Wilhelm "Willi" Bertuleit ( lt, Vilius Bertulaitis; May 29, 1900 – KIA July 22, 1941) was a

Prussian Lithuanian The Prussian Lithuanians, or Lietuvininkai (singular: ''Lietuvininkas'', plural: ''Lietuvininkai''), are Lithuanians, originally Lithuanian language speakers, who formerly inhabited a territory in northeastern East Prussia called Prussian Lithuan ...

active in the Klaipėda Region (Memelland). He supported Nazi Germany and its attempts to retake the region from

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. He was a member of the NSDAP and SA. He was killed in action serving in the Wehrmacht in the Eastern Front.

Biography

Bertuleit was born in Rund-Görge, now village, just a bit north of Memel, now Klaipėda. He was director of a German bank ''Bank der Ostpreußischen Landschaft'', credit union ''Kreditverband Memelländischer Grundbesitzer'', and unregistered credit union ''Agraria Kreditgesellschaft''. These institutions were used to finance and support pro-Nazi party Socialist People's Union of the Klaipėda Region (''Sozialistische Volksgemeinschaft des Memelgebiets'' or SOVOG), headed by

Ernst Neumann The trial of Neumann and Sass ( lt, Noimano-Zaso teismo procesas; german: Neumann-Sass-Kriegsgerichtsprozess) was the first and largest mass trial of Nazis in the early 1930s. The trial resulted in the convictions of the leaders of regional Nazi ...

. In 1933, Bertuleit joined the NSDAP. He became a deputy of Neumann and was tried for anti-Lithuanian activities during the

Neumann–Sass case The trial of Neumann and Sass ( lt, Noimano-Zaso teismo procesas; german: Neumann-Sass-Kriegsgerichtsprozess) was the first and largest mass trial of Nazis in the early 1930s. The trial resulted in the convictions of the leaders of regional Nazi ...

(December 1934 – March 1935). He received a twelve-year prison sentence but due to the German pressure was released from the Lithuanian imprisonment on 14 February 1938. When December 1938 elections to the Parliament of the Klaipėda Region elected a pro-German majority, Bertuleit was appointed as the President of the

Directorate of the Klaipėda Region The Directorate of the Klaipėda Region (german: Landesdirektorium; lt, Klaipėdos krašto direktorija) was the main governing institution (executive branch) in the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) from February 1920 to March 1939. It was esta ...

. After the March 20, 1939 ultimatum, Lithuania had to transfer the region to Germany. Bertuleit participated at the signing of the transfer treaty in Berlin and coordinated the transition until August 1. As the Directorate and the Parliament of the Klaipėda Region were liquidated, Bertuleit became a member of the Reichstag on April 25. Bertuleit was a member of SA and received the rank of '' SA-Sturmbannführer'' in 1939. He died in 1941 as a member of the armed forces during the war against the Soviet Union.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertuleit, Wilhelm 1900 births 1941 deaths Klaipėda Region German military personnel killed in World War II Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Sturmabteilung personnel