Emil Sembach
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Nazi Germany
Emil Sembach | |
|---|---|
 Sembach, c. 1934 | |
| Born | March 2, 1891 |
| Died | 1 July 1934 (aged 43) |
| Cause of death | Execution by gunshot |
| Allegiance | German Empire Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Imperial German Army Freikorps Allgemeine SS |
| Service years | 1909–1921 1931–1934 |
| Rank | Hauptmann SS-Oberführer |
| Unit | 4th Foot Artillery Regiment Reserve Foot Artillery Regiments 16 and 1 |
| Commands | 15th SS-Standarte SS-Abschnitt VI |
| Known for | Night of the Long Knives victim |
| Conflicts | World War I |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class Baltic Cross |
Emil Sembach (2 March 1891 – 1 July 1934) was an Austrian-born German military officer who joined the Nazi Party and became an SS-Oberführer in Silesia. Under investigation for financial irregularities, he was demoted, expelled from the SS and subsequently murdered during the Night of the Long Knives.
Sembach was born on 2 March 1891, in Forsthaus Stifting[1] near Grein, Upper Austria, the son of a chief forester. He attended the Casimirianum, a humanistic Gymnasium in Coburg.[2]
Military and Freikorps service
After obtaining his Abitur, Sembach enlisted as a Fahnenjunker (officer candidate) in the 4th (Magdeburg) Foot Artillery Regiment "Encke". From 1914 to 1918, he participated in the First World War as a battery commander in Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment 16 and in Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment 1. In the immediate post-war years from 1919 to 1921, Sembach took part in combat in the Baltic States as a member of a Freikorps,[2] ultimately serving as an Hauptmann on the staff of the Austrian detachment of the Buchholtz Division.
Nazi Party political and SS career
Returning to civilian life, Sembach earned his living between 1921 and 1932 in commercial professions. He was active in the Völkisch movement from the post-war period onward. He was a member of the paramilitary and anti-democratic Viking League before 1925.[2] In the mid-1920s, he worked as an agent for the Deutscher Herold insurance company in Coburg. An audit revealed a shortfall of 4,000 Reichsmarks in his agency, which was attributed to likely embezzlement on his part. He left the agency and later worked as a management assistant in Berlin.
Sembach joined the Nazi Party on 9 May 1925 (membership number 3,575). On 1 April 1931, he also joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) with SS number 6,640.[3] Initially assigned to the 6th SS-Standarte in Berlin, he rose from commanding a company (Sturm) to commanding a battalion (Sturmbann). In February 1932, he was named the first commander of the 15th SS-Standarte in Berlin. On 15 March 1932, he was advanced to the command of SS-Abschnitt (district) VI in Brieg (today, Brzeg), overseeing three SS-Standarte in the Breslau region He succeeded Udo von Woyrsch, who took over SS-Oberabschnitt (upper district) "Südost" controlling all SS units in Silesia. On 6 October 1932, Sembach was promoted to SS-Oberführer.[4]
In addition to his SS duties, Sembach was also active in electoral politics. In the Prussian state election of 24 April 1932, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Landtag of Prussia from electoral constituency 4 (Potsdam I). At the November 1933 parliamentary election, he won a seat as a deputy of the Reichstag from electoral constituency 8 (Liegnitz), a seat he held until his death.[5]
