Joseph Berchtold (6 March 1897 – 23 August 1962) was an early senior
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 ...
member and a co-founder of both the (SA) and (SS).
Berchtold served 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 upon Germany's defeat joined 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 Soc ...
(DAP), a small extremist organization at the time. He remained in the party after it became known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party; NSDAP) and went on to become the second commander of the (SS) from April 1926 to March 1927.
After resigning as the SS leader, Berchtold spent much of his time writing for Nazi magazines and journals. He survived the war, but was arrested by the Allies. Berchtold was later released and died in 1962. He was the last surviving person to hold the rank of and the only one to survive 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 opposi ...
.
Early life
Born on 6 March 1897 in
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...
, Berchtold attended school in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
from 1903 to 1915. He went on to serve in the Royal Bavarian Army during
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, ...
(1914-18) and held the rank of
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...
at the end of the war. After the war, he studied economics at the University of Munich and gained employment as a journalist. In early 1920, he joined the small right-wing extremist group 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 Soc ...
(DAP). He remained in the party after it became known as the
National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party; NSDAP). Berchtold became the treasurer of the Nazi Party, until he resigned at the end of July, 1921.
SA career
Upon re-joining the party in 1922, Berchtold became a member of 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 ralli ...
'' ("Storm Detachment"; SA), a paramilitary wing formed to protect its speakers at rallies, and to police Nazi meetings.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
, leader of the party since 1921, ordered the formation of a small separate bodyguard dedicated to his protection only instead of a suspected mass of the party in 1923. Originally the unit was composed of only eight men, commanded by
Julius Schreck and Berchtold. It was initially designated the ''Stabswache'' ("Staff Guard"). Later that year, the unit was renamed ''
Stoßtrupp-Hitler'' ("Shock Troop-Hitler").
On 9 November 1923 the ''Stoßtrupp'', along with the SA and several other paramilitary units, took part in what would become known as 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 ...
. The plan was to take control of
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
and then seize total power in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
. The
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
failed and resulted in the death of 16 Nazi supporters and 4 police officers. In the aftermath of the putsch both Hitler and other Nazi leaders were incarcerated at
Landsberg Prison. The Nazi Party and all associated formations, including the ''Stoßtrupp'', were officially disbanded. Berchtold then left Germany and fled to Tirol,
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 ...
. Berchtold was tried in absentia before the special
People's Court in Munich in 1924 for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch and sentenced to a prison term. During his time in Austria, Berchtold continued to be involved with Nazi Party activities, even though it was illegal.
When Hitler was released from prison on 20 December 1924, Berchtold was District Director of the Nazi Party in
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
, Austria and was leader of the SA there. After the re-formation of the Nazi Party on 20 February 1925, he again joined the party, documented as member #964. In March 1926, Berchtold returned to Munich from Austria. He became chief of the SA in Munich.
SS career
On 15 April 1926, Berchtold became the successor to Schreck as chief of the ''
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe ...
'' ("Protection Squadron"; SS), a special elite branch of the party under the control of the SA. Berchtold changed the title of the office position which became known as the ''Reichsführer-SS''. He issued new rules to establish the position of the SS. The rules stated the unit was "...neither a military organisation nor a group of hangers-on, but a small squad of men that our movement and our Führer can rely on." He further stressed that the men must follow "only party discipline". He was considered to be more dynamic than his predecessor, but was still unable to keep the party organizers at bay. He was frustrated in his efforts to have a more independent unit and became disillusioned by the SA's authority over the SS. On 1 March 1927, he handed over leadership of the SS to his deputy
Erhard Heiden.
After the SS
In 1927, he became a lead writer for ''
Völkischer Beobachter'', the Nazi Party newspaper. From 1928 to 1945, Berchtold was an SA leader on the staff of the Supreme SA leadership (OSAF). In 1934, he became the permanent deputy editor-in-chief of the ''Völkischer Beobachter'' newspaper. In the following years, he operated primarily as a journalist and propagandist. In 1928, Berchtold founded the newspaper ''SA-Mann'' ("SA Man"). Until January 1938, he was the main writer of the paper, which was published by the OSAF. Berchtold was also the author of various Nazi publications and staff of additional magazines.
Additional posts in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
were of secondary importance to Berchtold. From March 1934 to the end of the war, Berchtold was city councilman of the town council in Munich. On 15 November 1935, Berchtold was appointed to the Reich Culture Senator. In addition, he belonged to the "Cultural Circle of the SA" since 6 March 1936, and to the
Reichstag from 29 March 1936, onward. From 29 April 1940, Berchtold served as a captain of the reserve on a temporary basis in 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 previo ...
''.
Post-war
After
World War II
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
ended, Berchtold was arrested in 1945 and interned at Oberpfaffenhofen. He died on 23 August 1962, in Herrsching am Ammersee, near Munich.
Promotions
Awards and decorations
*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 es ...
2nd Class
*
Military Merit Cross (Bavaria) with Swords
*
The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords, 1934
*
Blood Order #9, 1934
*
Honour Chevron for the Old Guard, 1934
*
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 ...
, 1933
*
Nazi Party Long Service Award
The Nazi Party Long Service Award (''Die Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP''), sometimes called the NSDAP Long Service Award, was a political award in the form of a badge of the Nazi Party.
History
The award was given in three grades of ten years, ...
(bronze, silver, gold)
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berchtold, Joseph
1897 births
1962 deaths
German Army personnel of World War I
Nazi Party officials
Nazis who participated in the Beer Hall Putsch
People from Ingolstadt
Reichsführer-SS
Sturmabteilung officers
Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany
People from the Kingdom of Bavaria
Military personnel of Bavaria
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class