Hans-Heinrich Lammers

Hans-Heinrich Lammers
Reichsminister und Chef der Reichskanzlei SS-Gruppenführer Dr. jur. Hans-Heinrich Lammers
Chief of the Reich Chancellery National Socialist Germany
In office 30 January 1933 – 24 April 1945
Deputy	Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger (1942–45)
Leader	Adolf Hitler (Führer)
Preceded by	Erwin Planck
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Reichsminister without Portfolio National Socialist Germany
In office 1 December 1937 – 24 April 1945
Leader	Adolf Hitler (Führer)
President of the Reich Cabinet (Presiding Officer in Hitler's Absence) National Socialist Germany
In office January 1943 – 24 April 1945
Born	27 May 1879(1879-05-27) Lublinitz, Province of Silesia, Prussia, German Empire
Died	4 January 1962 (aged 82) Düsseldorf, West Germany
Political party	NSDAP
Other political affiliations	DNVP until 1932
Spouse(s)	Elfriede Tepel (m. 1913; suicide 1945)
Children	2
Alma mater	German University of Breslau Heidelberg University
Profession	Judge
Cabinet	Hitler Cabinet
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Schutzstaffel
Years of service	1903–1914 (reserves) 1914–1918 1933–1945
Rank	Hauptmann der Reserve SS-Obergruppenführer
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Iron Cross Order of the Crown of Italy Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Grand Imperial Order of the Red Arrows

Hans-Heinrich Lammers (sometimes wrongly Hans Heinrich; 27 May 1879 - 4 January 1962) was a German officer, jurist, judge and prominent National Socialist. From 1933 until 1945 he served as head of the Reich Chancellery under Adolf Hitler.

Life

Born in Lublinitz in Upper Silesia, the son of a veterinarian, Lammers completed law school at the universities of Breslau and Heidelberg, became Einjährig-Freilliger of the 4. Niederschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51 in 1903 and obtained his doctorate in 1904. Since 1906, he was Leutnant der Reserve. He was appointed judge at the Amtsgericht (district court) of Beuthen in 1912. During World War I, as an officer of the Imperial German Army (Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51, Landwehrkorps "von Woyrsch", and Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 2 of the Garde-Ersatz-Division), he received the Iron Cross, First and Second Class. He was badly wounded 1917 and lost his left eye and served later until 18 November 1918, when he was retired, at the Civil Administration of the General Government of Warsaw (Generalgouvernement Warschau). After World War I, he joined the national conservative German National People's Party (DNVP) and resumed his career as a lawyer reaching by 1922 the position of undersecretary at the Reich Ministry of the Interior.

He held the high position of Head of the Reich (German: Chef der Reichskanzlei). He was also a minister (Reichsminister), as the Head of the Reich, i.e. a member of Hitler’s cabinet (the government of the Third Reich). Lammers held the high rank of SS-Obergruppenführer (equivalent to a army corps general). Since 1943, Lammers was also head of the German government during Hitler’s absence. Namely, Hitler had several services, which played the role of the secretariat. There were:

• Kanzlei des Führers – led by Philipp Bouhler
• Reichskanzlei – headed by Hans Lammers
• Präsidialkanzlei – headed by Otto Meissner
• Parteikanzlei – headed by Martin Bormann

The mentioned services fought for power. Lammers, Bormann, and Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (the head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) tried to organize a sort of triumvirate. Lammers would represent the country, Bormann the party, and Keitel the Wehrmacht. The plan failed because of the lack of unity and opposition of the senior National Socialists.

Nuremberg trials

At one of the notorious Nuremberg trials, Lammers stated on the Holocaust that he

"knew nothing about it until the moment of the collapse, that is, the end of April 1945 or the beginning of May, when I heard such reports from foreign broadcasting stations. I did not believe them at the time, and only later on I found further material here, in the newspapers. If we are speaking now of the elimination of a harmful influence that is far from meaning annihilation. The Führer did not say a word about murder; no mention was ever made of such a plan."

He also stated that during the war he had investigated rumors of Jews being killed and asked Himmler and Hitler about these. Both rejected the rumors and stated Jews were deported but not killed. Lammers believed the rumors to have been based mostly on foreign broadcasts. A WWII document states that in March or April 1942, Hitler had repeatedly informed Lammers "that he wanted to postpone the solution of the Jewish question until after the war."

Lammers was sentenced to 20 years in prison but was released early in 1952.

Family

Hans-Heinrich was the son of veterinarian Johannes Lammers (d. 1889) from Westphalia and his wife Anna, née Hielscher (d. 1928). On 29 April 1913, Leutnant d. R. Lammers, then court assessor (Gerichts-Assessor), married his fiancée, a merchant's daughter, Elfriede Tepel (1894–1945) in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, and they had two daughters:

1. Vera-Irene (b. 3 Aug 1914) who survived the war.
2. Ilse-Brunhilde (b. 28 May 1918) married Herr Hoffman.

After being brutally raped by French soldiers, Elfriede and her daughter Ilse committed suicide on 8 and 10 May 1945 not far from the Obersalzberg.

Promotions

Army

• Einjährig-Freiwilliger 1 October 1903 to 30 September 1904 in the 4. Niederschlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51
  • Thierry Tixier (in: "Allgemeine SS - Polizei - Waffen SS") states 1 October 1902 to 30 September 1903, author Volker Koop even states 1901 to 1902
• Leutnant der Reserve 13 February 1906
• Oberleutnant der Reserve 24 December 1914
• Hauptmann der Reserve 19 August 1916

SS

• SS-Oberführer 29 September 1933
• SS-Brigadeführer 20 April 1935
• SS-Gruppenführer 30 January 1938
• SS-Obergruppenführer 20 April 1940

Awards and decorations

• Eisernes Kreuz (1914), II. und I. Klasse
• Saxe-Ernestine House Order (Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden), Knights Cross 2nd Class with Swords (HSEH3b⚔/HSH3b⚔/EH3b⚔)
• Lippe-Detmoldisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz
• Verdienstkreuz für Kriegshilfe
• Wound Badge (Verwundetenabzeichen 1918) in Silver
• Silesian Eagle Order (Schlesischer Adler-Orden), II. Stufe
• Fürstlich Lippischer Hausorden, Honour Cross II Class (neck order)
• German Red Cross Decoration (Ehrenzeichen des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes II. Klasse)
• Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
• Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden, Grand Cross in 1935
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords
• SS-Ehrenwinkel
• Deutsche Olympia-Ehrenzeichen, 1st Class in 1936
• Goldenes Parteiabzeichen der NSDAP on 31 January 1937
• Goldenes HJ-Ehrenzeichen with Oak Leaves
• Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Cross
• Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Grand Cross
• Anschluss Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938)
• Sudetenland Medal with the Prague Castle Bar
• Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen on 6 July 1939
• Ehrendegen des Reichsführers SS
• SS-Totenkopfring
• Großer Imperialer Orden der Roten Pfeile, Grand Cross on 9 February 1941
• Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan), 1st Class on 29 March 1941
• NSDAP Long Service Award in Bronze (10 years)

Gallery

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