Fritz Bracht (18 January 1899 – 9 May 1945) was the

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 ...

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 ...

'' of

Gau Upper Silesia The Gau Upper Silesia (German: ''Gau Oberschlesien'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945 in the Upper Silesia part of the Prussian Province of Silesia. The Gau was created when the Gau Silesia was split into Upper Sil ...

Career

After training as a

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

, Bracht entered military service in 1917, and was deployed at the front until the end of

World War I 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 ...

. Thereafter, he found himself a prisoner of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, until 1919. On 1 April 1927, Bracht joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

with membership number 77,890 and was appointed leader of the NSDAP district of

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

in October 1928. He held the same position as of 1 March 1931 in

Altena Altena (; Westphalian: ''Altenoa'') is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, in the northern stre ...

. Elected to the

Prussian Landtag The Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag) was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Represent ...

in April 1932, he was also elected to the '' Reichstag'' in November 1933. He was appointed to the post of Deputy ''Gauleiter'' of

Gau Silesia The Gau Silesia (German: ''Gau Schlesien'') formed on 15 March 1925, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1941 in the Prussian Province of Silesia. From 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party for this ...

on 1 May 1935, serving under ''Gauleiter'' Josef Wagner. He also served briefly as acting Deputy ''Gauleiter'' in Wagner's other jurisdiction,

Gau Westphalia-South The Gau Westphalia-South (German: ''Gau Westfalen-Süd'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany encompassing the Arnsberg Region in the southern part of the Prussian province of Westphalia between 1933 and 1945. From 1931 to 1933, it was ...

from 1 to 15 August 1936. When Silesia was split into two Gaue,

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

and

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

on 27 January 1941, Bracht succeeded Wagner as the ''Gauleiter'' of the new

. He also succeeded to the position of ''

Oberpräsident The ''german: Oberpräsident, label=none'' (Supreme President) was the highest administrative official in the Prussian provinces. History The Oberpräsident of a Prussian province was the supreme representative of the Prussian crown, until its ...

'' (High President) of the new

Province of Upper Silesia The Province of Upper Silesia (german: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; szl, Prowincyjŏ Gōrny Ślōnsk; pl, Prowincja Górny Śląsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprise ...

, thus uniting under his control the highest party and governmental offices in the province. On 16 November 1942 he was named

Reich Defense Commissioner Reich Defense Commissioner (German: ''Reichsverteidigungskommissar'', RVK) was a governmental position created in Nazi Germany at the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939. Charged with overall defense of the territory of the German Reich, th ...

in his Gau. On 20 April 1944, he was promoted to the rank of SA-''

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 ...

''. Within Bracht's jurisdiction was the concentration camp

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. In 1944, with war threatening Silesia, Bracht ordered that air defence facilities in his Gau be upgraded and made stronger, however, he could not prevail upon the Armament Ministry to do so. Major offensives were launched against Upper Silesia beginning in January 1945 and hostilities continued in the area into May. As the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

marched into

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

at the war's end, Bracht and his wife both committed suicide by

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ing themselves with

potassium cyanide Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline salt, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications includ ...

on 9 May 1945.

Decorations and awards

*1914

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 est ...

, 1918 *

Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge (german: Goldenes Parteiabzeichen) was an award authorised by Adolf Hitler in a decree in October 1933. It was a special award given to all Nazi Party members who had, as of 9 November 1933, registered numbers fr ...

Honour Chevron for the Old Guard The Honour Chevron for the Old Guard (german: Ehrenwinkel der Alten Kämpfer) was a Nazi Party decoration worn by members of the SS. The silver chevron, which was worn on the upper sleeve on the right arm, was authorised by Adolf Hitler in Febr ...

, 1934 *

The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...

with Swords, 1934 *

Anschluss Medal The ''Anschluss'' Commemorative Medal () was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the first in a series of Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 1 May 1938, the medal commemorated the annexation of Austria ...

, 1939 *

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross (german: Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit ...

2nd Class without Swords and 1st Class without Swords, 1941 *Golden Hitler Youth Badge with Oak Leaves, 22 September 1941

References

Bibliography

* Joachim Lilla (Bearbeiter): ''Statisten in Uniform. Die Mitglieder des Reichstags 1933–1945.'' Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 2004, . * Joachim Lilla (Bearbeiter): ''Die stellvertretenden Gauleiter und die Vertretung der Gauleiter der NSDAP im „Dritten Reich“.'' Wirtschaftsverlag NW, Bremerhaven 2003, (= Materialien aus dem Bundesarchiv, Heft 13). * * * Michael Rademacher: ''Handbuch der NSDAP-Gaue 1928–1945. Die Amtsträger der NSDAP und ihrer Organisationen auf Gau- und Kreisebene in Deutschland und Österreich sowie in den Reichsgauen Danzig-Westpreußen, Sudetenland und Wartheland.'' Lingenbrink, Vechta 2000, . * Wolfgang Stelbrink: ''Die Kreisleiter der NSDAP in Westfalen und Lippe. Versuch einer Kollektivbiographie mit biographischem Anhang.'' Nordrhein-Westfälisches Staatsarchiv, Münster 2003, (= Veröffentlichungen der staatlichen Archive des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Reihe C, Band 48). * Mirosław Węcki: Fritz Bracht (1899–1945). Nazistowski zarządca Górnego Śląska w latach II wojny światowej. Katowice 2014, . *Mirosław Węcki: Fritz Bracht - Gauleiter von Oberschlesien. Biographie (Paderborn: Brill / Ferdinand Schöningh, 2021), ISBN 978-3-506-70713-0

External links

*
Bild und Biografie im Handbuch des Reichstags
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bracht, Fritz 1899 births 1945 deaths Gauleiters German prisoners of war in World War I Joint suicides by Nazis Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany German Army personnel of World War I Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians Nazis who committed suicide in Germany Suicides by cyanide poisoning People from the Principality of Lippe Prussian politicians Sturmabteilung officers 1945 suicides World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom People from Borken (district)