Walther Schröder (26 November 1902 – 31 October 1973) 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, SS-''

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 ...

'' and Police President of

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, who served as an

SS and Police Leader The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (''Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the o ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Schröder was born in Lübeck and went to school until 1919, followed by three years of practical training in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

. From 1922 he studied at the technical state school in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In the same year he joined the

Freikorps Oberland The ''Freikorps Oberland'' ("Highlands Free Corps"; also ''Bund Oberland'' or ''Kameradschaft Freikorps und Bund Oberland'') was a voluntary paramilitary organization that, in the early years of the Weimar Republic, fought against communist and ...

, remaining a member until 1925. In autumn 1924 he passed his state examination. Until 1932 he worked as a designer and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

at a shipyard in Hamburg and a machine building company in Lübeck.

Peacetime Party, political and police career

Schröder joined the

(membership number 6,288) and the SA on 5 May 1925. As an early Party member, he would later be awarded the

Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge () 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 from 1 to 100,000 (issued on 1 Oc ...

. From September 1927 to 1929 he was SA-''

Sturmführer ''Sturmführer'' (, "storm leader") was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928. Translated as "storm leader or assault leader", the origins o ...

'' of the '' Gausturm''

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

-Süd. He was also a member of the political organization in the Lübeck ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group). From 1926 to 1928 he acted as its Propaganda Leader and from June 1928 to 1930 he was ''

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) in Lübeck. In 1930 he left the SA and subsequently worked in the political organization as '' Bezirksleiter'' (District Leader) ''Untergauleiter'' (Sub-Gau Leader) and ''

Kreisleiter (; "District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several mu ...

'' (County Leader) until 1934. He then became the Gau Inspector for Gau Mecklenburg-Lübeck until 1 April 1937. At the

1929 Lübeck state election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...

, Schröder became one of six Nazi Party members of the Lübeck ''Bürgerschaft'' (legislature) and remained a member until it was abolished in 1933. In the July 1932 German parliamentary election, Schröder was elected to the '' Reichstag'' for electoral constituency 35,

, serving until the election of March 1936. The

Greater Hamburg Act The Greater Hamburg Act (), in full the Law Regarding Greater Hamburg and Other Territorial Readjustments (), was passed by the government of Nazi Germany on 26 January 1937, and mandated the exchange of territories between Hamburg and the Free S ...

of 1937 removed Lübeck's status as a sovereign German state and made it part of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Province of Schleswig-Holstein The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ( ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (from 1868 to 1918) and the Free State of Prussia (from 1918 to 1946). History It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquere ...

. Schröder then returned to the '' Reichstag'' as a deputy for electoral constituency 13,

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, at the April 1938 election, and retained this seat until the fall of the Nazi regime.Walther Schröder entry in the Reichstag Databank
/ref> Shortly 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 ...

, Schröder was appointed acting Police President in Lübeck on 6 March 1933. On 31 May he was made permanent Police President and also was appointed to the Lübeck state administration as Senator for Internal Affairs by the ''

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)

Friedrich Hildebrandt Friedrich Hildebrandt (19 September 1898 – 5 November 1948) was a Nazi Party politician, a ''Gauleiter'' and an SS-''Obergruppenführer''. He was found guilty and executed for war crimes committed during the Second World War. Early life H ...

. On 8 September 1936, Schröder joined the

National Socialist Motor Corps The National Socialist Motor Corps (, NSKK) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that officially existed from May 1931 to 1945. The group was a successor organisation to the older National Socialist Automobile Corps (, NS ...

(NSKK) as an NSSK-''

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

'' on the staff of the Motor Upper Group North in

, and on 20 January 1938 he was promoted to NSKK-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically an NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geograph ...

''. On 20 April of that year, he left the NSKK and was accepted into the SS (member number 290,797) as an SS-''Oberführer'', and posted to the ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

'' (SD) Main Office headed by

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

World War II

Reichskommissariat Ostland Administrative

Schröder was sent to the ''

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

'' immediately after the general strike of February 1941, as head of German police forces to help put down the strike and restore order. On 4 August 1941, Schröder was appointed by ''

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 Uniforms and insignia of the Schut ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

(SSPF) " Lettland" in the ''

Reichskommissariat Ostland The (RKO; ) was an Administrative division, administrative entity of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945. It served as the German Civil authority, civilian occupation regime in Lithuania, La ...

'' with headquarters in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. He was the only holder of this post. He reported to Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF), SS-''Gruppenführer''

Hans-Adolf Prützmann Hans-Adolf Prützmann (31 August 1901 – 16 May 1945) was among the highest-ranking German SS officials during the Nazi era. From June 1941 to September 1944, he served as a Higher SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union, and from Nov ...

, and the ''Generalkommissar'' (General Commissioner) of Lettland,

Otto-Heinrich Drechsler Otto-Heinrich Drechsler (1 April 1895 – 5 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who served as the General Commissioner of Latvia for the Nazi Germany's occupation regime (''Reichskommissariat Ostland'') during World War II. In this capacity, h ...

, who also was the ''

Oberbürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

'' (Lord Mayor) of Lübeck. Schröder controlled the activities of German SS, SD and ''

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (''Orpo'', , meaning "Order Police") were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly of power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of t ...

'' forces. He also directed the activities of native Latvian law enforcement and security forces, including the

Latvian Auxiliary Police Latvian Auxiliary Police was a paramilitary force created from Latvian volunteers and conscripts by the Nazi German authorities who occupied the country in June/July 1941. It was part of the '' Schutzmannschaft'' (Shuma), native police forces o ...

, which he controlled as Commander of Order Police. These forces were involved in numerous murders of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and other Latvians, including the infamous

Liepāja massacres The Liepāja massacres were a series of mass executions, many public or semi-public, in and near the city of Liepāja (), on the west coast of Latvia in 1941 after the German occupation of Latvia. The main perpetrators were detachments of the ' ...

and the

Rumbula massacre The Rumbula massacre is a collective term for incidents on November 30 and December 8, 1941, in which about 25,000 Jews were murdered in or on the way to Rumbula forest near Riga, Latvia, during World War II. Except for the Babi Yar massacre in ...

. It is estimated that over 80,000 Latvians were murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. On 27 September 1941, Schröder was promoted to SS-''Brigadefuhrer'' and ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' of Police. From January 1943, he was involved in the political negotiations for the establishment of the

Latvian Legion The Latvian Legion () was a formation of the Nazi German Waffen-SS during World War II. Created in 1943, it consisted primarily of ethnic Latvians.Gerhard P. Bassler, ''Alfred Valdmanis and the politics of survival'', 2000, p150 Mirdza Kate Balta ...

, a military formation largely composed of Latvian volunteers, which eventually grew to contain the

15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian) In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

and the

19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) __NOTOC__ The 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) (, ) was an infantry division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was the second Latvian division formed in January 1944, after its sister unit, the 15th Waffen Grenadi ...

. On 1 April 1944, Schröder was also appointed the second and last SSPF " Estland," though by autumn

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

forces were overrunning his jurisdictions.

Reval Tallinn is the capital and most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and administratively lies in the Harju ''maakond'' (co ...

was occupied by Soviet forces on 22 September, Riga fell on 13 October, and on 19 October his two SSPF commands were dissolved and Schröder was transferred back to Lübeck where he still held the post of Police President.

Post-war period

With the British 11th Armored Division approaching Lübeck, Schröder, along with ''Oberbürgermeister'' Drescher, advised against further resistance and the city surrendered largely without a fight on 2 May 1945. Schröder was arrested the next day. He underwent

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 ...

proceedings in

Bergedorf Bergedorf () is the largest of the seven boroughs of Hamburg, Germany, named after Bergedorf quarter within this borough. In 2020 the population of the borough was 130,994. History The city of Bergedorf received town privileges in 1275, then ...

and was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison. He then lived as a pensioner and died in Lübeck on 31 October 1973.

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schroder, Walther 1902 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel German Nazi propagandists German police chiefs Holocaust perpetrators in Latvia Members of the Reichstag 1932 Members of the Reichstag 1932–1933 Members of the Reichstag 1933 Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936 Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 National Socialist Motor Corps members Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians People of Generalbezirk Estland Politicians from Lübeck Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class Recipients of the War Merit Cross SS and police leaders SS-Brigadeführer Sturmabteilung officers