Hans Zimmermann (18 October 1906 – 17 February 1984) was a German

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 ...

official. He served as the Acting ''

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 Franconia Gau Franconia (German: ''Gau Franken'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, from 1933 to 1945. Before that, from 1929 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area. Originally fo ...

between February 1940 and April 1942.

Early life

Born in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Zimmermann attended

volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary (' ...

and

realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

there through 1923. After a year-and-a-half as a trainee at Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nuernberg, he studied mechanical engineering at the ''

Technische Hochschule Nürnberg The Technische Hochschule Nürnberg ''Georg Simon Ohm'' (shortened ''TH Nürnberg;'' English name ''Nuremberg Institute of Technology Georg Simon Ohm'') is a public Technische Hochschule in Nuremberg, Bavaria. With its 12,200 students and 1,800 ...

'' and passed his state examination to become a mechanical engineer.

Nazi Party career

Zimmermann joined the

on 11 November 1930 (membership number 377,977Utho Grieser: ''Himmlers Mann in Nürnberg. Der Fall Benno Martin. Eine Studie zur Struktur des 3. Reiches in der „Stadt der Reichsparteitage“.'' (= ''Nürnberger Werkstücke zur Stadt- und Landesgeschichte.'' Volume 13) Nuremberg State Archive, Nuremberg 1974, , p. 312) and the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm 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 protection for Nazi ral ...

'' (SA) at the same time. In Nuremberg, Zimmermann functioned from January 1931 through June 1933 as a Party leader in the St. Johannis section of the city, then as 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 ...

'' (Local Group Leader) and from 16 July 1934 as a ''

Kreisleiter ''Kreisleiter'' (; "District Leader") was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed as a political rank between 1930 and 1945 and as a Nazi Party title from as early as 1928. The position of ''Kreisleiter'' was first formed to provide ...

'' (County Leader). On 27 June 1933, he became managing director of the ''Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse'' (AOK) a medical insurance company in Nuremberg, and from May 1939 to May 1945 he was the Director of the National Federation of Local Health Insurers. From May 1933 to 1935, he worked in the City Council (''Stadtsrat'') of Nuremberg and from 1 October 1935 until May 1945 he was a City Councilor (''Ratsherr''). Between 16 February 1940 and 4 April 1942, Zimmermann served as Acting ''

'' of

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

, after longtime ''Gauleiter''

Julius Streicher Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...

had been removed from this post for corruption. On 7 July 1940 he was made a member of the '' Reichstag'' for electoral constituency 26, Franconia, and served there until the fall of the Nazi regime in May 1945. From 15 April 1942 to 27 November 1943, he took a temporary leave of absence from Party service to perform military service with the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

, serving at an artillery weapons school in France. On 20 April 1943 he was promoted to SA-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

''. On 1 January 1944 he resumed the leadership of the Nuremberg '' Kreis'' in the rank of '' Hauptbereichsleiter'' of the NSDAP. During the Battle of Nuremberg, he escaped from the city on 17 April 1945. Zimmermann underwent

denazification Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remov ...

procedures in Nuremberg, but not much else is known about his post-war life.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Hans 1906 births 1984 deaths Gauleiters German Army personnel of World War II Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians Politicians from Nuremberg Sturmabteilung officers