Hermann Fobke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hermann Fobke | |
|---|---|
 Fobke (first row, third from left) at his trial in April 1924 | |
| Deputy Gauleiter of Gau Göttingen (from December 1925, Gau Hanover-South) | |
| In office 27 March 1925 – 1 October 1928 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 November 1899 |
| Died | 19 April 1943 (aged 43) |
| Party | Nazi Party (NSDAP) |
| Alma mater | University of Göttingen |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | German Empire Nazi Germany |
| Branch/service | Imperial German Army German Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1918 1942–1943 |
| Rank | Sonderführer |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Hermann Franz Arthur Fobke (4 November 1899 – 19 April 1943) was a Nazi Party official and an officer in the SA. Following the Beer Hall Putsch, he was imprisoned with Adolf Hitler in Landsberg Prison and served as his secretary. From 1925 to 1928, he was the Deputy Gauleiter of Gau Hanover-South. He died on the eastern front during the Second World War.
Fobke was born in Greifswald in the Prussian Province of Pomerania. After attending Volksschule and Gymnasium in Stettin (today, Szczecin), Fobke enlisted in the Imperial German Army and fought in a pioneer regiment during the First World War from June 1917 to November 1918. After the end of the war, he studied law at the University of Göttingen but did not complete his degree. In 1919, he joined the Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund, the largest, most active and most influential antisemitic organization in Germany.
In 1923, Fobke joined the Nazi Party and, in May of that year, became a member of the Stoßtrupp-Hitler (Shock Troop-Hitler), an early personal bodyguard unit for Hitler. As part of this unit, he was a participant in the Beer Hall Putsch of 8–9 November 1923 in Munich. After the collapse of the putsch, Fobke fled but was arrested at the end of January 1924, when apprehended by border police in Berchtesgaden while attempting to smuggle 2,000 copies of an underground Nazi newspaper into Germany from Salzburg.[1]
Fobke stood trial together with 39 other members of the Shock Troop for aiding and abetting high treason and, on 28 April 1924, was sentenced to 15 months in prison with the prospect of early release. Arriving in Landsberg Prison on 20 June 1924,[2] he shared his captivity with Hitler, Rudolf Hess, Hermann Kriebel, Friedrich Weber and 21 other members of the Shock Troop. During his imprisonment, Fobke acted as Hitler's correspondence secretary, communicating by letter with various Party leaders throughout Germany.[3]
In November 1924, he was released from prison and returned to Göttingen, where his fellow student and friend Ludolf Haase had overseen the organization of a Nazi front organization called the National Socialist Landesverband (state association) while the Nazi Party was officially outlawed.[4]
