Karl Gerland (14 July 1905 – 21 April 1945) was a
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
''
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 Kurhessen and ''
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 Prussian
Province of Kurhessen
The Province of Kurhessen () or Electoral Hesse was a province of Prussia within Nazi Germany between 1944 and 1945.
Although all German states, including Prussia, had ''de facto'' been dissolved since 1933, the Nazi government formally parti ...
. On 21 April 1945, Gerland was killed in action against the Soviet
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
at
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...
.
Early years
Gerland was born in
Gottsbüren (now a part of
Trendelburg
Trendelburg () is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany with a population of 5,282 on 30 September 2009. It is situated on the river Diemel, north of Kassel.
The town is twinned with Pocklington, England.
Trendelburg is located o ...
) near
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
. He graduated from the
gymnasium in Kassel in 1923 and then was employed as a
mechanical engineer
Mechanical may refer to:
Machine
* Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement
* Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...
by the
German National Railway. He pursued additional training in engineering at the
University of Hanover
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...
until 1928 and then worked in various commercial and technical businesses.
Nazi career
Gerland joined the Nazi Party in December 1929 and became ''
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) in Kreis
Hofgeismar
Hofgeismar () is a town in the Kassel (district), district of Kassel, in northern Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km north of Kassel on the German Timber-Frame Road. In 1978 and in 2015, the town hosted the 18th ''Hessentag'' state festival. ...
from September 1930 to January 1932. From January to July 1932, he was ''Beziksleiter'' (District Leader) in
Fulda-Gersfeld-Hünfeld and Deputy Propaganda Leader of
Gau Hesse-Nassau North. In July 1932, he advanced to Gau Propaganda Leader. After the
Nazi seizure of power
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...
, he became head of the provincial office of the
Reich Ministry of Propaganda
The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (; RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany.
The ministry ...
from May to November 1934. He then worked as a department head in the office of Deputy Führer
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
in the Party ''Reichsleitung'' (National Leadership) in
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 ...
from November 1934 to November 1938. In March 1936, Gerland was elected to the ''
Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 8, (
Liegnitz
Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 a ...
). On 30 January 1938, he was awarded 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 ...
. Gerland joined the
SS on 16 March 1938 with the rank of ''
Hauptsturmführer
__NOTOC__
(, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...
''. From 1 June 1938 until 6 November 1943, he was Deputy ''
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 ...
'' in
Reichsgau Lower Danube.
The war years
From May to September 1940, Gerland saw military service as an ''
Unteroffizier
() is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.
Austria
, also , is the collective name t ...
'' of Reserves, and was wounded in the
battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
. On 9 November 1940, he was promoted to SS-''
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 ...
'' and assigned to the staff of the ''
Reichsführer-SS
(, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...
''. In November 1943, Gerland was promoted to SS-''
Brigadeführer
''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...
'' and, on 6 November, he was appointed ''Gauleiter'' and
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 ...
in
Gau Kurhessen. He succeeded
Karl Weinrich, who had been removed from these posts for abandoning the city of Kassel during an air raid on 22 October. Gerland served as acting ''Gauleiter'' from 6 November 1943 until being named permanent on 13 December 1944. From 1 July 1944 Gerland was also ''
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 newly formed Prussian
Province of Kurhessen
The Province of Kurhessen () or Electoral Hesse was a province of Prussia within Nazi Germany between 1944 and 1945.
Although all German states, including Prussia, had ''de facto'' been dissolved since 1933, the Nazi government formally parti ...
, which formerly had been part of the
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 ...
. Gerland thus united under his control the highest party and governmental offices in the province. On 1 August 1944 Gerland was promoted to SS-''
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 de ...
''.
In the spring of 1945, with the American Army invading his Gau, he received high praise from
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 19 ...
. In his diary entry of 2 April 1945, Goebbels noted that Gerland was conducting himself "superbly," adding, "I would have expected this from
imanyway." When his capital, Kassel, fell to American forces on 4 April 1945, Gerland fled eastward and joined German forces fighting in
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
. On 21 April, Gerland was killed near
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...
during fighting on the
Eastern Front.
References
Sources
*
*
*
External website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerland, Karl
1905 births
1945 deaths
Gauleiters
Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany
Nazi Party officials
Nazi Party politicians
Nazi propagandists
People from Hesse-Nassau
People from Kassel (district)
SS-Gruppenführer