Federation Star - November 2019

JEWISH INTEREST
SIGN UP FOR THE FEDERATION’S
WEEKLY COMMUNITY eNEWSLETTER!
Get the latest information on upcoming community events
and cultural activities, news from Israel and lots more.
Send an email to
info@jewishnaples.org
Center for Judaic, Holocaust,
and Genocide Studies
Dedicated to educating all sectors of society about
Jewish civilization, the Holocaust, and genocide through:
• scholarship
• outreach
• inquiry
• sharing knowledge
• preserving the record
• helping teachers
• encouraging students
November 2019 Federation Star
Kurt Daluege and the Nazi police state
By Paul R. Bartrop, PhD
The police state that terrorized
Germany after 1933 – and then
all of Europe progressively after
1939 – did not emerge out of thin air. It
had to develop, and it was 85 years ago
this month, in November 1934, that the
immense authority of Kurt Daluege,
head of Nazi Germany’s uniformed
Ordnungspolizei (Orpo), was confirmed.
It covered all
German uniformed
police and emergency
services. Daluege
commanded municipal
police forces, the
rural gendarmerie,
traffic police, the
Dr. Paul Bartrop
coast guard, the railway
police, the postal protection service,
fire brigades, the air-raid services,
the emergency technical service, the
broadcasting police, the factory protection
police, building regulations enforcement
and the commercial police.
Who was the man who wielded
such immense power?
Kurt Daluege was born on September
15, 1897. He completed high school
in 1916, joined the German army, and
in October 1917 commenced officer
training. He was severely wounded in
combat, hospitalized and decorated for
bravery.
From 1918 to 1921, Daluege was a
member of a German irregular militia
unit. After working briefly as a factory
hand, he studied civil engineering at
the Technical University of Berlin between
1921 and 1924, graduating as an
engineer.
In 1923 he joined the Nazi Party
and in March 1926 became leader
of Berlin’s Stormtroopers. Then, in
July 1930, he joined the SS. The next
month, when Berlin Stormtroopers attacked
the Berlin Nazi headquarters
in what became known as the Stennes
Revolt, Daluege’s unit overpowered
the attack. In an open letter thanking
Daluege for his service, Adolf Hitler
declared “SS man, your honor is loyalty,”
which then became the motto
adopted by the SS.
In November 1932, Daluege was
elected to the Reichstag. In May 1933,
Hermann Göring moved him into the
Prussian Interior Ministry, where he
took charge of the regular police force.
In this capacity he purged the force of
“social democratic” elements and filled
it with SS men.
Daluege played a key role in the
notorious Night of the Long Knives
during which Ernst Röhm and many
leaders of the SA were purged between
June 30 and July 2, 1934. In August
1934, SS head Heinrich Himmler promoted
Daluege to SS-Obergruppenführer
(Lieutenant-General).
In 1936, the entire German police
force was reorganized, with administrative
functions now placed under the
control of the SS. There were two main
branches: under Reinhard Heydrich
were the political police (Gestapo) and
the criminal police (Kripo); and under
Daluege was the Orpo, covering the
municipal police, the rural police and
the community police.
By 1938, Daleuge had over 62,000
police officers under his command.
This had risen to 244,500 in mid-1940.
Many Orpo units were later transferred
into the regular army as an essential
force for holding down occupied
Europe. Daluege also established a unit
of police officers responsible for the
suppression of internal revolts.
Daluege was an integral element in
the Nazi plans to “cleanse” the Soviet
Union of Bolsheviks and Jews, and
Daluege’s police battalions were told
to pursue their tasks ruthlessly. During
the summer of 1941, mass shootings
took place all over the occupied territories,
and on July 9, 1941, Daluege
congratulated his troops for participating
in the defeat of Bolshevism. In one
action, at Białystok on July 12, male
Jews between the ages of 17 and 45
were brought by Daluege’s police to a
sports stadium. A day later they were
taken to dig anti-tank ditches and by
the end of the day about 3,000 Jews
had been killed.
Shortly afterwards, on September
1, 1941, Daluege attended another
mass execution of Jews near Minsk,
in occupied Belarus. In October 1941,
he signed deportation orders for Jews
from Germany, Austria and the Protectorate
of Bohemia and Moravia to Riga
and Minsk.
Daluege then authorized a new
role for the Orpo: they would guard deportation
trains taking people to their
death. Between fall 1941 and spring
1945, hundreds of trains under the control
of Daluege’s Orpo took German,
Czech and Austrian Jews to camps and
ghettos in the East, together with many
additional transports from Hungary,
the Netherlands, Slovakia, France,
Belgium, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and
Croatia.
After Reinhard Heydrich was
assassinated in Prague in May 1942,
Daluege was sent there to become Deputy
Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
In June 1942, he ordered the villages of
Lidice and Ležáky razed to the ground
in reprisal for Heydrich’s assassination.
The destruction of Lidice saw
the murder of all 173 male inhabitants,
with the village’s 198 women and children
deported to Ravensbrück.
Daluege then attended a conference
on July 7, 1942, organized by
Himmler. They discussed an extension
of Aktion Reinhard, the Nazi
secret plan for the mass murder of
Polish Jews. It was to be the ultimate
phase of the previously decided Final
Solution.
Daluege acted as Deputy Protector
of Bohemia and Moravia until May
1943, when he suffered a massive heart
attack. He resigned in August 1943 and
took no further part in the war.
In May 1945, Daluege was arrested
by British troops in Lübeck.
He was interned in Luxembourg, and
then tried at Nuremberg as a major war
criminal. In September 1946, after being
extradited to Czechoslovakia, he
was tried for crimes against humanity.
Throughout his trial he was unrepentant,
claiming that he was beloved
by “three million policemen,” only
following Hitler’s orders, and had a
clear conscience. He was convicted on
all charges and sentenced to death on
October 23, 1946. Aged 49, Daluege
23A
was hanged in Prague the next day.
Dr. Paul Bartrop is Professor of History
and the Dir. of the Center for Judaic,
Holocaust, and Genocide Studies
at Florida Gulf Coast University. He
can be reached at pbartrop@fgcu.edu.
Speaker at FGCU
On Sunday, September 22, Dr. Jennifer
Rich, Director of the Rowan Center
for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at
Rowan University, New Jersey, made a
powerful presentation at Florida Gulf
Coast University.
Dr. Paul Bartrop, Director of
FGCU’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust,
and Genocide Studies, said later that
Dr. Rich’s talk, entitled “The Future
of Holocaust Memory,” showcased the
path-breaking nature of Dr. Rich’s work.
“Dr. Rich demonstrated that her
work is cutting-edge with regard to how
the Second, Third and Fourth Generations
of the Holocaust are, and are likely
to be, viewing the experience of their
survivor forebears,” Dr. Bartrop said.
He added that “this work is a spectacular
entrée to a topic that is sure to be with
us for some time to come.”
The audience, comprised of local
community members, FGCU faculty
and students, was stimulated by Dr.
Rich’s research findings, and the excellent
discussion that followed was just as
lengthy as the presentation itself.
Friday, November 15 will see the
release of Dr. Rich’s new book on
the subject. Keepers of Memory: The
Holocaust and Transgenerational
Identity will delve into the complicated
relationship between history, truth and
memory, and is based not only on firstrate
scholarship, but also tells its tale
through personal stories and in-depth
interviews.
THE COMMUNITY IS INVITED:
ARAVA SPEAKER:
WED. DEC. 11 @ 7:00PM
TEMPLE SHALOM
4630 Pine Ridge Rd.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
ARAVA INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Mr. Lehrer holds a joint Master’s Degree in
Management Science from Boston University and
Ben Gurion University and has been Director of
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies since
2001.
ARAVA INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, located on Kibbutz
Ketura in Israel’s Arava Desert, is a leading environmental studies and
research program in the Middle East.
With a student body comprised of Jordanians, Palestinians, Israelis, and
students from around the world, the Arava Institute offers students an
exceptional opportunity to learn from leading professionals while
forming friendships and developing skills that enable them to lead the
region and world in solving today’s most pressing environmental
challenges.
REGISTRATION:
TO PRE-REGISTER:
OF GREATER NAPLES
THE ISRAEL ADVOCACY COMMITTEE OF JFGN
Pre-registration: $18
At the door: $25
Students: Free with pre-registration
Call the Jewish Federation at 239-263-4205
Or mail check to:
JFGN, 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Rd. Suite 2201
Naples, FL 34109 Attn: IAC
Visit www.fgcu.edu/hc/
Dr. Paul Bartrop, Director
OF GREATER NAPLES