Willi Stöhr
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Wilhelm “Willi” Stöhr (6 November 1903 – after 1994 997? was a
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 ...
official and politician who served as ''
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 ...
'' of Gau Westmark in the closing months of the war. He went missing after the end of the war in Europe and later emigrated to Canada. Hie date of death is unknown.


Early life

Born in Wuppertal-Elberfeld the son of a writer, Stöhr attended '' volksschule'' and ''
realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
'' locally through 1922. He joined the Nazi Party in 1923 and was active in the ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) in
Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...
. He remained active in the Nazi movement even after the party was banned in the aftermath of 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 ...
. He worked as a commercial
clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...
during these years and formally rejoined the party in 1929, also becoming a member 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). Around this time he studied
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and
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 ...
at the universities in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
and
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. He was a member of the
National Socialist German Students' League The National Socialist German Students' Union ( German: ''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund'', abbreviated NSDStB) was founded in 1926 as a division of the Nazi Party with the mission of integrating University-level education and ...
and became a speaker for this group. In 1932 he left university without completing a degree due to his participation in student riots.


Nazi career

Turning to full-time Party work, Stöhr became the '' Ortsgruppenleiter'' (Local Group Leader) in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
and an ''Oberbannführer '' (Senior Banner Leader) in the
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...
. After the Nazi seizure of power, Stöhr was made a member of the City Council in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
in March 1933. Also that year he was appointed Gau Inspector and
adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...
to Jakob Sprenger, the ''
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 ...
'' of
Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of ...
, a position he would hold until 1937. In November 1933, Stöhr failed in his electoral bid for a seat in the '' Reichstag'' but in February 1935, he was appointed to fill a vacant ''Reichstag'' seat from electoral constituency 19,
Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of ...
, and would retain that seat until his death. That year he also became a member of the Prussian Provincial Council for the Province of Hesse-Nassau. On 1 July 1937, he became Propaganda Leader of the Gau, head of the provincial propaganda office in Hesse-Nassau and the State Cultural Officer. He would hold these posts until 1 January 1944 when he was transferred to the Nazi Party Chancellery in the Brown House 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 ...
to be trained for higher party leadership assignments. In 1940 he served in the
German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
, as a propaganda officer with Propaganda Company 612 in France. He was 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.


Gauleiter

On 8 September 1944, Stöhr was assigned as the
Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...
for Defensive Construction in Gau Westmark. Upon the death of Josef Bürckel, the longtime ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Westmark, on 29 September 1944 Stöhr was promoted to Deputy ''Gauleiter'' and simultaneously installed as Acting ''Gauleiter''. As such, he also commanded the ''
Volkssturm The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...
'' forces in the Gau. Then on 4 October, he was appointed Chief of Civil Administration (''Chef der Zivilverwaltung'') for German-occupied
Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
, although the area was already being overrun by the Allied armies. At the same time, he was named both Acting ''
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) and Acting Reich Defense Commissioner for Gau Westmark. On 19 December 1944, he succeeded Bürckel as the ''Reichstag'' deputy from electoral constituency 27, Rheinpfalz-Saar. On 30 January 1945, his appointments were made permanent. By 18 March 1945, the elements of the US 7th Army was threatening to overrun Stöhr's Gau and
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
ordered that the entire population be immediately evacuated eastward. As no logistical contingency planning had been done and the transportation system was in a state of total collapse, evacuating hundreds of thousands of civilians was considered to be next to impossible to execute. According to the memoirs of
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of W ...
, the Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production, he met with Stöhr who categorically stated that he would not implement such an order. Though Speer offered to take the blame by citing miscommunication, Stöhr insisted on taking the responsibility.


Postwar years

Stöhr's capital city,
Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...
, fell to the 70th Infantry Division on 20 March 1945. He fled the city with his Gau leadership staff but separated from them in
Donauwörth Donauwörth (; ) is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "R ...
in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. At the war's end, Stöhr disappeared, living under assumed names until a general
amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...
was issued. Thus, he became one of the rare ''Gauleiters'' to survive the war and escape justice, never facing criminal prosecution or
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 ...
courts. He
emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
d to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, where he was still living in 1994; his date of death is unknown. An unconfirmed report is that he died 1997 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada


References


Sources

* * * *


External website

*
Willi Stöhr
i
the Bavarian State Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stöhr, Willi 1903 births Gauleiters German emigrants to Canada German Army personnel of World War II German Nazi propagandists Hitler Youth members Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936 Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938 Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Politicians from Wuppertal Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class Sturmabteilung officers Volkssturm personnel Year of death missing