Kleo Pleyer (19 November 1898 – 26 March 1942) 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 ...

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 ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. He was a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and sociologist and a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

at the

Königsberg Albertina University Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

and Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. He was married to Luithgard Pleyer, who bore him 7 children. In 1939, he became a volunteer soldier for 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 ...

and eventually became an Oberleutnant. He was 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 es ...

, first class and second class. He was killed in action while serving as his company's commander at the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...

. During his winter holidays in 1941–42, he wrote ''Volk im Feld'' (1943), or Nation at War. The book discussed the German campaigns in France and Russia. Pleyer not only justified the brutal treatment of prisoners of war, but called for the ''Ausrottung des Judentums'' ( Extermination of Jewry). During the war, a large number of copies of the book were printed. The book was published posthumously, as Pleyer was killed fighting on the Eastern Front in 1942. Pleyer also wrote the lyrics of ''Kampflied der Nationalsozialisten'' (Combat Song of the National Socialists), the battle song of the Nazi Party,Weinreich, Max. ''Hitler's Professors: The Part of Scholarship in Germany's Crimes against the Jewish People''.
/ref> and the Leader of the Bündischen Front (BF). In Königsberg, Pleyer was posthumously awarded the Kant-Prize.

References

Nazi Party officials 1898 births 1942 deaths German male non-fiction writers German military personnel killed in World War II German Army officers of World War II 20th-century German male writers Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class {{Germany-Nazi-politician-stub