Julius Schreck

Julius Schreck ( Munich , 13 of July of 1898 - Ibid . , 16 of maypole of 1936 ) was a high Nazi official and close confidant of Adolf Hitler . Schreck served in World War I and shortly after the end of the conflict he joined extreme right-wing paramilitary units. In 1920 he joined the Nazi Party and developed a close friendship with Hitler. Schreck was a founding member of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and was very active in its initial development. Later, in 1925, he became the first leader of the Schutzstaffel (SS). He later went on to serve for a time as a driver for Hitler. Schreck developed meningitis in 1936 and died shortly thereafter. Hitler gave a state funeral attended by numerous hierarchs and senior Nazi officials.

Biography

Julius Schreck was born on July 13, 1898 in Munich , a city of strong Catholic roots . He served in the Imperial Army during the First World War . After the end of the conflict in November 1918, he joined the Freikorps Epp , a unit paramilitary of extreme right formed to combat the Spartacist revolution . Schreck was also one of the first members of the German National Socialist Workers’ Party (NSDAP), which he joined in 1920 as member number 53. At this time he developed a close friendship with party leader Adolf Hitler . ¹

Career in SA

Schreck was one of the founders of Sturmabteilung (SA), and was involved in its expansion and development. ² The SA constituted the paramilitary wing of the party, designed to attack and / or defeat political opponents, and also to provide troops for security missions. Hitler, at the beginning of 1923, ordered the formation of small groups of protection that would be in charge of their escort and security, preferably to an uncontrolled mass like the SA. ³ Originally the unit was composed of eight men who were commanded by Schreck and Joseph Berchtold . ⁴ It was called Stabswache . ⁵ The Stabswache used its own unique insignia, although it was still under the general control of the SA, whose membership continued to grow. Schreck resurrected the use of the Totenkopf (“skull”) as the unit’s badge, a symbol that several elite forces had previously employed, including the Imperial Army’s special assault troops during the Great War, which had employed tactics Of infiltration by Oskar von Hutier . ⁶

In May 1923 the unit was renamed as Stoßtrupp-Hitler . ^{4 6} The unit was only in charge of Hitler’s personal protection. ² On November 9, 1923 the Stoßtrupp , along with the SA and many other paramilitary units, took part in the Putsch of the brewery in Munich . ² The plan consisted in taking control of the city by means of a coup d’etat and later to march on Berlin. However, the attempted coup was quickly crushed by local law enforcement forces, resulting in the death of 16 Nazi militants and 4 police loyal to the government. Shortly after the coup failed, Hitler, Schreck, and other Nazi leaders were imprisoned in Landsberg Prison . ² The Nazi Party and all its satellite organizations were banned by the authorities.

Race in the SS

After the liberation of Hitler, the 20 of December of 1924, Nazi Party was officially refounded. In 1925, Hitler ordered Schreck to create a new escort unit, the later called Schutzkommando (“Protection Command”). ^{7 8} Hitler wanted this unit of bodyguards to be made up of ex-soldiers who, like Schreck, were loyal to him. The unit included former members of the Stoßtrupp such as Emil Maurice and Erhard Heiden . ^{9 10} The Schutzkommando made its first public appearance in April 1925. That same year Schutzkommando was expanded to reach the entire national organization of the Nazi Party. He later changed his name to Sturmstaffel (“Assault Squadron”), and finally to Schutzstaffel (“Protection Squadron”), on November 9, 1925. ¹¹ Schreck became member of SS number 5. ² Hitler asked him Who commanded the company of bodyguards and, as such, became the Reichsführer-SS , although Schreck never referred to himself by that rank.

In 1926, Schreck retired as Reichführer-SS and Berchtold took over the leadership. ¹² However, he maintained his role in organizing the Schutzstaffel as SS- Führer and held the position of Hitler ‘s private chauffeur, replacing Maurice until 1934. ^{13 14} In 1930, after the SS had begun to expand under The leadership of Heinrich Himmler , Schreck was named SS-Standartenführer , but in practice had very little power within the SS. He continued to be with Hitler and had a good relationship with him. ¹⁴

Death

In 1936, Schreck developed meningitis and ended up dying on May 16 in Munich. ¹⁴ For Hitler he was a person he deeply appreciated, so his death was a blow to him. ¹⁴ He was posthumously awarded the rank of SS-Oberführer , a rank between colonel and general . ¹³ A Schreck was given a state funeral and National Socialist , attended by Hitler himself to give his praise and numerous other top Nazi officials, among which were Hermann Goering , Joseph Goebbels , Rudolf Hess , Joachim von Ribbentrop , Konstantin von Neurath , Emil Maurice , Hans Baur , Heinrich Hoffmann and Baldur von Schirach . ¹³

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