Julius Lippert (politician)

Julius Lippert (9 July 1895 – 30 June 1956) was a German politician in the Nazi Party.

Born in Basel, Switzerland, he became an extreme anti-Semite in his youth after reading the anti-Semitic philosophers Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau and Houston Stewart Chamberlain. He joined the German military and fought in World War I, twice being wounded, and ended the war as a 2nd Lieutenant.

In 1922, Lippert participated in the assassination of Foreign Minister Walther von Rathenau, and he eventually joined the NSDAP (Nazi Party). He became prominent in the NSDAP due to his rabid anti-Semitism and connection with Joseph Goebbels. In 1933, he was appointed the Reichskommissar of Berlin, purged the capital's government of opposition, and was responsible for much of the early persecution of Jews in Berlin. He was also the head of propaganda in southeastern Germany. He was formally appointed as mayor (city president) of Berlin in 1937, though he had been the city's de facto ruler for seven years.

In 1936, Lippert supervised the Olympics and tried to make a good impression on the tourists. However, his power struggles with more powerful politicians would lead to his downfall. By 1937, Goebbels came to detest Lippert for his behaviour. Finally, in 1940, Lippert argued with Albert Speer over the organization of Berlin, leading to his dismissal on the orders of Adolf Hitler, who had become increasingly hostile to him, writing in a journal entry, “Lippert is an incompetent, an idiot, a failure, a zero.”

His departure from the prominent position led to rumors that Lippert had been executed. He instead joined the Wehrmacht and was transferred to Belgium where he became the commandant of Arlon in 1940. Lippert’s primary role in the war, however, was organizing radio propaganda in Belgrade.

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