Gustav Simon

Gustav Simon

:"See also Gustav Simon (physician)"----Gustav Simon (2 August 1900 in Malstatt-Burbach, nowadays part of Saarbrücken21 December 1945 in Luxembourg, or possibly Paderborn) was, as the Nazi Gauleiter in the Moselland Gau from 1940 until 1944 the Chief of the Civil Administration in Luxembourg, which was occupied at that time by Nazi Germany.

Family, schooling and profession

Gustav Simon's father was a railway official. His parents farmed small plots on the Hunsrück. Simon went to a "Volksschule" in Saarbrücken, and thereafter underwent training as a schoolteacher in Merzig. Although he got his diploma, he did not get a teaching job. He then decided to fake his "Abitur", and meanwhile he helped out on the railway and with customs. After his Abitur, he studied economics at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main with a view to becoming a teacher in the subject. After completing his studies in 1927, he taught in Völklingen. Before the year was even out, though, he left the school and began as his main occupation working for the National Socialist German Workers' Party – the Nazis.

NSDAP

Already by 1923, Simon was a member of a "völkisch" College Group ("völkischen Hochschulgruppe") in Frankfurt. On 14 August 1925, he joined the Party, thereby becoming one of the "Old Fighters" ("alte Kämpfer") who would later be decorated with the "Golden Party Emblem". Shortly after joining, Simon founded the "Hochschulgruppe Frankfurt" of the National Socialist German Students' Federation. In 1927, he was chosen by the majority of students to be the National Socialist President of the Students' Board.

Not only was he already active for the Nazis during his time studying, but he furthermore set up more Party locals ("Ortsgruppen") in the Hunsrück.

Beginning in 1928, Simon quickly rose in the Party hierarchy. In 1928 he became NSDAP "district leader" ("Bezirksleiter") for the Trier-Birkenfeld district, and in 1929 also for the Koblenz-Trier district, as well as a member of the Rhineland Provincial "Landtag". In 1930, he became a member of the Reichstag for the electoral district of Koblenz-Trier. On 1 June 1931, Adolf Hitler appointed him Gauleiter of the newly created Gau of Koblenz-Trier. Unlike almost all other Gauleiters, Simon did not belong to the SA or the SS; however, he was an Obergruppenführer in the National Socialist Motor Corps ("Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrerkorps" or NSKK).

Chief of Civil Administration in Luxembourg

After the German aggression on 10 May 1940, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg first fell under the administration of the German Military Commander of Belgium and Northern France in Brussels, namely General Alexander von Falkenhausen. Under this commander, Gustav Simon took over civil administration of Luxembourg on 25 July 1940. The occupation status ended on 2 August 1940, when Simon was appointed Chief of the Civil Administration by a decree from the Führer. His representative in this function was the district president ("Regierungspräsident") of Trier, Heinrich Siekmeier. His job was to give the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – now the "Chief of Civil Administration Zone" of Luxembourg – German administrative structures, and to make it into an integral part of the Greater German Reich.

Simon's death

When the war ended, Simon went into hiding using his mother's maiden name in Upsprunge, a community in Salzkotten, Westphalia, where he posed as a gardener. On 10 December 1945, he was seized by British soldiers and taken to a British Army prison in Paderborn.

About his death there have been since late 1945 – and there still are – many rumours that contradict each other as to where and under what circumstances Simon met his end. The stories, however, can be grouped into two fundamental versions. The official version has it that Simon died in Paderborn, as the registry office there put on the death certificate. Simon is said to have hanged himself shortly before he was to have been handed over to Luxembourg. It does stand out, though, that the registration number 66/1946 was only written in February 1946, some two months after the date of Simon's death.

The second – and to this day unofficial – version has it that Simon died in Luxembourg. After the British Occupation Administration agreed to hand him over, he was to have been taken by car by two Luxembourgers from Paderborn to the Luxembourgish capital (also called Luxembourg) so that he could be brought to book before a court there. Shortly before reaching Luxembourg, at Waldhaff, there was an incident provoked by Simon in which he was killed. Simon's body was nonetheless taken to the prison in Grund, a neighbourhood in the capital, where it was photographed by the press, and then in the end buried. His premature death thwarted any trial. To suppress the whole business, the media, among them the agency DANA ("Deutsch-Amerikanische Nachrichtenagentur") and the "Tageblatt" published by the British Captain Alexander, were furnished with made-up information about the "suicide in Paderborn"

Literature

* Dostert, Paul: "Luxemburg zwischen Selbstbehauptung und nationaler Selbstaufgabe. Die deutsche Besatzungspolitik und die Volksdeutsche Bewegung 1940-1945." Diss. Freiburg, Luxembourg 1985.
* Schneider, Volker: "Gauleiter Gustav Simon, der "Moselgau" und das ehemalige SS-Sonderlager/KZ Hinzert." In: Hans-Georg Meyer/Hans Berkessel (Hg.): "Die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus in Rhineland-Palatinate. Für die Außenwelt seid ihr tot." Hermann Schmidt, Mainz 2000, Bd. 2, S. 276-307, ISBN 978-3-87439-454-3.
* Spang, Paul: "Gustav Simons Ende." In: "Heemecht. Zeitschrift für Luxemburger Geschichte. Revue d'histoire luxembourgeoise" 44 (1992) 3, S. 303-317.
* Kienast, E. (Hg.): "Der Großdeutsche Reichstag. IV. Wahlperiode, Beginn am 10. April 1938, verlängert bis zum 30. Januar 1947". Berlin 1943.
* Arndt, Ino: "Luxemburg". In: Wolfgang Benz (Hg.): "Dimension des Völkermords. Die Zahl der jüdischen Opfer des Nationalsozialismus." Sources and accounts of contemporary history, published by the "Institut für Zeitgeschichte", Band 33, R. Oldenbourg Verlag, München 1991, S. 95-104, ISBN 978-3-486-54631-6.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gustav Simon — ist der Name folgender Personen: Gustav Simon (Dermatologe) (1810–1857), deutscher Dermatologe Gustav Simon (Historiker) (1811–1870), deutscher Pfarrer, Dekan und Historiker Gustav Simon (Wien) (1818–1897), Präsident der Israelitischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gustav Simon — Naissance 30 mai 1824 Darmstadt Décès 21 août  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gustav Simon (Gauleiter) — Gustav Simon Gustav Simon (* 2. August 1900 in Malstatt Burbach (heute Saarbrücken); † 18. Dezember 1945 in Paderborn[1]) war als NSDAP Gauleiter des Gaus Moselland gleichzeitig von 1940 bis 1944 Chef d …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gustav Simon (Dermatologe) — Gustav Simon, eigentlich Karl Gustav Theodor Simon, (* 2. November 1810 in Berlin; † 11. Mai 1857 in Berlin Zehlendorf) war ein deutscher Dermatologe und Begründer der Dermatopathologie.[1] Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werke 3 Literatur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gustav Simon (Chirurg) — Gustav Simon Gustav Simon (* 30. Mai 1824 in Darmstadt; † 21. August 1876 in Heidelberg) war ein deutscher Chirurg und Hochschullehrer in Rostock und Heidelberg. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gustav Simon (Gauleiter) — Gustav Simon, né le 2 août 1900 à Malstatt Burbach (aujourd hui Sarrebruck) et mort le 18 décembre 1945 à Paderborn, était le Gauleiter du Moselland et en même temps le chef de l administration civile du grand duché de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gustav Simon (Historiker) — Gustav Ludwig Georg Friedrich Simon (* 5. Februar 1811 in Gronau bei Bensheim; † 13. Mai 1870 in Michelstadt) war ein deutscher Pfarrer, Dekan und Historiker. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Familie 2 Leben 3 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gustav Simon (Arzt) — Gustav Simon (* 30. Mai 1824 in Darmstadt; † 21. August 1876 in Heidelberg) war Chirurg und Autor von Medizinbüchern. Simon studierte in Gießen und Heidelberg, war 1848–1861 Militärarzt in Darmstadt, ging 1861 als Professor nach Rostock, 1867… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gustav Simon (physician) — Gustav Simon (May 30, 1824, Darmstadt August 21, 1876, Heidelberg) was a German surgeon. Literary works * 1851, Über Schußwunden , Gießen * 1854, Über Heilung der Blasenscheidenfisteln , Gießen * 1857, Die Exstirpation der Milz , Gießen * 1862,… …   Wikipedia

  • Ludwig Gerhard Gustav Simon — (auch bekannt unter Simon von Trier) (* 20. Februar 1819 in Saarlouis; † 2. Februar 1872 in Montreux, Schweiz) war ein deutscher Politiker. Ludwig Gerhard Gustav Simon Simon studierte von 1836 bis 1839 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”