Martin Mutschmann
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Martin Mutschmann (9 March 1879 – 14 February 1947?) was the Nazi Region Leader (Gauleiter) of the state of Saxony (Gau Sachsen) during the time of the Third Reich.
[edit] Biography
Born in Hirschberg on the Saale in Thuringia, Mutschmann moved while he was young with his family to Plauen in Saxony. He studied commerce, and eventually opened his own lace factory in Plauen. During the World War I he served on the Western Front until 1916, when he was discharged for medical reasons. After the war he was an early participant in the nationalist and anti-semitic Schutz und Trutz Bund. He was a founding member of the local branch (Ortsgruppe) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) in Plauen and made personal donations of capital to the Nazi Party.
Mutschmann lost his lace business in the Great Depression. But he continued to solicit donations from other businesses. His fundraising skills found favour with the Nazi Party.
Mutschmann was made Gauleiter of Saxony in 1925. He was to maintain this position until the end of World War II. Generally his political activity concentrated on Saxony rather than on Germany as a whole. Mutschmann was passionately interested in the preservation of Saxon arts and crafts.
On 30 January 1933, after the Nazis came to power, Mutschmann was appointed Nazi Governor (Reichsstatthalter) of Saxony. A passionate hunter, he was often accused of being more interested in his hobby than the welfare of Saxony.
Mutschmann has been blamed for not preparing the city of Dresden for the horrific bombing which occurred from 13 February to 15 February 1945.
On 1 May 1945, Mutschmann was in Dresden. As the Gauleiter of Saxony, he insisted that the city go into public mourning after German dictator Adolf Hitler's suicide on 30 April. On 5 May, Mutschmann let it be known that a large-scale German offensive on the Eastern Front was about to be launched. Two days later, on 7 May, Mutschmann was captured by Soviet troops while trying to escape. [1]
Mutschmann is thought to have died in prison in Moscow in 1947. However, according to Albert Speer, Mutschmann " . . . in bitter cold weather was driven naked on a cart through Dresden, then beaten to death." [2]
[edit] See also
- German presidential election, 1925
- German presidential election, 1932
- Machtergreifung - "Seizure of Power" - 30 January 1933
- Bombing of Dresden in World War II
- List of Gauleiters
[edit] References
- ^ Page 228, "The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan", Hans Dollinger, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047
- ^ Page 211, "Spandau-The Secret Diaries", Albert Speer, Macmillan, ISBN 0-02-699501-8
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