Werner Best

Dr. Werner Best

Dr. Werner Best (10 July 1903 – 23 June 1989) was a German Nazi, jurist, police chief, SS-Obergruppenführer and Nazi Party leader from Darmstadt, Hesse. He studied law and in 1927 obtained his doctorate degree at Heidelberg. Best served as civilian administrator of France and Denmark while Nazi Germany occupied those countries during World War II.

The Nazi state and World War II

Best joined the NSDAP with member number 341,338. He went on to join the SS with membership number, 23,377. Prior to September 1939, as an SS-Brigadeführer, Best while head of Department 1 of the Gestapo oversaw organization, administration, and legal affairs. He was a deputy of Reinhard Heydrich. In September 1939 the security and police agencies of Nazi Germany were consolidated into Reich Main Security Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA), headed by Heydrich. Best was made head of Amt I (Department I) of the RSHA: Personnel. That department dealt with the legal and personnel issues/matters of the SS and security police. Heydrich and Heinrich Himmler relied on Best to develop and explain legally the activities against enemies of the state and in relation to the Nazi Jewish policy. In 1939 Best became one of the directors of Heydrich's foundation, the Stiftung Nordhav.

According to one source Werner Best lost a power struggle in 1939, and had to leave Berlin, thereafter. In 1940, with the military grade of War Administration Chief (Kriegsverwaltungschef), Best was appointed chief of the Section "Administration" (Abteilung Verwaltung) of the Administration Staff (Verwaltungsstab, Dr Schmid) under then (Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich or MBF) "Military Commander in France", general Otto von Stülpnagel) in occupied France; a position Best kept until 1942.

In his efforts as the RSHA emissary in France, Best's unit drew up radical plans for a total reorganization of Western Europe based on racial principles: he sought to unite Netherlands, Flanders and French territory north of the Loire river into the Reich, turn Wallonia and Brittany into German protectorates, merge Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, create a decentralized British federation and break the Spanish State into independent entities of Galicia, Basque Country and Catalonia.

In November 1942 after the Telegram Crisis, Best was appointed the Third Reich's Plenipotentiary (Reichsbevollmächtigter) in Denmark. He was accredited to King Christian X, who, unlike most Heads of state under Nazi German occupation, remained in power, along with the Danish Parliament, cabinet (a coalition of national unity) and courts.

In this role, Best supervised civilian affairs in occupied Denmark. He kept his position until the end of the war in May 1945, even after the German military commander had assumed direct control over the administration of Denmark on 29 August 1943.

Best hoped to maintain good relations between Germany and Denmark in order to make Denmark an example of what life in Nazi Europe could be. As a result conditions were better in Denmark, by comparison with conditions in other areas occupied by Germany. Best was unenthusiastic about taking punitive measures against Jews until after the fall of the Danish government.

Administration by the Permanent Secretaries

Best (right) with Erik Scavenius, Danish PM 1942-43.

The director of the ministry of foreign affairs Nils Svenningsen in January 1944 suggested establishment of a Danish camp in order to avoid deportations to Germany. Best accepted this suggestion, but on condition that this camp was built close to the German border. Frøslev Prison Camp was set up in August 1944.

Due to the Danish cabinet's decision on 9 April 1940 to accept cooperation with German authorities, the Danish police consequently cooperated with the German occupation forces. This arrangement remained in effect even after the resignation of the Danish government on 29 September 1943. On 12 May 1944, Best demanded that the Danish police should take over the task of protecting 57 specific enterprises sabotaged by the Danish resistance movement, which was growing in strength. Should the Danish civil service not accept this, the Danish police force would be reduced to 3,000 men. The head of the Danish administration, Nils Svenningsen, was inclined to accept this demand, but the organizations of the Danish police were opposed to the idea. The German request was ultimately turned down, and this was reported to Best on 6 June 1944. This reduced the Gestapo's already limited trust in the Danish police even further, and on 19 September 1944, the German army began arresting members of the Danish police forces. 1,960 policemen were arrested and deported to German KZ and prisoner of war camps.

During deliberations about capitulation on 3 May 1945, Best fought to avoid a scorched earth policy in Denmark.

After the war

In 1948, Best was sentenced to death by a Danish court, but his sentence was reduced to 12 years in prison, and he was released in 1951. Best was fined by a Berlin de-Nazification court in 1958 for his actions during the war and was later charged in 1972 when further war crimes allegations arose. He was found medically unfit to stand trial and was released.

After that, Best was part of a network that helped old SS comrades. He died in Mülheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, in 1989.

References

• WorldStatesmen - Denmark
• Westermann Verlag, Großer Atlass zur Weltgeschichte (in German)
• "Gads leksikon om dansk besættelsestid 1940-1945." Published 2002.
• Lumsden, Robin (2002). A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS, Ian Allan Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-7110-2905-9.
• McNab, Chris (2009). The SS: 1923-1945, Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-49-5.