Wilhelm Koppe ( German: Wilhelm Koppe ) ( June 15, 1896 , Hildesheim , Hannover , German Empire - July 2, 1975 , Bonn , Germany ), one of the leaders of the occupation regime in Poland , SS Obergruppenführer and police general ( January 30, 1942 ) , General of the SS troops ( July 1, 1944 ).
| Wilhelm Koppe | |||||||||
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| Wilhelm koppe | |||||||||
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| Predecessor | position established | ||||||||
| Successor | Theodore Berkelman | ||||||||
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| Predecessor | Friedrich Wilhelm Krueger | ||||||||
| Successor | position abolished | ||||||||
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| Predecessor | Friedrich Karl von Eberstein | ||||||||
| Successor | position abolished | ||||||||
| Birth | June 15, 1896 Hildesheim , Hanover , German Empire | ||||||||
| Death | July 2, 1975 (aged 79) Bonn , Germany | ||||||||
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| The consignment | NSDAP (from September 1, 1930 ) | ||||||||
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| Military service | |||||||||
| Years of service | 1914-1919 | ||||||||
| Rank |  SS Obergruppenführer ( January 30, 1942 ), Police General ( January 30, 1942 ), SS Army General ( July 1, 1944 ) | ||||||||
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Content
Army training and service
Wilhelm Koppe was born in the family of a bailiff. He attended high schools in Stolzenau on the Weser, in Harburg and Wilhelmsburg. Educated as a salesperson. After graduation, he volunteered for the fronts of the First World War . He fought on the Western Front. In December 1916, lieutenants were produced. For military distinctions he was awarded the Iron Cross of the 2nd (1914) and 1st class. After demobilization in late 1919, he founded his own trading business, was engaged in the wholesale trade of coffee and chocolate in Hamburg .
SS Career
September 1, 1930 joined the NSDAP (ticket number 305 584), in 1931 - in the SA , January 2, 1932 - in the SS (ticket number 25 955), received the rank of troupeführer. Since September 1, 1932 - the head of the 17th standard of the SS . On November 12, 1933, he was elected to the Reichstag from Weser-Ems. From the end of 1933 to October 1935, he was the head of the 26th SS Absnite in Danzig . Since September 13, 1936 - Inspector of the Security Police and SD in the Elbe region (headquarters - Dresden ).
Senior SS and Police Chief
After the defeat of Poland in the outbreak of World War II , the Reichsgau Wartheland or otherwise the Warthegau with its center in Posen ( Poznan ) was formed from its western territories, and on October 26, 1939, Koppe was appointed there the supreme leader of the SS and the police. He led the mass eviction of Poles from Wartenland to the territory of the Governor General , as well as Jews in ghettos and concentration camps . He was the main initiator of the creation of the Chelmno concentration camp , where 320 thousand people were killed. Headed the destruction of Jewish ghettos in Wartenland.
On November 9, 1943, Koppe was appointed the supreme leader of the SS and police in the Governor General, which covered that part of Poland that did not enter the Reich, as well as the former Lviv region of the USSR (the so-called Galicia). In this post, he was one of the main organizers of Nazi terror. At the very end of the war, on April 20, 1945, he was appointed supreme leader of the SS and the South Police headquarters in Munich .
Post-War Career
After the war ended in 1945, Koppe fled. Then, taking his wife's maiden name (Loman), he continued to engage in entrepreneurial activity in the Federal Republic of Germany and was the commercial director of a large chocolate factory in Bonn .
Disclaimer
In 1960, he was identified and arrested, but then released on April 19, 1962 on bail of 30 thousand Deutschmarks. In 1964, a trial began in Bonn over him. Koppe was accused of complicity in the murder of 145 thousand people. However, the trial was then postponed due to his poor health. In 1966, the Bonn court ruled that the case against Koppe be dismissed, and that he himself be released for health reasons.
At the request of Poland for the extradition of Koppa to her, the German government refused. Wilhelm Koppe died in Bonn in 1975 .
Rewards
- Iron Cross (1914) Class II and I
- Sign for the wound (1918) (in silver)
- Honorary Cross of a War Veteran
- Chevron of the old fighter
- Mecklenburg Army Cross Merit
- Medal "In memory of March 13, 1938" Anschluss Medal.
- Medal “In memory of October 1, 1938”
- Golden party badge of the NSDAP
- Badge of Honor Gau Warland
- 1st and 2nd degree military merit cross with swords
- Class II Iron Cross Buckle
- Medal of Merit in the NSDAP in bronze
- Insignia "For Faithful Service in the SS"
- Ring "Dead Head"
- Reichsführer SS Honor Sword ( Ehrendegen Reichsführer-SS )
Notes
Literature
- Zalessky K.A. Leaders and military leaders of the Third Reich: Biographical Encyclopedic Dictionary .. - M .: "Veche", 2000. - P. 217–218. - 576 [16 ill.] P. - ISBN 5-7838-0550-5 .
- Zalessky K.A. Who was who in the Third Reich: Biographical Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M .: LLC "Publishing house AST": LLC "Publishing house Astrel", 2002. - S. 368. - 942 [2] p. - ISBN 5-17-015753-3 (LLC "Publishing house AST"); ISBN 5-271-05091-2 (Astrel Publishing House LLC).
- Zalessky K. SS. Security detachments of the NSDAP. - M .: Eksmo , 2004 .-- S. 291. - 656 p. - ISBN 5-699-06944-5 .
- Joachim Lilla , Martin Döring “Joystim in uniform. Members of the Reichstag in 1933-1945 "( " Statisten in Uniform. Die Mitglieder des Reichstags 1933-1945 " ). Dusseldorf, 2004, ISBN 3-7700-5254-4 . (German)
- Erich Stockhorst : “5000 Leaders - Who Was Who in the Third Reich” ( “5000 Köpfe - Wer war was im Dritten Reich” ). - Kiel, Arndt Publishing House, 2000, ISBN 3-88741-116-1 . (German)
Links
- Literature about Wilhelm Kopp in the German National Library Catalog: https://web.archive.org/web/20160305150643/https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?query=Woe%3D120475782&method=simpleSearch
- Wilhelm Koppe in the database of deputies of the Reichstag (German)
- Biography of Wilhelm Koppe in the 1938 Reichstag Handbook (Der Großdeutsche Reichstag 1938 (Der Großdeutsche Reichstag 1938. IV. Wahlperiode (nach dem 30. Januar 1933). Mit Zustimmung des Herrn Reichstagsprägeidentenimreen hereenstreit henreus henenreu hestenenreus henenreus henenreus henenreus henenrerestrehsten hereen herenenichreen , Berlin, im Juni 1938, Rv Decker's Verlag, E. Schenck, Berlin W9. S. 284) (German)
- http://www.fasena.de/hamburg/koppe.htm (German)
- https://www.webcitation.org/63xVY5Bf0?url=http://www.olokaustos.org/bionazi/leaders/koppe.htm