1944. After having been badly wounded in battle near

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. ...

, he died on 3 September 1944, either by suicide or by being shot.

Awards

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 9 April 1942 as '' Hauptmann'' in the 3.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 121 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 October 1942 as Major and commander of Fernaufklärungs-Gruppe 4Scherzer 2007, p. 190.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alpers, Friedrich 1901 births 1944 suicides People from Peine (district) People from the Duchy of Brunswick Nazi Party politicians SS-Obergruppenführer Sturmabteilung personnel 20th-century Freikorps personnel Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Gold German Cross Nazis who committed suicide Burials at Lommel German war cemetery Suicides in Belgium Military personnel from Lower Saxony Nazi war criminals