Udo von Woyrsch
| Udo von Woyrsch | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | July 24, 1895 Schwanowitz, German Empire |
| Died | January 14, 1983 (aged 87) Biberach an der Riss, West Germany |
| Criminal penalty | Sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, released early |
| Motive | Nazism |
| Conviction(s) | Crimes against humanity |
Udo von Woyrsch (24 July 1895 – 14 January 1983) was a high-ranking SS official in Nazi Germany who was responsible for mass murder during The Holocaust.
From early 1914 to 9 February 1919 Udo von Woyrsch served with the Germany Army as an Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) in the Great War. From 10 February 1919 to 23 August 1920 he was associated with an organization called the Grenzschutz ("Border Defense"). He was awarded a variety of medals during the war, including the Iron Cross (First Class) and later the Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 for Combatants.
According to Richard Grunberger, Woyrsch had been involved in the Freikorps during the 1920s. Early on Woyrsch joined the NSDAP (Membership number 162,349) and the SS (Member Number 3,689). Himmler charged him with organising the SS in the Nazi Gau Silesia; as such von Woyrsch became the first commander of the SS-Oberabschnitt Südost.
In 1933 von Woyrsch was elected to the Reichstag. He was the SS and Police Leader in Elbe, and in 1934 Von Woyrsch participated in the Night of the Long Knives, ordering the execution of his SS rival Emil Sembach. On 30 June 1934 "he took command in Silesia, and on the orders of Göring arrested a number of SA leaders, disarmed all SA headquarters' guards and occupied the Breslau police headquarters. Von Woyrsch's men murdered some of the SA officers as a result of an on-going private feud."
...
Wikipedia