Hans-Joachim Mertens (politician)

Hans-Joachim Mertens (born October 28, 1905 in Halle (Saale) , † April 11, 1945 in Braunschweig ) was a German lawyer and acting Lord Mayor of Braunschweig from 1943 to 1945.

life and work

Studying law at the universities of Jena , Munich and Göttingen was followed by a doctorate in 1930. jur. and in 1933 the great state examination in law in Berlin . He then worked as a public prosecutor in Erfurt, Nordhausen, Torgau, Naumburg and from 1935 to 1939 at the Braunschweig regional court. Mertens had been a member of the NSDAP since August 1, 1932 . He was introduced as mayor of the city of Braunschweig on October 7, 1939 by Lord Mayor Wilhelm Hesse . On this occasion he received the rank of SS-Untersturmführer .

Acting Lord Mayor 1943 to 1945

After Hesse volunteered for the war, Mertens was appointed Mayor on April 1, 1943 as his deputy. Due to his distant attitude to the SS, he was threatened with exclusion proceedings in 1944. Mertens opposed the order of the Nazi district leader Berthold Heilig from April 1945, according to Hitler's " Nero order ", to blow up supply facilities and bridges in and around Braunschweig. He shot himself on April 11, 1945 at around 4:30 p.m. in his office in the town hall . His successor was the non-party lawyer Erich Bockler , who just a few hours later, around 02:59 on April 12, 1945, handed Braunschweig over to the US Army without a fight .

literature

Karl-Joachim Krause: Mertens, Hans-Joachim. In: Manfred Garzmann , Wolf-Dieter Schuegraf (Hrsg.): Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon . Supplementary volume. Joh. Heinr. Meyer Verlag, Braunschweig 1996, ISBN 3-926701-30-7 , p. 92 .
Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the capitulation of the city on April 12, 1945. Braunschweig 1994, revised edition 2005, ISBN 3-926701-66-8 .
Hartmut Nickel: Hans-Joachim Mertens (1943–1945). In: Henning Steinführer , Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. oeding print GmbH, Braunschweig 2013, ISBN 978-3-941737-68-6 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Hartmut Nickel: Hans-Joachim Mertens (1943–1945). In: Henning Steinführer , Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 411.
↑ Hartmut Nickel: Hans-Joachim Mertens (1943–1945). In: Henning Steinführer , Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 412.

personal data
SURNAME	Mertens, Hans-Joachim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German lawyer and Lord Mayor of Braunschweig
DATE OF BIRTH	October 28, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH	Halle (Saale)
DATE OF DEATH	April 11, 1945
Place of death	Braunschweig

[Nickel411-1] Hartmut Nickel: Hans-Joachim Mertens (1943–1945). In: Henning Steinführer , Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 411.

[2] Hartmut Nickel: Hans-Joachim Mertens (1943–1945). In: Henning Steinführer , Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 412.