Hinrich Lohse

Hinrich Lohse
Nazi propaganda photograph of Hinrich Lohse, as published in a Latvian newspaper in 1941.
Reichskommissar of Reichskommissariat Ostland
In office 17 July 1941 – 26 September 1944
Appointed by	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Erich Koch
Oberpräsident of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein
In office 25 March 1933 – 6 May 1945
Preceded by	Heinrich Thon
Succeeded by	Otto Hoevermann (acting)
Gauleiter of Gau Schleswig-Holstein
In office 27 March 1925 – 6 May 1945
Leader	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	2 September 1896 Mühlenbarbek, Schleswig-Holstein
Died	25 February 1964 (aged 67) Mühlenbarbek, Schleswig-Holstein
Political party	NSDAP

Hinrich Lohse (2 September 1896 – 25 February 1964) was a Nazi German politician and a convicted war criminal, best known for his rule of the Baltic states during World War II.

Hinrich Lohse was born in the town of Mühlenbarbek in Province of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born into a small farming family. From 1903 to 1912 he attended the Volksschule in his hometown, and afterwards the higher trade school. In 1913 he worked as an employee at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg. During the First World War, he served in the Imperial German Army from 23 September 1915 until his discharge for war wounds on 30 October 1916.

From 1919, Lohse was first an associate at the Schleswig-Holstein Farmers' Association, and then as of 1920 General Secretary of the Schleswig-Holsteinische Bauern- und Landarbeiterdemokratie. In 1923 he joined the Nazi Party and became on 27 March 1925 the NSDAP Gauleiter for Schleswig-Holstein. In 1924, as a member of the Völkisch-Sozialer Block list, he became the only Nazi to be elected to the city representative college (Stadtverordnetenkollegium) of Altona/Elbe. During this time, he led various nationally-oriented farming associations in northern Germany, such as the Landvolkbewegung ("Rural People's Movement"), into the Nazi Party. Between 1928 and 1929, Lohse also temporarily administered the Nazi Gau of Hamburg.

Lohse, who had been a member of the Reichstag since 1932, was appointed shortly after the Nazis' seizure of power as Oberpräsident (High President) of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1934, he took over the chairmanship of the Nordic Association (Nordische Gesellschaft). In 1942, Lohse was appointed Reich Defence Commissar, as were all Gauleiters.