Emil Mazuw
Encyclopedia
Emil Mazuw, formerly Emil Maschuw, (born September 21, 1900 in Essen
, died December 11, 1987 in Karlsruhe
) was
Landeshauptmann
(nominal governor
) of the Province of Pomerania from 1940 to 1945. He was a member of the SS
since 1933. He held the ranks of SS
-Obergruppenführer
, General of the Waffen-SS
(1944), General of Police (1942) and Ostsee Higher SS and Police leader
(1939-1945). He was engaged in euthanasia
during the Second World War. He was convicted after the war of crimes associated with abuses of political prisoners and Jews. He was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.
, and saw service in the First World War
. After the armistice, his ship along with the rest of the German High Seas Fleet
was interned by the British at Scapa Flow
. After the German Sailors scuttled
their ships, they were held in English prisoner of war
camps. Mazuw was returned to Germany in 1920.
He remained in the Reichsmarine
until 1921, then worked as a factory worker until 1925. He remained unemployed until 1932, when he worked as a truck driver in Coburg
. His 1932 marriage granted him three children. In 1928 he joined the Sturmabteilung
and the Nazi Party (member number: 85231), changing to join the SS in 1930 (member number: 2556).
He was head of SS-Abschnitt XVIII from November 1933 until the beginning of September 1934, when he subsequently became leader of SS-Abschnitt XIII until April 1936. From 1936, Mazuw was a member of the Reichstag
of the Nazi Party from the tenth to the eleventh electoral period for the 6th constituency, Pommern. From April 1936 until the beginning of May 1945, Mazuw was leader of the Ostsee SS-Oberabschnitt
, and from August 1938 to the end of the same period, he was Higher SS and Police leader
(HSSPF) in the district Nord ("North"), in 1940 renamed Ostsee ("Baltic Sea"), with his office in Stettin. Of eighteen HSSPFs in Nazi Germany
, Mazuw was the only one who held this position more than five years.
From 1940 to 1945 he was Landeshauptmann
(nominal governor
) of the Province of Pomerania. In this position, together with Pomeranian Gauleiter
Franz Schwede-Coburg, he was engaged in the "Aktion T4" euthanasia
action, aiding the dispatchment of some 1,400 mental care clients from Pomeranian sanatories in Stralsund
, Ueckermünde
, Treptow an der Rega, Lauenburg and Meseritz-Obrawalde to an execution site in Piasnitz, Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
, where they were shot.
Writer Igor Witkowski
has speculated that Mazuw was involved in secret programs to develop a Wunderwaffe
, a new type of weapon supposed to change the course of the second world war.
After the war, Mazuw was held captive. In 1948 he was prosecuted relating to denazification
proceedings, and was sentenced to eight years in prison. On the basis of severely abusing political prisoners and Jews in 1933, he received another eight and a half year prison sentence in 1951. He later found employment after his sentence. He died in December 1987 in Karlsruhe.
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{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|- bgcolor="silver"
!colspan = "2"|SS and Police ranks
|- bgcolor="silver"
!Date
!Rank
|-
|April 1932
|SS-Sturmbannführer
|-
|January 1933
|SS-Standartenführer
|-
| March 1934
|SS-Oberführer
|-
|January 1936
|SS-Brigadeführer
|-
|September 1936
|SS-Gruppenführer
|-
|
|SS-Hauptsturmführer
of the Reserve (Waffen-SS)
|-
|April 1941
|SS-Gruppenführer
and Lieutenant General of the Police
|-
|April 1942
|SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Police
|-
|July 1944
|General of the Waffen-SS
|}
|}
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, died December 11, 1987 in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
) was
Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann is a former German gubernatorial title equivalent to that of a governor of a province or a state....
(nominal governor
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
) of the Province of Pomerania from 1940 to 1945. He was a member of the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
since 1933. He held the ranks of SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
-Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
, General of the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
(1944), General of Police (1942) and Ostsee Higher SS and Police leader
SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
(1939-1945). He was engaged in euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
during the Second World War. He was convicted after the war of crimes associated with abuses of political prisoners and Jews. He was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.
Life
Mazuw, the son of a factory worker, was a trained metal worker. In 1918 he voluntarily joined the NavyKaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
, and saw service in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After the armistice, his ship along with the rest of the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
was interned by the British at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
. After the German Sailors scuttled
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships...
their ships, they were held in English prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camps. Mazuw was returned to Germany in 1920.
He remained in the Reichsmarine
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
until 1921, then worked as a factory worker until 1925. He remained unemployed until 1932, when he worked as a truck driver in Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
. His 1932 marriage granted him three children. In 1928 he joined the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
and the Nazi Party (member number: 85231), changing to join the SS in 1930 (member number: 2556).
He was head of SS-Abschnitt XVIII from November 1933 until the beginning of September 1934, when he subsequently became leader of SS-Abschnitt XIII until April 1936. From 1936, Mazuw was a member of the Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
of the Nazi Party from the tenth to the eleventh electoral period for the 6th constituency, Pommern. From April 1936 until the beginning of May 1945, Mazuw was leader of the Ostsee SS-Oberabschnitt
SS-Oberabschnitt
Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945....
, and from August 1938 to the end of the same period, he was Higher SS and Police leader
SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...
(HSSPF) in the district Nord ("North"), in 1940 renamed Ostsee ("Baltic Sea"), with his office in Stettin. Of eighteen HSSPFs in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Mazuw was the only one who held this position more than five years.
From 1940 to 1945 he was Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann is a former German gubernatorial title equivalent to that of a governor of a province or a state....
(nominal governor
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
) of the Province of Pomerania. In this position, together with Pomeranian Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
Franz Schwede-Coburg, he was engaged in the "Aktion T4" euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
action, aiding the dispatchment of some 1,400 mental care clients from Pomeranian sanatories in Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
, Ueckermünde
Ueckermünde
Ueckermünde is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland . Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to its founding by Slavs, known as the Uchri and mentioned in 934 by Widukind of Corvey...
, Treptow an der Rega, Lauenburg and Meseritz-Obrawalde to an execution site in Piasnitz, Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
The Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia was a Nazi German province created on 8 October 1939 from the territory of the annexed Free City of Danzig, the annexed Polish province Greater Pomeranian Voivodship , and the Nazi German Regierungsbezirk West Prussia of Gau East Prussia. Before 2 November 1939,...
, where they were shot.
Writer Igor Witkowski
Igor Witkowski
Igor Witkowski, born 1963 in Warsaw, Poland, is a Polish journalist working in the fields of military technology and the history of World War II.- Biography :...
has speculated that Mazuw was involved in secret programs to develop a Wunderwaffe
Wunderwaffe
Wunderwaffe is German for "wonder-weapon" and was a term assigned during World War II by the German propaganda ministry to a few revolutionary "superweapons". Most of these weapons however remained more or less feasible prototypes, or reached the combat theatre too late, and in too insignificant...
, a new type of weapon supposed to change the course of the second world war.
After the war, Mazuw was held captive. In 1948 he was prosecuted relating to denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
proceedings, and was sentenced to eight years in prison. On the basis of severely abusing political prisoners and Jews in 1933, he received another eight and a half year prison sentence in 1951. He later found employment after his sentence. He died in December 1987 in Karlsruhe.
Decorations
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- German Equestrian Badge in Bronze
- Golden Party BadgeGolden Party BadgeThe Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it...
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939) 2nd class - War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
(1939) 2nd and 1st class with Swords - SS Service Awards
- Honourary Sabre of the Reichsführer-SSReichsführer-SSwas a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
- SS-EhrenringSS-EhrenringThe SS-Ehrenring , unofficially called Totenkopfring , was an award of Heinrich Himmler's Schutzstaffel . It was not a state decoration, but rather a personal gift bestowed by Himmler...
|
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|- bgcolor="silver"
!colspan = "2"|SS and Police ranks
|- bgcolor="silver"
!Date
!Rank
|-
|April 1932
|SS-Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
|-
|January 1933
|SS-Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
|-
| March 1934
|SS-Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
|-
|January 1936
|SS-Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
|-
|September 1936
|SS-Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
|-
|
|SS-Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
of the Reserve (Waffen-SS)
|-
|April 1941
|SS-Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
and Lieutenant General of the Police
|-
|April 1942
|SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Police
|-
|July 1944
|General of the Waffen-SS
|}
|}
External links
- Literature about Emil Mazuw in the catalogue of the German National LibraryGerman National LibraryThe German National Library is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany...