Wilhelm Grimm (Nazi politician)

Wilhelm Grimm (31 December 1889 in Hof – 21 July 1944 near Coswig) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party.

Wilhelm Grimm
Chairman of the Second Chamber, Investigation and Mediation Committee (USCHLA) Later, Supreme Party Court
In office 1 June 1932 – 9 March 1939
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Reichsleiter
In office 2 June 1933 – 9 March 1939
Gauleiter of Middle Franconia-West
In office 1 October 1928 – 1 March 1929
Personal details
Born	31 December 1889 Hof
Died	21 July 1944 (aged 54) Coswig
Resting place	Schliersee
Nationality	German
Political party	Nazi Party
Other political affiliations	German Socialist Party
Occupation	Soldier Pension Administrator
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire  Nazi Germany
Branch/service	Imperial German Army  German Army
Years of service	1906–1919 1941-1943
Rank	Hauptmann
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Early years

Grimm attended the non-commissioned officers' school in Fürstenfeldbruck from 1906 to 1909. Remaining in the military, he took part in the First World War, serving from 1914 and was released into civilian life as a leutnant in October 1919.

When discharged, he worked in the Ansbach pension office as senior secretary, was promoted to administrative inspector there in 1927 and worked as a propagandist and organizer for the Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund in Middle Franconia. In 1920 Grimm joined the anti-Semitic German Socialist Party, of which Julius Streicher was a member. This party merged with the Nazis in 1922 and Grimm received membership number 10,134.[1]

Nazi career

When the Nazi Party was re-established after being outlawed in the aftermath of the Beer Hall Putsch, Grimm rejoined on 27 February 1925. He became Ortsgruppenleiter (Local Group Leader) in Ansbach and in 1926 Kreisleiter (County Leader). In May 1928 he was elected to the Bavarian Landtag. From 1 October 1928 to 1 March 1929 he was Gauleiter for Middle Franconia-West. However, when his Gau was merged with Streicher’s neighboring Gau (Nuremberg-Fürth) he became Deputy Gauleiter for Middle Franconia under Streicher.[2]

In February 1932, Grimm was made an Associate Judge of USCHLA, the Nazi Party's investigative and mediation committee, a body that regulated internal party disputes. In January 1934 its name was changed to Oberstes Parteigericht (Supreme Party Court) though it was more of an arbitration and mediation organization, rather than a strictly legal one. From 1 June 1932 Grimm was Chairman of the Second Chamber of USCHLA. In March 1933, he was elected to the Reichstag for electoral constituency 26, Franconia.[3] On 3 June 1933 he was appointed Reichsleiter, the second highest rank in the Nazi Party.[4]

Grimm joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) (membership no. 199,823) on 18 October 1933 with the rank of SS-Oberführer. He was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer on 24 December and on 27 January 1934 he was promoted to SS-Gruppenführer.[1] He served on the staff of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler from April 1936. He retired from the Supreme Party Court on 9 March 1939.[5] In August 1941, he served briefly in the German army on the Eastern Front as a battalion commander with the rank of hauptmann before returning to Germany in 1943 due to illness. He resumed duties in Himmler's office, working on issues related to the war economy.[6]

Grimm died in a car accident on 21 July 1944. He was given a state funeral and buried in Schliersee five days later.

References

1. Miller & Schulz 2012, p. 390.
2. Miller & Schulz 2012, pp. 391–392.
3. Information about Wilhelm Grimm (Nazi politician) in the Reichstag database
4. Orlow, Dietrich (1969). The History of the Nazi Party: 1919-1933. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 74. ISBN 0-8229-3183-4.
5. Helmut Heiber, Institut für Zeitgeschichte (1983). Regesten, Teil 1, Band 1: Akten der Partei-Kanzlei der NSDAP. Oldenbourg Verlag ISBN 3-486-49641-7, p. 379.
6. Miller & Schulz 2012, p. 393.

Bibliography

• Miller, Michael D.; Schulz, Andreas (2012). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945. I (Herbert Albrecht - H. Wilhelm Hüttmann). R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 1-932970-21-5.