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Martin Mutschmann

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Martin Mutschmann
Gauleiter of Gau Saxony
In office
June 1925 – 7 May 1945
Reichsstatthalter of Saxony
In office
5 May 1933 – 7 May 1945
Prime MinisterManfred Freiherr von Killinger, Himself
Minister-President of Saxony
In office
28 February 1935 – 7 May 1945
Preceded byManfred Freiherr von Killinger
Succeeded byRudolf Friedrichs
Personal details
Born(1879-03-09)9 March 1879
Hirschberg, Principality of Reuss-Gera, German Empire
Died14 February 1947(1947-02-14) (aged 67)
Moscow, USSR
Political partyNational Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP)
OccupationFactory owner
Military service
Allegiance German Empire
Branch/service Imperial German Army
Years of service1914–1916
Battles/warsWorld War I

Martin Mutschmann (9 March 1879 – 14 February 1947) was the Nazi Regional Leader (Gauleiter) of the state of Saxony (Gau Saxony) during the time of the Third Reich.

Biography

Born in Hirschberg on the Saale in the Principality of Reuss-Gera, Germany, Mutschmann moved while he was young with his family to Plauen in Saxony. He served an apprenticeship as an embroiderer and from 1896 to 1901 was employed as a master embroiderer, department head and warehouse director in lace and linen factories in Plauen, Herford and Köln.[1] That was followed by military service from 1901-1903, after which he returned to employment in the Plauen Lace Factory (Plauener Spitzenfabriken).[1] He established his own lace factory, Mutschmann & Eisentraut, in Plauen in October 1907.[1] During World War I, he served on the Western Front until he was severely wounded in April 1916. He was discharged from the Army as unfit for field service on 24 December 1916, and resumed the direction of his factory in Plauen.[1] After the war, he was an early participant in the nationalist and anti-Semitic Deutschvölkischer Schutz und Trutzbund. He was a founding member of the local branch (Ortsgruppe) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) in Plauen and made personal donations of capital to the Nazi Party.

Mutschmann lost his lace business in the Great Depression, but he continued to solicit donations from other businesses. His fundraising skills found favour with the Nazi Party, and Mutschmann was nominated Gauleiter of Saxony in 1925, maintaining that position until the end of World War II. Generally his political activity concentrated on Saxony rather than on Germany as a whole. Mutschmann was passionately interested in the preservation of Saxon arts and crafts.

On 30 January 1933, after the Nazis came to power, Mutschmann was appointed Nazi Governor (Reichsstatthalter) of Saxony. A passionate hunter, he was the Gau-jägermeister (Hunting Master) of Saxony.[2] He was often accused of being more interested in his hobby than the welfare of Saxony. The bombing of Dresden reinforced those accusations. Mutschmann has been blamed for not preparing the city for the horrific bombing, which occurred from 13 February to 15 February 1945.

On 1 May 1945, Mutschmann was in Dresden. As the Gauleiter of Saxony, he insisted that the city go into public mourning after the suicide of German dictator Adolf Hitler on 30 April 1945. On 5 May, Mutschmann let it be known that a large-scale German offensive on the Eastern Front was about to be launched. Two days later, on 7 May, he was captured by Soviet troops while trying to escape.[3]

Mutschmann was sentenced to death in Moscow and shot on 14 February 1947.[4]

Awards and decorations

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Miller 2017, p. 327.
  2. ^ Miller 2017, p. 333.
  3. ^ Page 228, "The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan", Hans Dollinger, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047
  4. ^ Ernst Klee, Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich, Frankfurt 2003. ( Biographies of persons of the Third Reich).
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Miller 2017, p. 341.

References

  • Miller, Michael (2017). Gauleiter Volume 2. California: R James Bender Publishing. ISBN 1-932970-32-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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