Jakob Sprenger (24 July 1884 – 7 May 1945) was a
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 and
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 ...
who was the Party's ''
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 Hesse-Nassau South from 1927 to 1933 and
Gau Hesse-Nassau
The Gau Hesse-Nassau (German: ''Gau Hessen-Nassau'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was formed by the merger of two separate Gaue comprising the People's State of Hesse (also known as Hesse-Darmstadt) and the ...
from 1933 to 1945. He was also the ''
Reichsstatthalter
The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Imperial lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany.
''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918)
The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalte ...
'' (Reich Governor) and
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 ...
of the
People's State of Hesse
The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German ...
, the ''
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 ...
'' of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n
Province of Nassau
The Province of Nassau () was a provinces of Prussia, province of Free State of Prussia, Prussia from 1944 to 1945.
Although all Weimar Republic#Constituent states of Germany during the Weimar period, German states (including Prussia) had been ...
and an
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 ...
''.
Early life
Sprenger, the son of a farmer, was born in
Oberhausen
Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...
in the
Rhenish Palatinate. He 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 (' ...
'' there and after graduating from the ''
gymnasium'' in
Bad Bergzabern in 1901, he served as a
one-year volunteer
A one-year volunteer, short EF ( de: ''Einjährig-Freiwilliger''), was, in a number of national armed forces, a conscript who agreed to pay his own costs for the procurement of equipment, food and clothing, in return for spending a shorter-than-usu ...
with the 18th Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment “Prince Ludwig Ferdinand,” headquartered in
Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
. From 1902 he was employed in the administrative service of the
Imperial Postal Service, first in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, then in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and from October 1912 in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
.
Sprenger volunteered for service in the
First World War
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 ...
in August 1914. He was assigned to his old regiment as an ''
Offizierstellvertreter
Offiziersstellvertreter, short OStv ( en: ''Officer deputy''), is a rank of the higher non-commissioned officers rank group (also staff NCO group) in the Austrian Bundesheer and Imperial German Army.
;See also
Ranks of the Austrian Bundesheer
...
'' (Officer Deputy) training volunteers and reservists. He was then deployed to the
western front and was wounded in action in November 1914, losing a toe on his right foot. He was decorated for valor and awarded the
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 ...
2nd Class. After discharge from the hospital in January 1915, he was assigned as a ''
zugführer'' (platoon leader) with a machine gun company. Promoted to ''
Leutnant
() is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German (language), German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland.
History
The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") fro ...
'' in April 1916, he was deployed to the
eastern front in June 1916 with the 1st Royal Bavarian ''
Landsturm
In German-speaking countries, the term ''Landsturm'' was historically used to refer to militia or military units composed of troops of inferior quality. It is particularly associated with Prussia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Nether ...
'' Regiment. He subsequently served as a deputy
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
commander and a
poison gas
Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...
defense officer (''gasschutzoffizier'') in
Pinsk
Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk a ...
and
Rivne
Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
in the
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. After the war ended, he returned to Germany in December 1918. Discharged from the service in July 1919, he resumed his career as a postal official in Frankfurt in December.
Nazi career
In 1922, Sprenger became 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 ...
. When the Party was banned in the wake of the failed
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 ...
, he briefly joined the German Party (''Deutsche Partei'', DP) a Nazi
front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...
in January 1924. He became the leader of the DP in Frankfurt,
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
, and
Hesse-Nassau
The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944.
Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the p ...
, and worked as a campaign speaker. In June of that year, he gravitated to the
National Socialist Freedom Party
The National Socialist Freedom Movement (, NSFB) or National Socialist Freedom Party (, NSFP) was a political party in Weimar Germany created in April 1924 during the aftermath of the Beer Hall Putsch. Adolf Hitler and many Nazi leaders were jai ...
, another Nazi front group, and was put on its executive board. After co-founding its ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) in Frankfurt, Sprenger became the ''
Bezirksleiter
''Bezirksleiter'' (District Leader) was a Nazi Party title which was used in the early years of the Party's existence, beginning around 1926.
History
The position of ''Bezirksleiter'' was originally established around 1926 as the next higher orga ...
'' (District Leader) for Frankfurt, Hesse, and Hesse-Nassau. On 28 April 1925 he was elected to the Frankfurt City Council and served there until 1933. Sprenger formally rejoined the Nazi Party on 14 August 1925 (membership number 17,009). He was
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, and rose quickly through the ranks. He immediately was made ''
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
SA leader of Frankfurt and became a ''Bezirksleiter'' in Hesse-Nassau South on 31 October 1926. He was appointed ''
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 Hesse-Nassau South on 1 April 1927, succeeding
Karl Linder. On 17 November 1929, he became a member of the municipal ''
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
'' of
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
and the provincial ''Landtag'' of Hesse-Nassau. In January 1930 he became the Nazi faction leader in both bodies and, in addition, was made a member of the
Prussian State Council
The Prussian State Council (german: Preußischer Staatsrat) was the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Free State of Prussia between 1920 and 1933. The lower chamber was the Prussian Landtag (''Preußischer Landtag'').
Implementa ...
.
In September 1930 Sprenger was elected a member of the ''
Reichstag'' for electoral constituency 19, Hesse-Nassau. He would become the Nazi faction’s specialist on
civil service
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 ...
issues and was given a seat on the ''Reichstag'' Committee on Civil Service Matters. The same year, he founded a Nazi newspaper in Frankfurt called ''Frankfurter Volksblatt''. From 1930 to 1933 he also sat on the Board of Directors of the German Postal Service, though leaving his employment with the postal service in November 1932. In early 1931, Sprenger joined the
National Socialist Motor Corps
The National Socialist Motor Corps (german: Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps, NSKK) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that officially existed from May 1931 to 1945. The group was a successor organisation to the old ...
with membership number 5. In April 1931, Sprenger became the Reich Specialist for Civil Service Questions in the Party ''Reichsleitung'' (National Leadership). He would become head of its Civil Service Department from September 1931 through July 1933. Sprenger became the leader of the German Civil Servants Association from April to June 1933, and then continued as the Honorary President of the German Civil Service through the end of the Nazi regime. He was also made a member of the
Academy for German Law
The Academy for German Law (german: Akademie für deutsches Recht) was an institute for legal research and reform founded on 26 June 1933 in Nazi Germany. After suspending its operations during the Second World War in August 1944, it was abolished ...
.
On 15 July 1932 came his appointment as ''
Landesinspekteur''-Southwest. In this position, he had oversight responsibility for his Gau and four others (
Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt,
Hesse-Nassau North &
Württemberg-Hohenzollern). This was a short-lived initiative by
Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser (also german: Straßer, see ß; 31 May 1892 – 30 June 1934) was an early prominent German Nazi Party, Nazi official and politician who was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Born in 1892 in Bavaria, Strasse ...
to centralize control over the ''Gaue''. However, it was unpopular with the ''Gauleiters'' and was repealed on Strasser's fall from power in December 1932. Sprenger then returned to his ''Gauleiter'' position in Hesse-Nassau South.
![Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R27373,_Reichsautobahn,_Adolf_Hitler_beim_1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R27373%2C_Reichsautobahn%2C_Adolf_Hitler_beim_1._Spatenstich%2C_bei_Frankfurt_%28cropped%29.jpg)
When his Gau was merged with the neighboring Gau of Hesse-Darmstadt (comprising the federal
People's State of Hesse
The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German ...
) on 1 January 1933, Sprenger became the ''Gauleiter'' of the unified
Gau Hesse-Nassau
The Gau Hesse-Nassau (German: ''Gau Hessen-Nassau'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was formed by the merger of two separate Gaue comprising the People's State of Hesse (also known as Hesse-Darmstadt) and the ...
. On 10 April 1933, he became the leader of the Nazi faction in the Prussian State Council. On 5 May 1933, he was appointed ''
Reichsstatthalter
The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Imperial lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany.
''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918)
The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalte ...
'' (Reich Governor) of the
People's State of Hesse
The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German ...
. In the process of 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 b ...
'', in particular due to the ''Reichsstatthaltergesetz'' (Reich Governors Law) of 30 January 1935, he was also appointed
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 ...
and took over leadership of the state government from
Philipp Wilhelm Jung on 1 March 1935. Sprenger was promoted to
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 ...
'' on 9 November 1938. He was a holder of the
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 ...
.
Involvement in euthanasia and the holocaust
In the Hessian town of
Hadamar
Hadamar is a small town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.
Hadamar is known for its Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry/Centre for Social Psychiatry, lying at the edge of town, in whose outlying buildings is also found the Hadamar Memo ...
, the psychiatric clinic there was converted into the
Hadamar Killing Facility
The Hadamar killing centre (german: NS-Tötungsanstalt Hadamar) was a killing facility involved in the Nazi "involuntary euthanasia" programme known as ''Aktion T4''. It was housed within a psychiatric hospital located in the German town of Had ...
where over 14,000 mentally and physically disabled men, women and children were murdered with either poisonous gas or lethal injection as part of the ''
Aktion T4
(German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address of ...
'' program between January 1941 and March 1945. This certainly was done with the knowledge of Sprenger, the chief Party and government official in the region.
It is estimated that some 7,000 Jews emigrated from Frankfurt in the time between ''
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 (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
'' in November 1938 and the formal ban on Jewish emigration of 23 October 1941. From that time forward, Jews were rounded up and deported by train from Frankfurt to
ghettos
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
and
extermination camp
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
s in the east. It is estimated that over 10,600 Jews were deported and that only about 600 Frankfurt Jews survived the war. In May 1943, Sprenger declared Frankfurt to be ''"
Judenfrei
''Judenfrei'' (, "free of Jews") and ''judenrein'' (, "clean of Jews") are terms of Nazi origin to designate an area that has been "cleansed" of Jews during The Holocaust.
While ''judenfrei'' refers merely to "freeing" an area of all of its ...
"''.
War years
When 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 ...
broke out on 1 September 1939, Sprenger 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 ...
for ''
Wehrkreis
The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...
'' (Military District) XII, based in Wiesbaden. This encompassed the western half of his Gau along with
Gau Koblenz-Trier,
Gau Saarpfalz and part of
Gau Baden
The Gau Baden, renamed Gau Baden–Alsace (German: ''Gau Baden-Elsaß'') in March 1941, was a ''de facto'' administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the German state of Baden and, from 1940 onwards, in Alsace (german: Elsaß). B ...
. In this new position, Sprenger had responsibility for
civil defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
including air defense and evacuation measures, as well as administration of wartime
rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
and suppression of
black market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
activity. On 16 November 1942, the jurisdiction of the Reich Defense Commissioners was changed from the ''Wehrkreis'' to the Gau level, and he remained Commissioner for only his Gau of Hesse-Nassau. In 1943, the ''
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 Prussian Province of
Hesse-Nassau
The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944.
Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the p ...
,
Philipp von Hessen, fell out of favor and was removed from office. Subsequently, the province was partitioned in two, effective 1 July 1944, and Sprenger was appointed ''
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 ...
'' of the new Prussian
Province of Nassau
The Province of Nassau () was a provinces of Prussia, province of Free State of Prussia, Prussia from 1944 to 1945.
Although all Weimar Republic#Constituent states of Germany during the Weimar period, German states (including Prussia) had been ...
. He thus united under his control the highest party and governmental offices in the province, as he had already done in the State of Hesse. On 25 September 1944, Sprenger became commander of the ''
Volkssturm
The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...
'' forces in his Gau.
On 15 March 1945, with U.S. Army forces already across the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
river, Sprenger issued orders to his ''
Kreisleiters'' on the need to keep the German population “in check” by having the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
arrest “rumor mongers” and send them to concentration camps. He also ordered the destruction of secret documents relating to concentration camps and the “extermination of some families.” The memo also stated:
Germans who do not defend themselves on the approach of the enemy or who wish to flee, are to be shot down ruthlessly, or, where suitable, hanged to frighten the population.Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume VII, Document D-728, pp.174-175
Retrieved 7 December 2021
As American armed forces approached Frankfurt, Sprenger issued further orders on 23 March 1945 prohibiting any able-bodied man or woman from leaving the city. Despite this, on the night of 25 to 26 March just before the start of the
Battle of Frankfurt
The Battle of Frankfurt was a four-day struggle for control of Frankfurt am Main during World War II. The 5th Infantry Division (United States), 5th Infantry Division conducted the main attack while the 6th Armored Division (United States), 6th A ...
, Sprenger himself fled from Frankfurt to
Kössen
Kössen is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 24 km north of Kitzbühel as well as 15.50 km north of Sankt Johann in Tirol at the Kitzbühler Ache near the border to Germany.
Geography
K ...
in eastern
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
,
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 ...
where the Russians and U.S. Army were executing a pincer maneuver to envelop the whole country. Trapped, Sprenger and his wife committed suicide by ingesting poison on 7 May 1945.
See also
*
List of Gauleiters
The following list of Gauleiters enumerates those who have held the Nazi party rank of Gauleiter, a type of regional party leader in Germany only within Adolf Hitler's system.
Of the 44 former Gauleiter of the NSDAP thirteen committed suicide when ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
* Orlow, Dietrich: The History of the Nazi Party: 1919-1933 (University of Pittsburgh Press), 1969, .
External links
*
*
*
Jakob Sprengerin th
Hessian State History Information SystemJakob Sprengerin th
Frankfurt People’s Lexicon*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprenger, Jakob
1884 births
1945 suicides
Gauleiters
German newspaper editors
Holocaust perpetrators in Germany
Joint suicides by Nazis
Members of the Academy for German Law
Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic
Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany
Ministers-President of Hesse
Nazi Party officials
Nazi Party politicians
Nazis who committed suicide in Austria
People from the Palatinate (region)
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class
Sturmabteilung officers
Suicides by poison
Volkssturm personnel