Michael Lippert
Encyclopedia
Michel Hans Lippert or Michael Lippert (April 24, 1897 – September 1, 1969) was an SS
Standartenführer
, Police officer and a German
soldier who served in both World War I
and World War II
. During World War II
. Lippert commanded several concentration camps, including Sachsenhausen
, before becoming a commander of the SS-Freiwilligen Legion Flandern and the 10. SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg
. He is probably best known for murdering SA
leader
Ernst Röhm
on July 2, 1934.
in Upper Franconia
, a small town on the border with Bohemia
. He was the fifth child of Johann and Margaret Lippert . Following his secondary education, the 17-year-old Lippert volunteered for service in the Army. In November 1914, he joined the Kgl. Bayerisches 1. Chevaulegers-Regiment Kaiser Nikolaus von Rußland
, part of the III. Kgl. Bayer. Armeekorps. Lippert served on both the Western
and Eastern
fronts, and returned home in October 1917 after being awarded the Iron Cross Second Class
and the Bavarian Merit Cross
3. Class with Swords. He began military pilot training at the Second Flying School in Neustadt
, and received his pilot's license on October 20, 1918. However, Lippert never flew in combat as the war ended and he was promptly discharged from the military. After the war, he found work in the ceramic industry and in October 1921 began working as a police officer in Regensburg
. In June 1930, Michael Lippert joined the NSDAP (Mitglieds-Nr. 246.989} and nine months later, on March 10, 1931, also the SS
(Mitglieds-Nr. 2.968).
From 19 June to 5 July 1933, Lippert attended an SS Officer's Course at the German Hochschule für Leibesübungen, held in Berlin-Grünwald at the German Stadion.
, Hitler gave the order that the imprisoned Ernst Röhm
was to be liquidated. Himmler communicated Hitler's order to SS-Brigadeführer Theodor Eicke
, ordering that Röhm be shot, and that he first be offered the chance to commit suicide. Accompanied by Lippert in his capacity as Eicke's adjutant, and along with SS Gruppenführer Heinrich Schmauser, Eicke travelled to Stadelheim Prison in Munich where Röhm was being held.
After telling Röhm that he had forfeited his life and that Hitler had given him a last chance to avoid the consequences, Eicke laid a pistol on a table in Röhm's cell and told him that he had 10 minutes in which to use the weapon to kill himself. Eicke, Lippert and Schmauser left and waited in the corridor for 15 minutes, during which time no shot was heard. Finally Eicke and Lippert drew their pistols and re-entered Röhm's cell. Both fired at the same time, and Röhm fell to the floor. One of the two then crossed to Röhm and administed a coup-de-grace, firing a bullet through Röhm's heart at point-blank range.
and in August arrested Lippert and Sepp Dietrich
for their part in it. They were bailed, and the trial itself did not commence until 6 May 1957. They were represented by the lawyer Dr Alfred Seidl who had defended Rudolf Hess
at the Nuremberg Trials
. Lippert and Dietrich were charged with manslaughter, in Lippert's case for the death of Röhm. Lippert asserted that he had remained outside Röhm's cell, and only Theodor Eicke had gone in. On 10 May the case was summed-up and the proscutor demanded a two year sentence for Lippert. On 14 May the President of the Court found both Lippert and Dietrich guilty and sentenced both men to 18 months. He described Lippert as "filled with a dangerous and unrepentant fanaticism".
Notable Decorations
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...
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...
, Police officer and a German
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
soldier who served in both World War I
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...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Lippert commanded several concentration camps, including Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
, before becoming a commander of the SS-Freiwilligen Legion Flandern and the 10. SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg
10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
The 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg or 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg was a German Waffen SS panzer division. The division was formed at the beginning of 1943 as a reserve for the expected Allied invasion of France. However, their first campaign was in the Ukraine in April 1944...
. He is probably best known for murdering SA
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...
leader
Stabschef (SA)
For other uses of the term "Stabschef" please refer to Chief of StaffStabschef was an office and paramilitary rank in the Sturmabteilung , the paramilitary stormtroopers associated with the Nazi movement...
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
on July 2, 1934.
Early life
Lippert was born on April 24, 1897 in SchönwaldSchönwald, Bavaria
Schönwald is a municipality in the district of Wunsiedel, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Czech Republic, five km northwest of Selb and 18 km southeast of Hof....
in Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
, a small town on the border with Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. He was the fifth child of Johann and Margaret Lippert . Following his secondary education, the 17-year-old Lippert volunteered for service in the Army. In November 1914, he joined the Kgl. Bayerisches 1. Chevaulegers-Regiment Kaiser Nikolaus von Rußland
5th Royal Bavarian Division
The 5th Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army. The division was formed on October 1, 1890 in Landau as the 5th Division and swapped division numbers with the Nuremberg-based 3rd Royal Bavarian...
, part of the III. Kgl. Bayer. Armeekorps. Lippert served on both the Western
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
and Eastern
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
fronts, and returned home in October 1917 after being awarded the Iron Cross Second Class
Iron Cross
The 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....
and the Bavarian Merit Cross
Military Merit Cross (Bavaria)
The Bavarian Military Merit Cross was that kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for enlisted soldiers...
3. Class with Swords. He began military pilot training at the Second Flying School in Neustadt
Neustadt
- Germany :* in Baden-Württemberg:** Titisee-Neustadt, a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald* in Bavaria:** Bad Neustadt an der Saale, the capital of the Rhön-Grabfeld district...
, and received his pilot's license on October 20, 1918. However, Lippert never flew in combat as the war ended and he was promptly discharged from the military. After the war, he found work in the ceramic industry and in October 1921 began working as a police officer in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
. In June 1930, Michael Lippert joined the NSDAP (Mitglieds-Nr. 246.989} and nine months later, on March 10, 1931, also 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...
(Mitglieds-Nr. 2.968).
Career in the SS
On 15 November 1931, Lippert was commissioned an SS Second Lieutenant with the SS Group South, 2nd Company, III Battalion, 31st Death's Head Regiment. The 31st Regiment was one of many regiments that was bestowed a commemorative or honorific name associated either with Nazi members killed during the Putsch or in the struggle against communism, or geographical names.From 19 June to 5 July 1933, Lippert attended an SS Officer's Course at the German Hochschule für Leibesübungen, held in Berlin-Grünwald at the German Stadion.
Execution of Ernst Röhm
On 1 July 1934, just after the Night of the Long KnivesNight of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
, Hitler gave the order that the imprisoned Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
was to be liquidated. Himmler communicated Hitler's order to SS-Brigadeführer Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke was a SS Obergruppenführer , commander of the SS-Division Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS and one of the key figures in the establishment of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. His Nazi Party number was 114,901 and his SS number was 2,921...
, ordering that Röhm be shot, and that he first be offered the chance to commit suicide. Accompanied by Lippert in his capacity as Eicke's adjutant, and along with SS Gruppenführer Heinrich Schmauser, Eicke travelled to Stadelheim Prison in Munich where Röhm was being held.
After telling Röhm that he had forfeited his life and that Hitler had given him a last chance to avoid the consequences, Eicke laid a pistol on a table in Röhm's cell and told him that he had 10 minutes in which to use the weapon to kill himself. Eicke, Lippert and Schmauser left and waited in the corridor for 15 minutes, during which time no shot was heard. Finally Eicke and Lippert drew their pistols and re-entered Röhm's cell. Both fired at the same time, and Röhm fell to the floor. One of the two then crossed to Röhm and administed a coup-de-grace, firing a bullet through Röhm's heart at point-blank range.
Postwar
In 1956, the Munich authorities began an investigation into the Night of the Long KnivesNight of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
and in August arrested Lippert and Sepp Dietrich
Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German SS General. He was one of Nazi Germany's most decorated soldiers and commanded formations up to Army level during World War II. Prior to 1929 he was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard but received rapid promotion after his participation in the murder of...
for their part in it. They were bailed, and the trial itself did not commence until 6 May 1957. They were represented by the lawyer Dr Alfred Seidl who had defended Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
at the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
. Lippert and Dietrich were charged with manslaughter, in Lippert's case for the death of Röhm. Lippert asserted that he had remained outside Röhm's cell, and only Theodor Eicke had gone in. On 10 May the case was summed-up and the proscutor demanded a two year sentence for Lippert. On 14 May the President of the Court found both Lippert and Dietrich guilty and sentenced both men to 18 months. He described Lippert as "filled with a dangerous and unrepentant fanaticism".
Summary of his military career
Dates of Ranks- Hauptwachtmeister der Landespolizei - 1920
- SS-TruppführerTruppführerTruppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , or Nazi Stormtroopers...
- March 10, 1931 - SS-SturmführerSturmführerSturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the Sturmabteilung in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928...
- November 15, 1931 - SS-SturmhauptführerSturmhauptführerSturmhauptführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank used by both the Sturmabteilung and the SS. It was the equivalent of a Hauptmann in the German Army. This is the equivalent of Captain in western militaries....
- August 5, 1933 - SS-SturmbannführerSturmbannführerSturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
- November 9, 1933 - SS-ObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
- April 20, 1934 - OberleutnantOberleutnantOberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
der Reserve (Luftwaffe) - December 1, 1939 - SS-ObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
der Reserve der Waffen-SS — January 4, 1940 - SS-StandartenführerStandartenführerStandartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
der Waffen-SS - April 20, 1943
Notable Decorations
- Honour Roll Clasp of the ArmyHonour Roll Clasp of the ArmyThe Honour Roll Clasp of the Army or Ehrenblatt des Heeres was a Decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. The total number awarded was 4,556. -History:...
- January 5, 1945 - 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....
First Class - Prussian Iron Cross 2nd ClassIron 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....
(WW 1 award) - Bavarian Merit Cross 3rd Class with SwordsMilitary Merit Cross (Bavaria)The Bavarian Military Merit Cross was that kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for enlisted soldiers...
(WW 1 award) - Infantry Assault BadgeInfantry Assault BadgeThe Infantry Assault Badge was a German war badge awarded to Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during WWII. This decoration was instituted on December 20th 1939 by the Oberstbefehlshaber des Heeres, Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch...
- Clasp to the Iron CrossClasp to the Iron CrossThe Clasp to the Iron Cross was a metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I. It was displayed on the uniforms of many high ranking officers during World War II as most had also served in World War I...
Second Class - Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in Silver - SS-Honour RingSS-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...
- Cross of HonorCross of HonorThe Cross of Honor, also known as the Honor Cross or, popularly, the Hindenburg Cross, was a commemorative medal inaugurated on July 13, 1934 by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg for those soldiers of Imperial Germany who fought in World War I...
- Service NSDAP Badge in Silver
- Service NSDAP Badge in Bronze
- German Reich′s Sport Badge in Silver
- German Riding Badge in Silver
- Honor Sword of Reichsführer SS
- Honor Sleeve Triangle for Old Warrior