Philipp Meyer (29 March 1896 – 29 January 1962) was a German politician who held the position of a '' Kreisleiter'' in the Nazi Party from 1932 to 1945. He was sentenced to death at end of the Second World War for refusing to evacuate his district and prepare it for defense, but was spared. In post-war West Germany he was a member of the Bundestag, the federal parliament, from 1953 until his death.

Biography

Meyer was born in Auhausen in 1896 in what was than the Kingdom of Bavaria, part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He worked as a miller and farmer, joining the Nazi Party and rising to the office of ''Kreisleiter'', the fourth tier of the Nazi hierarchy, set below the '' Gauleiter''. In his position Meyer was answerable to Karl Wahl, ''Gauleiter'' in the

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

. Living in Oppertshofen at the end of the Second World War, Meyer was sentenced to death by a SS drumhead court-martial for refusing to evacuate his district of Donauwörth and prepare it for defense. He was however spared from execution. In post-war West Germany, in 1949, Meyer became the head of the Bavarian association of millers and also the head of the district association of

master craftsmen Historically, a master craftsman or master tradesman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. The title survives as the highest professional qualification in craft industries. In the European guild system, only mas ...

. He became a candidate for the conservative

CSU CSU may refer to: * Channel service unit, a Wide area network equivalent of a network interface card * Chari Aviation Services, Chad, by ICAO airline code * Christian Social Union (UK), an Anglican social gospel organisation * Christian Social Un ...

party for the German Bundestag in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

and became the first former Nazi ''Kreisleiter'' to be elected to the parliament. He was successfully reelected in his electorate of Donauwörth in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

and

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

. Meyer died on 29 January 1962 after a long illness. He was succeed in his seat by Karl Heinz Lemmrich who remained a member of the Bundestag for the seat of Donauwörth for the next 27 years, until 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Philipp 1896 births 1962 deaths German Lutherans Nazi Party politicians Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria Members of the Bundestag 1961–1965 Members of the Bundestag 1957–1961 Members of the Bundestag 1953–1957 People from Donau-Ries Kreisleiter Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria 20th-century Lutherans