Walter Köhler
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Walter Friedrich Julius Köhler (30 September 1897 – 9 January 1989) was a German
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
politician who served as the Minister President of
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
from 1933 to 1945.


Early life

The son of a colonial supply trader, Köhler was born in
Weinheim Weinheim (; ) is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, approximately north of Heidelberg and northeast of Mannheim. Weinheim is known as the "Zwei-Burgen-Sta ...
, 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 primar ...
'' there until 1906 and left the '' Realgymnasium'' in his hometown in 1912 after earning his ''
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
''. For the next two years, Köhler completed a banking apprenticeship in
Ladenburg Ladenburg () is a town in northwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies on the right bank of the river Neckar, northwest of Heidelberg and east of Mannheim. The town's history goes back to the Celtic and Roman Ages, when it was called L ...
. At the beginning of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he entered the
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
as a
one-year volunteer A one-year volunteer, short EF (German language, de: ''Einjährig-Freiwilliger''), was, in a number of national armed forces, a Conscription, conscript who agreed to pay his own costs for the procurement of equipment, food and clothing, in return ...
in Reserve Infantry Regiment 109 and was deployed on the western front from October 1914. He rose to the rank of '' Vizefeldwebel'', was wounded and taken
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
by the British on 1 July 1916. Awarded the
Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...
, 2nd class, Köhler returned to Weinheim after the end of the war, where he initially worked in his parents' store. In 1918, he joined the right-wing conservative
German National People's Party The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...
(DNVP) and headed the party's youth organization in Weinheim. In addition, Köhler was a member of the
Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund The ''Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund'' (German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation) was the largest and the most active antisemitic federation in Germany after the First World War,Beurteilung des Reichskommissars für Überwac ...
, the largest and most influential
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
organization in Germany at the time.


Early career in the Nazi Party

By 1923 Köhler gravitated to the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
, moving to the Völkisch-Social Bloc, 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 ...
, during the period in 1924 when the Nazi Party was banned following 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 leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and other leaders i ...
. On 20 June 1925, he formally rejoined the Nazi Party a few months after its re-establishment in February 1925 (membership number 8,246). He became the founder and ''
Ortsgruppenleiter ''Ortsgruppenleiter'' (Local Group Leader) was a Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, 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 t ...
'' (Local Group Leader) of the Weinheim local branch. Köhler was an effective organizer and a gifted speaker, growing the local branch into the third largest in Baden. From 1925 to 1927, Köhler was the '' Kreisleiter'' (County Leader) in the Weinheim area. At the same time, he was the Weinheim leader of the ''
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...
'' (SA), the Party's
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
organization. In November 1926, he was elected to the Weinheim
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
. He continued to develop Weinheim into an early stronghold for the Party, where they always achieved above-average election results. In the
1928 German federal election A federal election was held in Germany on 20 May 1928 to elect the fourth Reichstag of the Weimar Republic.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p762 It resulted in a significant shift to the left, w ...
, Weinheim turned out 12.7% for the Nazis as opposed to their nation-wide polling of 2.6%. In the 1929 Baden state election to the Baden Landtag in October 1929, the party achieved 26.7% in the city as opposed to 7.0% in all of Baden. Köhler was elected to the Baden ''
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 that election and became the chairman of the Nazi Party parliamentary group. In August 1931, Köhler was promoted to 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 ...
'' for Baden, under ''Gauleiter''
Robert Heinrich Wagner Robert Heinrich Wagner, born as Robert Heinrich Backfisch (13 October 1895 – 14 August 1946) was a German Nazi Party official and politician who served as ''Gauleiter'' and ''Reichsstatthalter'' of Baden, and Chief of Civil Administrati ...
. Between January and March 1933, he served as acting ''Gauleiter'' while Wagner was detailed to Party headquarters in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
.


Minister President of Baden

After the
Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...
at the national level, they began the process of taking control of the independent state governments. Köhler, in his capacity as acting ''Gauleiter'', on 6 March 1933 issued an ultimatum demanding the resignation of the Baden state government. Five days later, Wagner assumed control as Minister President and formed a cabinet with Köhler heading the Ministry of Finance. Following Wagner's appointment to the newly-created position of ''
Reichsstatthalter The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Reich 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 ''Reichsstatthalter'' ...
'' (Reich Governor), Köhler on 6 May 1933 succeeded him as Minister President of Baden, as well as head of the combined Ministry of Finance and Economics. In November 1933, Köhler was elected to the '' Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 32 (
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
). He would be reelected in 1936 and 1938, serving until the fall of the Nazi regime. From 1934 Köhler headed the Baden Chamber of Commerce, and from 1943 he held the presidency of the District Chamber of Commerce for the Upper Rhine, which comprised Baden and Alsace. In 1936, he was appointed head of the raw materials distribution department within the Four Year Plan but left this position at his own request in 1937. On 20 April 1937, Prussian Minister President
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
appointed Köhler to the
Prussian State Council The Prussian State Council ( German: ''Preußischer Staatsrat'') was the second chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Free State of Prussia between 1921 and 1933; the first chamber was the Prussian Landtag (). The members of the State Cou ...
. From 1939, Köhler headed the Armaments Command in Baden. After the German occupation and annexation of
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
in 1940, Wagner was appointed Chief of Civil Administration (CdZ) and Köhler became head of the finance and economic department at the CdZ. In this function, he supported the harsh
Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people, and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nati ...
policy in Alsace and worked to exploit the Alsatian economy for the service of the German war economy. In the SA, Köhler was promoted in May 1937 to SA-''
Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in ...
'', in November 1938, to SA-''
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 d ...
'' and, in November 1943, to SA-''
Obergruppenführer (, ) 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 commissioned SS rank after ...
''. Towards the end of the war, Köhler was in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
and refused ''Gauleiter'' Wagner's order to leave the city in view of the approaching French army. Infuriated, Wagner relieved him of his offices, expelled him from the Party and filed court-martial proceedings against him for high treason. However, he was beyond Wagner's reach, as he was captured by French troops on 4 April 1945.


Post-war

Köhler spent the following three years in
internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
. In October 1948, the
denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...
tribunal in Karlsruhe classified Köhler as a “lesser offender” and sentenced him to three years in a labor camp, which were considered to have been served by the internment, as well as five years of a professional ban and a fine of 1,500 DM. The public prosecutor appealed and, in a second trial in April 1950, Köhler was classified as an "incriminated person" but no additional sanctions were imposed. Following his release, he worked first as a sales representative, then as head of an insurance agency in Karlsruhe. Walter Köhler died on 9 January 1989 in Weinheim. Ernst Otto Bräunche, head of the Karlsruhe city archive, came to the following assessment of Köhler in 2000:
Köhler was one of the decisive pioneers of the NSDAP in Baden and thus one of the active "gravediggers of the Weimar Republic" and democracy in Baden. In the Third Reich, Köhler ultimately functioned without any problems in his area of responsibility and thus made a significant contribution to supporting and consolidating the Nazi regime. Even after the Federal Republic had long established and consolidated itself, he was still convinced that democracy had no future.Bräunche, ''Köhler'', p. 154.


References


Sources

* Ernst Otto Bräunche: ''Walter Köhler]: Prime Minister of Baden - a "decent" and "morally upright" National Socialist?'' In: City of Weinheim (ed.): ''The City of Weinheim in the period from 1933 to 1945.'' (= ''Weinheimer Geschichtsblatt'', No. 38) Weinheim 2000, ISBN 3-923652-12-7, pp. 135-160.
''Deutsches Führerlexikon 1934–1935'', pp. 243–244
Retrieved 2 June 2023 * Horst Ferdinand: "Köhler, Walter Friedrich Julius, Nazi politician, businessman." In: "Baden-Württemberg Biographies." Volume II, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-17-014117-1, p. 276-280
Online
* Klee, Ernst (2007). ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945''. Frankfurt-am-Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag. p.324 * * Joachim Lilla, Martin Döring, Andreas Schulz: ''Extras in uniform. The members of the Reichstag 1933-1945. A biographical handbook. Including the Völkisch and National Socialist Reichstag deputies from May 1924.'' Droste, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-7700-5254-4, pp. 322-323.


External links

* *
Walter Köhler, Prime Minister, Finance and Economics Minister
in th
History of the state ministries in Baden and Württemberg in the time of National Socialism

Brief Biography of Walter Köhler

Speeches
by Walter Köhler in the Baden State Parliament in the digital collections of the Badische Landesbibliothek {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohler, Walter 1897 births 1989 deaths German Army personnel of World War I German National People's Party politicians German prisoners of war in World War I German prisoners of war in World War II held by France Members of the Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany) Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936 Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938 Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Ministers of the Baden State Government Nazi Party officials People from the Grand Duchy of Baden People from Weinheim Prisoners and detainees of Germany Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class SA-Obergruppenführer