Willy Marschler (12 August 1893 – 8 November 1952) was a German

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

politician who served as one of the first two Nazis to hold ministerial office in a German State. He went on to be the

Minister-President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

through most of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Early life

Marschler was born in

Liegnitz Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 ...

as the son of a mill owner. From 1900 to 1907 he 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 primary ('' ...

'' in Liegnitz and

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...

. He then did a commercial apprenticeship for three years and worked as a commercial clerk until 1914. From 1914 to 1918 he participated in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a member of Infantry Regiment 94, “Grand Duke of Saxony” and Reserve Infantry Regiment 233. He was wounded twice and 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 ...

, 2nd class. After discharge from the service, from 1919 to 1923 he worked as a commercial clerk and iron dealer in Halle and Ilmenau.

Nazi career

In November 1922, Marschler joined the Nazi Party and became a member of the Ilmenau ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) headed by

Fritz Sauckel Ernst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel (27 October 1894 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Thuringia from 1927 and the General Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment (''Arbeitseinsatz'') from March 1942 unti ...

. After the Nazi Party was banned in the aftermath of the failed Beer Hall Putsch, Marschler was elected to the

Landtag of Thuringia The Landtag of Thuringia is the parliament of the German federal state of Thuringia. It convenes in Erfurt and currently consists of 90 members from six parties. According to the free state's constitution, the primary functions of the Landtag ...

on 10 February 1924 as a member of the

National Socialist Freedom Movement The National Socialist Freedom Movement (, NSFB) or National Socialist Freedom Party (, NSFP) was a political party in Weimar Germany created in April 1924 during the aftermath of the Beer Hall Putsch. Adolf Hitler and many Nazi leaders were ...

, a Nazi front organization. After the ban was lifted, he rejoined the Nazi Party on 7 December 1925 (membership number 24,216) and in the 1929 Thuringian state election, he was returned as a Nazi Party member, becoming the Second Vice-president of the ''Landtag''. He, together with

Wilhelm Frick Wilhelm Frick (12 March 1877 – 16 October 1946) was a prominent German politician of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), who served as Reich Minister of the Interior in Adolf Hitler's cabinet from 1933 to 1943 and as the last governor of the Protectorate ...

, on 23 January 1930 joined a Thuringian State coalition government as the first Nazi Party members to hold ministerial office in any German State. Marschler was given the portfolio of ''Stadtsrat'' (Councilor of State) for

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. Frick, as Interior and Education Minister, began to aggressively purge members of the civil service, police and educational system. These actions proved too much for other coalition partners and, after a successful

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

against Frick on 1 April 1931, Marschler and Frick resigned. Marschler went on to become the Deputy ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

'' to Sauckel in Gau Thuringia. In addition, Marschler was ''

Burgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

'' (Mayor) of

Ohrdruf Ohrdruf () is a small town in the district of Gotha in the German state of Thuringia. It lies some 30 km southwest of Erfurt at the foot of the northern slope of the Thuringian Forest. The former municipalities Crawinkel, Gräfenhain an ...

from 1931 to 1932. After the Nazi Party victory in the 1932 Thuringian state election, Marschler served briefly as the ''Landtag'' President before becoming

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

for both Finance and Economics on 26 August 1932 in the cabinet of

Fritz Sauckel. After the Nazi seizure of power at the national level, Sauckel was appointed to the newly created position of Thuringian '' Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) and Marschler succeeded him as Minister-President of Thuringia on 8 May 1933 while also retaining the portfolios of Finance and Economics. After the dissolution of the ''Landtag'' in October 1933, Marschler went on to be elected as a member of the '' Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 12, Thuringia, in November 1933 and would retain this seat until May 1945. After

Fritz Wächtler Fritz Wächtler (7 January 1891 – 19 April 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who served as the ''Gauleiter'' of the eastern Bavarian administrative region of Gau Bayreuth. Trained as a primary school teacher, he also became head ...

left the State ministry on 22 January 1936, Marschler also took on the portfolio of Minister of Education. In 1940 Marschler was appointed head of the Thuringian State office for the

Four Year Plan The Four Year Plan was a series of economic measures initiated by Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany in 1936. Hitler placed Hermann Göring in charge of these measures, making him a Reich Plenipotentiary (Reichsbevollmächtigter) whose jurisdiction cut a ...

. In 1943 he was promoted to SA-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") 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 commissio ...

''. A holder of the

Golden Party Badge __NOTOC__ The Golden Party Badge (german: Goldenes Parteiabzeichen) 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 fr ...

, Marschler remained at the head of the Thuringian State government through the end of the Nazi regime.

Postwar life

On 30 May 1945, the US Army captured Marschler in

Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of cit ...

and he was

interned 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 simpl ...

. However, due to a serious illness, on 10 October 1946 he was released on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

from the internment camp near Darmstadt. In 1948-1949 he underwent denazification proceedings and was convicted by a Bavarian court. After a stay in Dortmund he lived in

Ermershausen Ermershausen is a municipality in the district of Haßberge in Bavaria in Germany. Notable people * Narziß Ach (October 29, 1871 in Ermershausen, Bavaria – 25 July 1946 in Munich) was a German psychologist and university lecturer in Königs ...

until January 1950. He then moved to

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, where he died.

References

Sources

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External web links

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Willy Marschler
i
Files of the Reich Chancellery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marschler, Willy 1893 births 1952 deaths German Army personnel of World War I Mayors of places in Thuringia Members of the Landtag of Thuringia Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Ministers of the Thuringia State Government Ministers-President of Thuringia National Socialist Freedom Movement politicians Nazi Party officials Nazi Party politicians People from Legnica Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Sturmabteilung officers