Baldur von Schirach
| Baldur von Schirach | |
|---|---|
 |
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 Reichsjugendführer
|
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In office 1931–1940 |
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| Appointed by | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Post created |
| Succeeded by | Artur Axmann |
| Gauleiter of Vienna | |
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In office August 1940 – May 1945 |
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| Appointed by | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Josef Bürckel |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Baldur Benedikt von Schirach 9 May 1907 Berlin, Brandenburg, Prussia, German Empire |
| Died |
8 August 1974 (aged 67) Kröv, Rhineland-Palatinate, Federal Republic of Germany |
| Political party | National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) |
| Spouse(s) |
Henriette von Schirach (née Hoffmann; married 1932) |
| Children | 4, including Richard von Schirach |
| Awards | Hitler Youth Golden Honour Badge with Diamonds and Rubies |
Baldur Benedikt von Schirach (9 May 1907 – 8 August 1974) was a Nazi politician who is best known for his role as the Nazi Party's national youth leader and head of the Hitler Youth from 1931 to 1940. He later served as Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter ("Reich Governor") of Vienna. After World War II, he was convicted of crimes against humanity in the Nuremberg trial.
Schirach was born in Berlin, the youngest of four children of theatre director, grand ducal chamberlain and retired captain of the cavalry Carl Baily Norris von Schirach (1873–1948) and his American wife Emma Middleton Lynah Tillou (1872–1944). A member of the noble Schirach family, of Sorbian West Slavic origins, three of his four grandparents were from the United States, chiefly from Pennsylvania. Through his mother, Schirach was a descendant of Thomas Heyward, Jr. and an indirect descendant of Arthur Middleton, two signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence. English was the first language he learned at home and he did not learn to speak German until the age of five. He had two sisters, Viktoria and the opera singer Rosalind von Schirach, and a brother, Karl Benedict von Schirach. His brother committed suicide in 1919 at the age of 19.
On 31 March 1932 Schirach married the 19-year-old Henriette Hoffmann, the daughter of Heinrich Hoffmann, Adolf Hitler's personal photographer and close friend. Schirach's family was vehemently opposed to this marriage, but Hitler insisted.Gregor Strasser dismissively described Schirach as "a young effeminate aristocrat" upon whom Hitler bestowed both Henriette and the Hitler Youth position. Through this relationship, Schirach became part of Hitler's inner circle. The young couple were welcome guests at Hitler's "Berghof". Henriette von Schirach gave birth to four children: Angelika Benedikta von Schirach (born 1933), lawyer Klaus von Schirach (born 1935), businessman Robert von Schirach (born 1938) and sinologist Richard von Schirach (born 1942). The lawyer and best-selling German crime writer Ferdinand von Schirach is the couple's grandson. They are also the grandparents of the philosopher and critic Ariadne von Schirach and of the novelist Benedict Wells.
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