Hans Georg Hofmann

Hans Georg Hofmann

Hans Georg Hofmann (born September 26, 1873 in Hof ; † January 31, 1942 in Munich ) was a German officer , most recently major general and politician of the NSDAP . From 1932 until his death he was a member of the Reichstag for the constituency of Lower Bavaria.

Life

Military career

Hofmann attended elementary school in Hof and in Steinwiesen and then the grammar school in Bamberg . He joined the 16th Infantry Regiment “Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany” of the Bavarian Army in Passau on August 1, 1893 as a three-year-old volunteer . From March 1894 to the end of January 1895, Hofmann successfully completed the Munich War School and was subsequently promoted to secondary lieutenant. From October 1900 he was adjutant at the district command Vilshofen an der Donau for three years , then returned to the 16th Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany" and on March 6, 1905, he became first lieutenant . On August 20, 1907, he was transferred to the 13th Infantry Regiment "Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary" , where he served as company commander after being promoted to captain .

After the outbreak of World War I, Hofmann took his regiment into the field and took part in the fighting in Lorraine and France. In December 1914 he fell ill and spent the next few months in the hospital . After his recovery, Hofmann was sent to the replacement battalion of the 10th Infantry Regiment "King Ludwig" . Later in the war he was employed in various units as a leader, most recently as a Major in the 28th Infantry Regiment As such Hofmann fell during the fighting at Ypres on 26 September 1918 in British captivity . For his achievements he was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Military Merit Order III. Class with swords and the Austrian Military Merit Cross III. Class with war decorations.

After the war ended, Hofmann returned from captivity in December 1918 and was reassigned to the 13th Infantry Regiment "Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary". After demobilization , he joined the Epp Freikorps as a battalion commander and was involved in the suppression of the Hamburg Sülze uprising. In 1920 he was transferred to the provisional Reichswehr and initially commanded the III. Battalion of the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 44 in Passau, which was part of the transitional army to the II. Battalion of the Reichswehr Rifle Regiment 41 and with the formation of the Reichswehr to III. Battalion of the 20th (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment was reorganized. As battalion commander, Hofmann was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 1, 1922 . He gave up this command on March 31, 1923 and was appointed commandant of Ingolstadt . On January 31, 1926, Hofmann was retired from active service and given the character of a colonel .

He then worked as a civilian employee in the Reichswehr until May 31, 1931.

National Socialism

At the same time, until 1923 Hofmann was the leader of the Federation of Bavaria and the Reich , the strongest paramilitary association in Bavaria with federalist monarchical goals. In April 1923 Hofmann moved to the "Bund Vaterland". He had already met Hitler in 1920 . During the failed Hitler putsch on November 9, 1923, Hofmann mediated between the putschists and the Reichswehr. During the Nazi era, on April 20, 1939, he was awarded the so-called " Blood Order ".

Hofmann joined the NSDAP ( membership number 550.075) on June 1, 1931. From July 1932 until his death he was a member of the NSDAP in the Reichstag. In July 1931 he took over the leadership of the SA group in Bavaria. Between September 1932 and March 1933 he led the SA-Obergruppe IV, which included the SA groups Bayerische Ostmark , Franconia and "Hochland" (Upper Bavaria and Swabia). On April 1, 1933 Hofmann was promoted to SA Obergruppenführer; In 1934 he was temporarily inspector "Southeast" of the Supreme SA leadership (OSAF).

After the transfer of power to the National Socialists, Hofmann was regional president for Upper and Middle Franconia between April 1933 and June 1934 . In July 1934 he became State Secretary to the Reich Governor for Bavaria, Franz von Epp. Appointed an honorary citizen of Bayreuth in 1933, Hitler made him major general on April 20, 1937. Hofmann was also an honorary member of the People's Court since it was founded in 1934. Hofmann died of a heart attack in January 1942; for him moved Helmut Sündermann according to the Reichstag.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 6: Hochbaum-Klutmann. Biblio Publishing House. Bissendorf 2002. ISBN 3-7648-2582-0 . Pp. 85-87.
• Joachim Lilla , Martin Döring, Andreas Schulz: extras in uniform: the members of the Reichstag 1933–1945. A biographical manual. Including the Volkish and National Socialist members of the Reichstag from May 1924 . Droste, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-7700-5254-4 .
• Erich Stockhorst: 5000 people. Who was what in the 3rd Reich . Arndt, Kiel 2000, ISBN 3-88741-116-1 (unchanged reprint of the first edition from 1967).

Web links

• Literature by and about Hans Georg Hofmann in the catalog of the German National Library
• Hans Georg Hofmann in the database of members of the Reichstag
• Who is who in Bayreuth?

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house . Berlin 1924. p. 120.