Viktor Lutze
Encyclopedia
Viktor Lutze was the commander of the Sturmabteilung
("SA") succeeding Ernst Röhm as Stabschef.
, the son of a peasant craftsman. After a short career in the post office, he joined the German Army
in 1912, serving with the 55th Infantry Regiment. He fought in the 369th Infantry Regiment and 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment during World War I
. He became a company commander and was heavily wounded four times, including loss of his left eye. After the war, Lutze became a merchant and joined the police force.
(Nazi Party) in 1922, and the Prussia
n State Council. He became an associate of Franz Pfeffer von Salomon
, the first leader of the SA. Together, they determined the structure of the organization.
He also worked with Albert Leo Schlageter
in the resistance/sabotage of the Belgian and French occupation of the Ruhr
in 1923. His organization of the Ruhr for the SA became a model for other regions after 1926. With the assumption of power by the NSDAP in March 1933, he was appointed police president of Hanover
and later its provincial governor and state counselor. He rose through the ranks and by 1933 was a SA-Obergruppenführer
.
in 1934 was very important, as it was he who informed Adolf Hitler
about Ernst Röhm
's anti-regime activities. (Hitler at first said, "We'll have to let the thing ripen"). In preparation for the purge, both Heinrich Himmler
and his deputy Reinhard Heydrich
, chief of the SS Security Service (SD), assembled dossiers of manufactured evidence to suggest that Röhm was going to overthrow Hitler. Meanwhile Göring, Himmler, Heydrich and Lutze (at Hitler's direction) drew up lists of those who should be liquidated starting with seven top SA officials and ending with many more. At least 85 people died during the purge, although the final death toll may have been in the hundreds. After the purge Lutze succeeded Röhm as Stabschef SA, but after the Night of the Long Knives, the SA no longer had as prominent a role as it did in the early days of the party. One of Lutze’s major tasks would be overseeing a large reduction in the SA, a task welcomed by the SS and the regular armed forces. On June 30, 1934 Hitler issued a twelve-point directive to Lutze to clean up the SA and wrote that “SA men should be leaders, not ludicrous apes”.
At the Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg
in September 1934, William L. Shirer
observed Hitler speaking to the SA for the first time since the purge (Hitler absolved the SA from crimes committed by Röhm). Shirer also noted Lutze speaking there (Lutze reaffirmed the SA's loyalty). Shirer described Lutze as possessing a shrill unpleasant voice, and thought the "SA boys received him coolly". In Leni Riefenstahl
's Triumph of the Will
however, Lutze is seen being mobbed by the SA as he departed at the end of his evening rally speech. His automobile can barely make it through the crowd. He is also the only speaker other than Hitler who receives the dramatic low angle shots of Lutze alone at the podium. Only Hitler, Himmler, and Lutze are shown in the march to the World War I
cenotaph, where they laid a wreath. The makers of the film were giving the little known Lutze some of the prestige of Hitler.
, Lutze traveled to Austria to help reorganize the SA there. The most visible role for the SA after the purge was in assisting the SS in Kristallnacht
in November 1938. In February 1939, Lutze reviewed a parade of 20,000 Blackshirts in Rome and then set off for a tour of Italy’s Libyan frontier with Tunisia.
with his entire family (one account suggests they were foraging for food). Driving too fast in a curve caused an accident that badly injured Lutze as well as killing his oldest daughter Inge and greatly injuring his younger daughter. Viktor Lutze died during an operation in a hospital in Potsdam at 10:30 the next evening. (News reports stated that the accident involved another vehicle, keeping the news of reckless driving from the public. This may have contributed to theories that Lutze was killed just as Röhm had been, or that partisans assassinated him). Hitler ordered Joseph Goebbels
to convey his condolences to Viktor’s wife Paula and son Viktor Jr. Goebbels, in his diaries, had already described Lutze as a man of "unlimited stupidity" but at his death decided he was a decent fellow. Lutze was 52 years old.
The esteem in which Lutze was held is indicated by the fact that Hitler ordered a lavish state funeral for him on May 7, 1943 in the Reich Chancellery
and attended in person, something he rarely did at that stage in the war. Lutze was posthumously awarded the Highest Grade of the German Order
by Hitler. Hitler also took this opportunity to order party, army, and government officials (many of whom were in attendance) to curtail speeding (specifically requesting they drive no faster than 50 miles per hour) and other reckless behavior.
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...
("SA") succeeding Ernst Röhm as Stabschef.
Early life
Lutze was born in Bevergern, WestphaliaProvince of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
, the son of a peasant craftsman. After a short career in the post office, he joined the German Army
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...
in 1912, serving with the 55th Infantry Regiment. He fought in the 369th Infantry Regiment and 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment during 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...
. He became a company commander and was heavily wounded four times, including loss of his left eye. After the war, Lutze became a merchant and joined the police force.
Nazi party and SA
Lutze joined the National Socialist German Workers PartyNational Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
(Nazi Party) in 1922, and the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n State Council. He became an associate of Franz Pfeffer von Salomon
Franz Pfeffer von Salomon
Franz Pfeffer von Salomon was the first commander of the SA after its 1925 restoration, which followed its temporary abolition in 1923 after the abortive Beer Hall Putsch....
, the first leader of the SA. Together, they determined the structure of the organization.
He also worked with Albert Leo Schlageter
Albert Leo Schlageter
Albert Leo Schlageter was a member of the German Freikorps. His activities sabotaging French occupying troops after World War I led to his arrest and eventual execution by French forces. His death created an image of martyrdom around him, which was cultivated by German nationalist groups, in...
in the resistance/sabotage of the Belgian and French occupation of the Ruhr
Occupation of the Ruhr
The Occupation of the Ruhr between 1923 and 1925, by troops from France and Belgium, was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic under Chancellor Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I.-Background:...
in 1923. His organization of the Ruhr for the SA became a model for other regions after 1926. With the assumption of power by the NSDAP in March 1933, he was appointed police president of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and later its provincial governor and state counselor. He rose through the ranks and by 1933 was a SA-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...
.
Purge of Röhm
Lutze's participation in 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...
in 1934 was very important, as it was he who informed Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
about 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...
's anti-regime activities. (Hitler at first said, "We'll have to let the thing ripen"). In preparation for the purge, both Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
and his deputy Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
, chief of the SS Security Service (SD), assembled dossiers of manufactured evidence to suggest that Röhm was going to overthrow Hitler. Meanwhile Göring, Himmler, Heydrich and Lutze (at Hitler's direction) drew up lists of those who should be liquidated starting with seven top SA officials and ending with many more. At least 85 people died during the purge, although the final death toll may have been in the hundreds. After the purge Lutze succeeded Röhm as Stabschef SA, but after the Night of the Long Knives, the SA no longer had as prominent a role as it did in the early days of the party. One of Lutze’s major tasks would be overseeing a large reduction in the SA, a task welcomed by the SS and the regular armed forces. On June 30, 1934 Hitler issued a twelve-point directive to Lutze to clean up the SA and wrote that “SA men should be leaders, not ludicrous apes”.
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
in September 1934, William L. Shirer
William L. Shirer
William Lawrence Shirer was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany read and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years...
observed Hitler speaking to the SA for the first time since the purge (Hitler absolved the SA from crimes committed by Röhm). Shirer also noted Lutze speaking there (Lutze reaffirmed the SA's loyalty). Shirer described Lutze as possessing a shrill unpleasant voice, and thought the "SA boys received him coolly". In Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
's Triumph of the Will
Triumph of the Will
Triumph of the Will is a propaganda film made by Leni Riefenstahl. It chronicles the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, which was attended by more than 700,000 Nazi supporters. The film contains excerpts from speeches given by various Nazi leaders at the Congress, including portions of...
however, Lutze is seen being mobbed by the SA as he departed at the end of his evening rally speech. His automobile can barely make it through the crowd. He is also the only speaker other than Hitler who receives the dramatic low angle shots of Lutze alone at the podium. Only Hitler, Himmler, and Lutze are shown in the march to the 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...
cenotaph, where they laid a wreath. The makers of the film were giving the little known Lutze some of the prestige of Hitler.
Anti-Christian operations
In 1937, Lutze and the SA were involved in the anti-Christian efforts of the Nazi party which included banning religious ceremony, seizing church property, and the jailing of pastors and priests.Foreign organisation
After the AnschlussAnschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, Lutze traveled to Austria to help reorganize the SA there. The most visible role for the SA after the purge was in assisting the SS in Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
in November 1938. In February 1939, Lutze reviewed a parade of 20,000 Blackshirts in Rome and then set off for a tour of Italy’s Libyan frontier with Tunisia.
Lutze’s Death and Funeral
Lutze maintained his position in the weakened SA until his death. On May 1, 1943 he was driving a car near PotsdamPotsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
with his entire family (one account suggests they were foraging for food). Driving too fast in a curve caused an accident that badly injured Lutze as well as killing his oldest daughter Inge and greatly injuring his younger daughter. Viktor Lutze died during an operation in a hospital in Potsdam at 10:30 the next evening. (News reports stated that the accident involved another vehicle, keeping the news of reckless driving from the public. This may have contributed to theories that Lutze was killed just as Röhm had been, or that partisans assassinated him). Hitler ordered Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
to convey his condolences to Viktor’s wife Paula and son Viktor Jr. Goebbels, in his diaries, had already described Lutze as a man of "unlimited stupidity" but at his death decided he was a decent fellow. Lutze was 52 years old.
The esteem in which Lutze was held is indicated by the fact that Hitler ordered a lavish state funeral for him on May 7, 1943 in the Reich Chancellery
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
and attended in person, something he rarely did at that stage in the war. Lutze was posthumously awarded the Highest Grade of the German Order
German Order (decoration)
The German Order was the most important award that the Nazi Party could bestow on an individual for "duties of the highest order to the state and party". This award was first made by Adolf Hitler posthumously to Reichsminister Fritz Todt at his funeral in February, 1942...
by Hitler. Hitler also took this opportunity to order party, army, and government officials (many of whom were in attendance) to curtail speeding (specifically requesting they drive no faster than 50 miles per hour) and other reckless behavior.