Hans Krüger (6 July 1902 – 3 November 1971) was a former member of the

NSDAP 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 ...

party and other Nazi organizations who served as an '' SS'' judge in

occupied Poland ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

. After the war he became

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

from 17 October 1963 to 7 February 1964, in the First Cabinet of Chancellor

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...

, as President of the

Federation of Expellees The Federation of Expellees (german: link=no, Bund der Vertriebenen; BdV) is a non-profit organization formed in West Germany on 27 October 1957 to represent the interests of German nationals of all ethnicities and foreign ethnic Germans and their ...

from 1959 to 1964, and as a Member of Parliament from 1957 to 1965. He stepped down from cabinet amid controversy about his war-time background.

Life

Krüger was born in Neustettin (

Szczecinek Szczecinek ( ; German until 1945: ''Neustettin'') is a historic city in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with a population of more than 40,000 (2011). Formerly in the Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998), it has been the capital of Szczecinek ...

) in the Province of Pomerania. He completed studies of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

s and law in 1922.Biography at munzinger.de
/ref> In 1934 he was appointed as a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

in Pomerania after passing two exams in the years 1927–1929.Polskie Radio
"Spadkobiercy III Rzeszy", 1.06.2007
nbsp; In 1937 his work as criminal judge was praised by state officials as "avoiding undue sensitivity" and of "correct orientation" when passing out sentences.

Nazi career

Krüger claimed to participate in the

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. At the time he 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 politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

and other Nazi organisations such as the ''Reichsbund Deutscher Beamter'' (German Civil Service), the ''NS-Rechtswahrerbund'' (National Socialist Lawyers Association), and the '' Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland'' (Association for Germanism Abroad). He worked as a judge in

Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe ( en, Lauenberg on the Elbe), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein ...

(Lębork),

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; formerly German language, German: ''Stargard in Pommern'', or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; csb, Stôrgard) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian V ...

(Stargard Szczeciński) and after 1940 in

Chojnice Chojnice (; , or ''Chòjnice''; german: Konitz or ''Conitz'') is a town in northern Poland with 39,423 inhabitants as of December 2021, near the Tuchola Forest. It is the capital of the Chojnice County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. History Pias ...

(Konitz), where he was made an

Ortsgruppenleiter ''Ortsgruppenleiter'' (Local Group Leader) was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed between 1930 and 1945. The term first came into being during the German elections of 1930, and was held by the head Nazi of a town or city, or in ...

and where he passed several thousand

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

s. From 1943 to 1945 he served in Nazi Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

''.

Political career in West Germany

After the war Krüger became a CDU politician and co-founder of the

, joining the predecessor of the organisation in 1948 and serving as their president from 1959 to 1964. He was a member of the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

from 1957 to 1965, and served as deputy chair of the Committee for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims from 1961 to 1963. He became the Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims in 1963, serving until 1964. He resigned from the cabinet and the chairmanship of the Federation of Expellees in 1964, amid controversy about his work during the Nazi era. The communist regime of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, particularly

Albert Norden Albert Norden (4 December 1904 – 30 May 1982) was a German communist politician. Early years Albert Norden was born in Myslowitz, Silesia on 4 December 1904, one of the five recorded children born to the liberal rabbi (1870–1943) and his ...

, had attacked him heavily since December 1963. After he left parliament in 1965, Krüger worked as a lawyer. He died in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

References

External links

"Krüger, Hans: Ein Blutrichter Hitlers," Braunbuch.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Hans 1902 births 1971 deaths People from Szczecinek Nazis who participated in the Beer Hall Putsch Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians People from the Province of Pomerania Government ministers of Germany 20th-century Freikorps personnel Fascist politicians Politicide perpetrators

Life

Nazi career

Political career in West Germany

See also

References

External links