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| On 1 October 1933, Henlein founded the ''Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront'' ("Sudeten German Home Front", SHF). Although the SHF was originally meant as a successor organisation of the banned anti-Czech ] and ], it soon became a ] right-wing movement in order to achieve a status of ] for the German minority, rivalling with the ]. On 19 April 1935 the SHF was renamed ] (''Sudetendeutsche Partei'', SdP) under pressure from the Czechoslovak government. | On 1 October 1933, Henlein founded the ''Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront'' ("Sudeten German Home Front", SHF). Although the SHF was originally meant as a successor organisation of the banned anti-Czech ] and ], it soon became a ] right-wing movement in order to achieve a status of ] for the German minority, rivalling with the ]. On 19 April 1935 the SHF was renamed ] (''Sudetendeutsche Partei'', SdP) under pressure from the Czechoslovak government. | ||
| In the first half of the 1930s, |
In the first half of the 1930s, Henlein, a follower of the ] doctrine by ], held a pro-Czechoslovak and overtly anti-Nazi view<ref>Czechoslovak Office of Foreign Affairs, ''Two Years of German Oppression in Czechoslovakia'' (London, 1941) p.25</ref> in his public speeches. In the ], the SdP with massive support by the Nazi Party gained 15.2% of the votes cast, becoming the strongest of all Czechoslovak parties, and had won about 68% of the German votes. Nevertheless Henlein did not become a declared follower of ] until 1937, when the pro-German camp within the SdP represented by ] emerged victorious. Newer research shows his position within the SdP became very difficult, when in 1937 ], one of his closest allies, was tipped off to the Czechoslovak authorities (possibly by German secret service) and imprisoned for alleged homosexuality. Henlein then swiftly aligned himself with the slogan ''Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!'' ("One People, One Country, One Leader!"), thus calling for the predominantly (typically more than 80%) German-speaking Sudetenland to be a part of Germany. | ||
| Henlein's political party's dominance of the Sudetenland in the 1930s contributed to the ] on 30 September 1938, which was due in part to his influence with the British delegate ] during the latter's visit of Czechoslovakia. Henlein presented his party's policy as striving to fulfill the "justified claims" of the then largely nazified German minority. Henlein, often under direct orders from ], deliberately had worked to help create a sense of crisis that was useful to Hitler's diplomatic and military efforts; as he once stated, "We must make demands that cannot be satisfied". From 12 September 1938, forward, he helped organise hundreds of terrorist attacks and two ] attempts by the '']'' paramilitary organisation affiliated with the '']'', immediately after Hitler's frenetic and threatening speech in ] at the Nazi Party's annual rally. The attempted uprising was quickly suppressed by Czechoslovak forces, whereafter Henlein fled to Germany only to start numerous intrusions into Czechoslovak territory around Asch as a commander of Sudeten German guerilla bands. | Henlein's political party's dominance of the Sudetenland in the 1930s contributed to the ] on 30 September 1938, which was due in part to his influence with the British delegate ] during the latter's visit of Czechoslovakia. Henlein presented his party's policy as striving to fulfill the "justified claims" of the then largely nazified German minority. Henlein, often under direct orders from ], deliberately had worked to help create a sense of crisis that was useful to Hitler's diplomatic and military efforts; as he once stated, "We must make demands that cannot be satisfied". From 12 September 1938, forward, he helped organise hundreds of terrorist attacks and two ] attempts by the '']'' paramilitary organisation affiliated with the '']'', immediately after Hitler's frenetic and threatening speech in ] at the Nazi Party's annual rally. The attempted uprising was quickly suppressed by Czechoslovak forces, whereafter Henlein fled to Germany only to start numerous intrusions into Czechoslovak territory around Asch as a commander of Sudeten German guerilla bands. | ||
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| Konrad Henlein | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Freikorps leader Henlein, September 1938 | |
| Reichsstatthalter and Gauleiter of the Reichsgau Sudetenland | |
| In office 1 May 1939 – 8 May 1945 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1898-05-06)6 May 1898 Maffersdorf, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 10 May 1945(1945-05-10) (aged 47) Plzeň (Pilsen), Czechoslovakia |
| Political party | SdP (until 1938) NSDAP (from 1939) |
| Profession | Bank clerk |
Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (6 May 1898 – 10 May 1945) was a leading Sudeten German politician in Czechoslovakia. Upon the German occupation he joined the Nazi Party as well as the SS and was appointed Reichsstatthalter of the Sudetenland in 1939.
Early life
The son of an accounts clerk was born in Maffersdorf (present-day Vratislavice nad Nisou), in what was then the Bohemian crown land of Austria-Hungary. In light of his being a leader of the Sudeten German movement, Henlein's origin was not without problems. His mother, Hedvika (Hedwig) Anna Augusta Dvořáček, was the daughter of a German-speaking mother but her father was of Czech origin. As Henlein after 1938 pursued a Germanisation policy against interethnic marriages, he was forced to change his still-living mother's name from Dvořáček to the more German spelling of Dworatschek, which would be thus more comfortable for Henlein's career as a high Nazi official.
He attended business school in Gablonz (Jablonec nad Nisou). Henlein entered military service as a Kriegsfreiwilliger, assigned to k.u.k. Tiroler Kaiser-Jager-Regiment Nr. 3. In May, 1916, he attended Offiziersschule and then was assigned to k.u.k. Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 27 (Base-Graz). He saw frontline service in the Dolomites at Monte Forno, Mont Sief, and Monte Maletta from May, 1916 to 17 November 1917. Henlein was severely wounded, then captured by Italian troops, and spent the remainder of the war as a POW held in Italian captivity at Asinara Island. There Henlein spent his time studying the history of the German Turner (gymnastics) movement of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. He returned home after the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1919. Henlein worked as a bank clerk in Gablonz, part of the newly established Czechoslovakian state. Influenced by the German national movement, Henlein became a gym teacher of the gymnastics club in Asch (Aš) in 1925, which, similar to the Czech Sokol movement, took an active part in Sudeten German communal life.
Party leader
On 1 October 1933, Henlein founded the Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront ("Sudeten German Home Front", SHF). Although the SHF was originally meant as a successor organisation of the banned anti-Czech German National Socialist Workers' Party and German National Party, it soon became a big tent right-wing movement in order to achieve a status of autonomy for the German minority, rivalling with the German Social Democratic Workers Party. On 19 April 1935 the SHF was renamed Sudeten German Party (Sudetendeutsche Partei, SdP) under pressure from the Czechoslovak government.
In the first half of the 1930s, Henlein, a follower of the Austrofascist doctrine by Othmar Spann, held a pro-Czechoslovak and overtly anti-Nazi view in his public speeches. In the parliamentary election of May 1935, the SdP with massive support by the Nazi Party gained 15.2% of the votes cast, becoming the strongest of all Czechoslovak parties, and had won about 68% of the German votes. Nevertheless Henlein did not become a declared follower of Adolf Hitler until 1937, when the pro-German camp within the SdP represented by Karl Hermann Frank emerged victorious. Newer research shows his position within the SdP became very difficult, when in 1937 Heinz Rutha, one of his closest allies, was tipped off to the Czechoslovak authorities (possibly by German secret service) and imprisoned for alleged homosexuality. Henlein then swiftly aligned himself with the slogan Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer! ("One People, One Country, One Leader!"), thus calling for the predominantly (typically more than 80%) German-speaking Sudetenland to be a part of Germany.
Henlein's political party's dominance of the Sudetenland in the 1930s contributed to the Munich Agreement on 30 September 1938, which was due in part to his influence with the British delegate Lord Runciman during the latter's visit of Czechoslovakia. Henlein presented his party's policy as striving to fulfill the "justified claims" of the then largely nazified German minority. Henlein, often under direct orders from Berlin, deliberately had worked to help create a sense of crisis that was useful to Hitler's diplomatic and military efforts; as he once stated, "We must make demands that cannot be satisfied". From 12 September 1938, forward, he helped organise hundreds of terrorist attacks and two coup attempts by the Sudetendeutsches Freikorps paramilitary organisation affiliated with the SS-Totenkopfverbände, immediately after Hitler's frenetic and threatening speech in Nuremberg at the Nazi Party's annual rally. The attempted uprising was quickly suppressed by Czechoslovak forces, whereafter Henlein fled to Germany only to start numerous intrusions into Czechoslovak territory around Asch as a commander of Sudeten German guerilla bands.
German occupation
Upon the Wehrmacht's entry into the Sudetenland, Henlein was appointed Reichskommissar and became a SS-Gruppenführer (later an SS-Obergruppenführer). The SdP merged with Hitler's NSDAP on 5 November 1938. Henlein joined the Nazi Party in January 1939 and was appointed Reichstag deputy. In March and April 1939 he served as the head of civil service in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia but soon most of the power went to the hands of his long-time rival Karl Hermann Frank. On 1 May 1939 Henlein was named Reichsstatthalter and Gauleiter of the newly established Reichsgau Sudetenland, a position he held until the end of the war.
His political influence was limited. Several attempts by RSHA leader Reinhard Heydrich and others to remove him from office, supposedly because he was not radical enough, failed due to Henlein's good relations with Hitler. After 1938, Henlein worked as a spy for the British and had conspirative contacts with Admiral Wilhelm Canaris.
On 10 May 1945, while in American captivity in the barracks of Plzeň, he committed suicide by cutting his veins with his broken glasses. He was buried anonymously in the Plzeň Central Cemetery.
In fiction
In Harry Turtledove's "Hitler's War", Henlein is assassinated by a Czech named Jaroslav Stribny around 28 September 1938. Hitler, in the story, then starts World War II two days later on 30 September 1938 - almost a year earlier than it occurred in our time line.
Summary of his career
Dates of rank
- SS-Gruppenführer: 9 October 1938
- SS-Obergruppenführer: 21 June 1943
Notable decorations
- War Merit Cross without swords Second (?) and First (?) Classes
- SS Honour Ring (?)
- Golden Party Badge (?)
- Wound Badge in Black (?)
See also
References
- Czechoslovak Office of Foreign Affairs, Two Years of German Oppression in Czechoslovakia (London, 1941) p.25
- http://www.welt.de/print-welt/article581192/Kohen_ist_nicht_zu_fassen.html/
- http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FCHRS
- "Konrad Henlein". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
- Miller, Michael D. and Schulz, Andreas (2012). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945 (Herbert Albreacht-H. Wilhelm Huttmann)-Volume 1, R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-1932970210