Hans Krüger (6 July 1902 – 3 November 1971) was a former member of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

party and other Nazi organizations who served as an '' SS'' judge in

occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

. After the war he became

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

from 17 October 1963 to 7 February 1964, in the First Cabinet of Chancellor

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician and economist affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Chancellor of Germany (1949–), chancellor of West Ge ...

, as President of the

Federation of Expellees The Federation of Expellees (; BdV) is a non-profit organization formed in West Germany on 27 October 1957 to represent the interests of German nationals of all ethnicities and foreign ethnic Germans and their families (usually naturalised as Ge ...

from 1959 to 1964, and as a Member of Parliament from 1957 to 1965. He stepped down from cabinet amid controversy about his war-time background.

Life

Krüger was born in Neustettin (

Szczecinek Szczecinek (; ) is a historic city in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, capital of Szczecinek County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, with a population of more than 40,000 (2011). The town's total area is . The turbulent history of Szcze ...

) in the Province of Pomerania. He completed studies of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

s and law in 1922.Biography at munzinger.de
/ref> In 1934 he was appointed as a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

in Pomerania after passing two exams in the years 1927–1929.Polskie Radio
"Spadkobiercy III Rzeszy", 1.06.2007
nbsp; In 1937 his work as criminal judge was praised by state officials as "avoiding undue sensitivity" and of "correct orientation" when passing out sentences.

Nazi career

Krüger claimed to participate in 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 ...

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 ...

. At the time he was a member of 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 ...

and other Nazi organisations such as the ''Reichsbund Deutscher Beamter'' (German Civil Service), the ''NS-Rechtswahrerbund'' (National Socialist Lawyers Association), and the ''

Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland In English usage, the German term may refer to: * German War Graves Commission, * The of the Germans of Hungary German Hungarians (, ) are the ethnic German minority of Hungary, sometimes also called Danube Swabians (German: ''Donauschwaben ...

'' (Association for Germanism Abroad). He worked as a judge in

Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe (; ), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is overall the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein and belongs to ...

(Lębork),

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

(Stargard Szczeciński) and after 1940 in

Chojnice Chojnice (; or ; or ) is a town in northern Poland with 38,789 inhabitants, as of June 2023, near the Tuchola Forest. It is the capital of the Chojnice County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Founded in , Chojnice is a former royal city of Poland ...

(Konitz), where he was made an

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 ...

and where he passed several thousand

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

s. From 1943 to 1945 he served in Nazi Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

''.

Political career in West Germany

After the war Krüger became a CDU politician and co-founder of the

, joining the predecessor of the organisation in 1948 and serving as their president from 1959 to 1964. He was a member of the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

from 1957 to 1965, and served as deputy chair of the Committee for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims from 1961 to 1963. He became the Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims in 1963, serving until 1964. He resigned from the cabinet and the chairmanship of the Federation of Expellees in 1964, amid controversy about his work during the Nazi era. The communist regime of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, particularly Albert Norden, had attacked him heavily since December 1963. After he left parliament in 1965, Krüger worked as a lawyer. He died in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

References

External links

* Albert Norden
"Krüger, Hans: Ein Blutrichter Hitlers," Braunbuch.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Hans 1902 births 1971 deaths People from Szczecinek Politicians from Szczecinek People from the Province of Pomerania 20th-century Freikorps personnel Nazis who participated in the Beer Hall Putsch Nazi Party politicians Politicide perpetrators Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Government ministers of Germany

Life

Nazi career

Political career in West Germany

See also

References

External links