Wilhelm Zinsser

Wilhelm Zinsser
Stabsarzt Dr. med. Wilhelm Zinsser in 1936
Birth date	11 April 1895(1895-04-11)
Place of birth	Crumstadt, Kreis Groß-Gerau, Province of Starkenburg, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Empire
Death date	8 May 1945 (aged 50)
Place of death	Meran, South Tyrol, Italy
Allegiance	German Empire National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Imperial German Army NSDAP Sturmabteilung Reichswehr Heer
Rank	Oberstarzt
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross Wound Badge Golden Party Badge
Relations	∞ 1923 Gertrud Schindel

Wilhelm Zinsser (originally written Zinßer; 11 April 1895 – 8 May 1945) was a German physician, military doctor (Sanitätsoffizier) and politician. Depending on the source, he either died of his wounds in a German military hospital (Kriegslazarett) in Meran on 8 May 1945 or committed suicide on this day due to the severity of his wounds.

Life

After achieving his Abitur at the Gymnasium in Offenbach am Main in March 1913, Zinsser started his studies at the Kaiser Wilhelm Academy for Military Medical Education (de) in Berlin with the goal to become a medical doctor like his father. During WWI, he served at the war front as a field medic and was promoted to Feld-Unterarzt (NCO). As such, he was wounded in June 1918. Afterwards, he returned to his studies, presumably now in Hamburg, and received his medical license (Approbation) and doctorate in 1920.

He worked as an assistant doctor in Hamburg and Hanau from 1920 to 1923 and as a general practitioner from 1923 to 1934, initially in Breitenbach am Herzberg and from 1925 in Lehre northeast of Braunschweig. He joined the NSDAP in 1926. 15 June 1927 was to bring about lasting change in Lehre. On this day, 22 men met with a common goal. Among them were Dr. Wilhelm Zinsser, Richard Just, Dr. Erich Schlüter, Paul Runge, Heinrich Rosenhagen, Erich Stautmeister, Willi Hellwald, Wilhelm Meier, Alfred Winkler, Wilhelm Fricke, Alfred Kreuzig, Heinrich Brandes, Karl Brandes, Gustav Prost, Willi Prost, Alwin Lüer, Walter Schröter, Willi Seggelke, Wilhelm Bethge (NSDAP-Nr.: 129 298) and Emil Heß. They appointed the carpenter Heinrich Brandes as their leader; the Lehre NSDAP local group was founded with effect from 1 June 1927. At the same time, the local Sturmabteilung was founded, and Heinrich Brandes also took over its leadership. Already in the Reichstag elections in May 1928, the NSDAP became the strongest party in Lehre for the first time.

On 19 February 1929, Zinsser was involved in the founding of the local Hitler Youth (HJ) in Lehre. In April 1929, Dr. Zinsser took over the leadership from Brandes and became NSDAP-Ortsgruppenleiter (local group leader) with 70 active members. The local NSDAP group repeatedly organized lectures with external speakers. The Reichstag elections of 1930 confirmed the strong upward trend of the NSDAP in Lehre. On 14 September 1930, the party received 327 of the 520 votes cast, corresponding to a share of 62.9%. In June 1931, Zinsser succeeded the group leadership to Wilhelm Bethge senior (appointed by Gauleiter Bernhard Rust) because his job as a general practitioner and also as a SA Sturmbann (battalion) doctor was extremely time-consuming.

When the parliamentary group leader Senior Tax Secretary Franz Groh left the state parliament in Braunschweig (Kurt Bertram would become new parliamentary group leader), the respected Dr. Zinsser took his place at the request of the party on 16 December 1931 until 1933. In 1934, the Zinsser family finally moved into a new house in Braunschweig. Dr. Zinsser initially worked as a medical councilor (Medizinalrat) for the city as of 15 June 1934 (entrusted with the management of the Municipal Health Office) and then as a staff doctor (Stabsarzt; = Captain) for the armed forces office as a military officer in the last year of the Reichswehr which would be renamed Wehrmacht in 1935. From 1935, he also worked as a senior physician for the Supreme SA leadership in Munich. He later moved to Berlin. From 1939, now a Oberstabsarzt (= Major), Dr. med. Wilhelm Zinsser took part in the Second World War. On 1 August 1940, he was promoted to Oberfeldarzt (= Lieutenant Colonel) and on 1 April 1942 to Oberstarzt (= Colonel).

Family

Wilhelm was the son of Senior Medical Council (Obermedizinalrat) Dr. med. Wilhelm Zinßer, district doctor at the Gießen District Health Office, who retired on 7 January 1933 with effect from 1 April 1933. His younger brother served as a Fähnrich (Officer Cadet) in WWI and was wounded in October 1918.

Marriage

On 11 October 1923, Dr. med. Wilhelm Zinsser married his fiancée Karoline Katharina Gertrud Schindel (b. 12 August 1901 in Alsfeld, Hesse; also documented as Katharina Karoline Thekla Gertrud Schindel). They had three children:

• Wolfgang (b. 16 July 1924), 2nd Lieutenant of the Kriegsmarine, ⚔ in February 1945
• Eva Matilda (b. 18 February 1926; d. 6 August 2001); ∞ Alfred Peter Simone (1923–1985), German American WWII veteran from Rhode Island, 3 children
• Hartwig (still alive in 2001, when sister Eva died)

Awards and decorations (excerpt)

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd Class
• Hessian Bravery Medal (Hessische Tapferkeitsmedaille; HT)
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
• Golden Party Badge in 1934
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th Class

Gallery

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