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Hermann Esser (29 July 1900 – 7 February 1981) was an early 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 political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
(NSDAP). A journalist, Esser was the editor of the Nazi paper, ''
Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...
'', a Propaganda Leader, and a Vice President of the Reichstag. In the early days of the party, he was a ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' deputy of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. As one of Hitler's earliest followers and friends, he held influential positions in the party during the
Weimar Republic The German Reich, commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic,, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also r ...
, but increasingly lost influence during the Nazi era.


Early life

Esser was born in Röhrmoos,
Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
. The son of a
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
, he was educated in the high school at
Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest town of Allgäu, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by the Romans, who called the town '' ...
. As a teenager, he volunteered for service in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and fought on the front lines in the Royal Bavarian 19th Foot Artillery Regiment. After demobilization, he joined the Swabian ''
Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, reg ...
'', and in May 1919 took part in the suppression of the
Munich Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic, or Munich Soviet Republic (german: Räterepublik Baiern, Münchner Räterepublik),Hollander, Neil (2013) ''Elusive Dove: The Search for Peace During World War I''. McFarland. p.283, note 269. was a short-lived unre ...
. Esser early on became a socialist, after he joined a left-wing provincial newspaper to train as a journalist. He had previously formed his own Social Democrat party, but as it was small and one of numerous post-
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
parties in Germany and Austria, it quickly failed.


Nazi career

Having met
Anton Drexler Anton Drexler (13 June 1884 – 24 February 1942) was a German far-right political agitator for the Völkisch movement in the 1920s. He founded the pan-German and anti-Semitic German Workers' Party (DAP), the antecedent of the Nazi Party (NSDAP ...
through his work, he met with the group of men that formed the
German Workers' Party The German Workers' Party (german: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, DAP) was a short-lived far-right political party established in Weimar Germany after World War I. It was the precursor of the Nazi Party, which was officially known as the National ...
(DAP): Drexler,
Gottfried Feder Gottfried Feder (27 January 1883 – 24 September 1941) was a German civil engineer, a self-taught economist, and one of the early key members of the Nazi Party and its economic theoretician. It was one of his lectures, delivered in 1919, that ...
and Dietrich Eckart, joining their party in January 1920. In 1920 he met Hitler in the regional press office of the ''
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'' (Army of the
Weimar Republic The German Reich, commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic,, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also r ...
) and joined the renamed
National Socialist German Workers' 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 ...
in March 1920. In the fall of 1920, he began his public appearances in Passau. On 15 May 1921 he was made editor-in-chief of ''
Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...
'', the Party newspaper, turning out a series of posters and a book attacking the Jews. Esser was able to use his abilities as a public speaker to rouse his audience, encouraging them to attack the political meetings of groups and parties that the NSDAP frowned upon. Esser's speeches were described by
Louis Snyder Louis Leo Snyder (4 July 1907 – 25 November 1993) was an American scholar, who witnessed first hand the Nazi mass rallies held from 1923 on in Germany; and wrote about them from New York in his ''Hitlerism: The Iron Fist in Germany'' published ...
as "crude, uncultured, of low moral character", featuring the kernel of future Nazi policies: extreme nationalism and anti-Semitism. On 12 August 1921 he left as editor of the Party newspaper and became the first head of propaganda (''Propagandaleiter'', NSDAP), serving until the party was outlawed in November 1923. At the time of 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 oth ...
on November 8–9, 1923, Esser gave a speech and drafted the Party's "proclamation to the German people", but he told Hitler that he was ill and did not actually participate in the march. After the failure of the putsch, he fled to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Along with
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 ...
, he later returned to
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
in January 1924 and was sentenced to three months in prison. Esser was released from prison in April 1924 and later visited Hitler in
Landsberg Prison Landsberg Prison is a penal facility in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, a ...
. On 9 July 1924 he was elected the Deputy Chairman of the Nazi front organization, the
Greater German People's Community The Greater German People’s Community (German language, German: ''Großdeutsche Volksgemeinschaft'', GVG) was one of the two main front organizations established after the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) was banned by the ...
based in Bavaria under Streicher. He immediately made enemies with
Gregor Strasser Gregor Strasser (also german: Straßer, see ß; 31 May 1892 – 30 June 1934) was an early prominent German Nazi official and politician who was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Born in 1892 in Bavaria, Strasser served in ...
who was a leader of a rival organization in northern and western Germany which threatened to split the party in two. It was only in December 1924 after Hitler's release from prison that the split was avoided. When the party was re-established on 27 February 1925, Esser immediately rejoined and was given membership number 2. On 4 August 1925, Esser resumed his position as Propaganda Leader (''Reichspropagandaleiter'') and continued in this role until April 1926. After Esser fell out with Streicher, and Hitler sided with his opponent, Esser threatened to go to the media with the NSDAP's secrets. He was bought off by being made editor of '' Illustrierter Beobachter'' from 1926 until 1932 in which he engaged the public through gossip and scandal. On 16 September 1926 he was made ''
Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to ''Reichsleiter'' and to th ...
'' of
Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and s ...
and Swabia, serving until May 1927. From December 1929 to April 1933, he was the Party's floor leader in Munich's ''Stadtrat'' (City Council). From 1929 to 1932, he also was a member of the Upper Bavarian ''Kreistag'' (District Assembly). In April 1932 he was elected to the
Bavarian Landtag The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich. Elections to the Landtag are held ev ...
and became its president in April 1933. In March 1933 he was elected to the '' Reichstag'' representing electoral constituency 24, Upper Bavaria-Swabia. In December 1933 he was made 2nd Vice President of the chamber under
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, and some time later was styled Deputy to the ''Reichstag'' President, the only person to hold this title. In May 1933, Esser returned to Passau to address a rally celebrating the dedication of the ''Ostmarkmuseum''. He first wrote and published his book ''Die jüdische Weltpest'' (The Jewish World Plague) in 1933. After the
pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
s of the ''
Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung, (SA) paramilitary and Schutzstaffel, (SS) paramilitary forces along ...
'' of 9 November 1938, he republished it in early 1939, again under the NSDAP press. On 12 April 1933, he was appointed a
Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...
in the Bavarian government. He was also named head of the Bavarian Press Office and Chief of the Bavarian State Chancellery. This was followed in March 1934 by his appointment as Bavaria's Minister of Economics by Bavarian Governor
Franz Ritter von Epp Franz Ritter von Epp (born Franz Epp; from 1918 as Ritter von Epp; 16 October 1868 – 31 January 1947)Lilla, Joachim: Epp, Franz Ritter v.'. In: Staatsminister, leitende Verwaltungsbeamte und (NS-)Funktionsträger in Bayern 1918 bis 19 ...
. Esser intrigued against the powerful Gauleiter of Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria Adolf Wagner and, as a result, was forced out of his ministerial posts on 14 March 1935. After his exclusion from politics in Bavaria, Esser did not wield any significant political power. In April 1936 he was appointed Chairman of the Reich Committee for Foreign Tourism, and on 27 January 1939 State Secretary for Tourism in the Reich Propaganda Ministry under
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...
. On 4 March 1939 he was promoted to ''
Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire ...
'' of the National Socialist Flyers Corps (NSFK). His last official duty was on 24 February 1945 in Munich, delivering a speech on behalf of Hitler at the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Nazi Party program.


Scandals

Esser enjoyed life and the power that his media and political power gave him with women. His dalliances led to his being marginalized. After he impregnated a young woman and refused to marry her, she appealed directly to Hitler, who told Esser that he must do the right thing. Upon the birth of the child, Hitler became its godfather. Esser later sexually assaulted the underage daughter of a businessman. The combined disgust of Strasser, Streicher and
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...
led to his suspension from the NSDAP in March 1935. Hitler had previously said of him, "I know Esser is a scoundrel, but I shall hold on to him as long as he is useful to me."


Post-war

Arrested by the Americans after the end of the war in Europe, he was released in May 1948 after being considered an unimportant Nazi official. Esser then went into hiding only to be re-arrested in 1949 by the West German Police. Charged under the new
West Germany 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 ...
anti-Nazification laws, he was found guilty of being a "major offender" and sentenced to five years hard labour with a loss of civil rights for life. He was released in 1952. In 1980, Bavaria's
Minister President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...
Franz Josef Strauß Franz Josef Strauss ( ; 6 September 1915 – 3 October 1988) was a German politician. He was the long-time chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) from 1961 until 1988, member of the federal cabinet in different positions between ...
congratulated Esser on his 80th birthday.Anna Rosmus: Hitlers Nibelungen, Samples Grafenau 2015, p. 33 Esser died in
Dietramszell Dietramszell is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria, Germany. The community of 5,282 (2005) residents sits 685 meters above sea level. The idyllic community became internationally known after the " torture princ ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
aged 80 on 7 February 1981.


Notes


References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esser, Hermann 1900 births 1981 deaths Gauleiters German newspaper editors German male journalists German male writers German Army personnel of World War I Greater German People's Community politicians Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Military personnel of Bavaria Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians Nazi propagandists People from the Kingdom of Bavaria 20th-century Freikorps personnel