Heinz Fenner

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heinrich 'Heinz' Conrad Fenner (born June 23, 1885 in Saint Petersburg ; † August 31, 1982 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen) was a Baltic German writer and Gestapo officer.

Life and activity

Previous career and First World War

Fenner was a son of Heinrich Gottlieb Fenner (1832–1900) and his wife Auguste Georgine Charlotte, nee. Michaelsen. He was baptized on July 18, 1885 in St. Catharine I in Petersburg. His younger brother was the cryptologist Wilhelm Fenner .

In his early years, Fenner lived in the Russian Empire . He attended the humanistic St. Anne's High School in St. Petersburg. He then studied chemistry for a year and then law. After passing the state examination in law in 1912, Fenner became an editor at the Deutsch-Revalschen Zeitung and later an editor at the German-language Petersburger Zeitung .

During the First World War, Fenner was interned in Russia as a German citizen. In 1918 he worked for the German commission for the exchange of prisoners of war and civil internees.

Activity as a writer in the Weimar Republic

At the end of November 1918, Fenner left Russia and moved to the German Reich . There he found connection to the circle around Eduard Stadtler . At the turn of the year 1918/1919, Fenner took part in the founding of the "General Secretariat for the Study and Combat of Bolshevism " (also known as the "League for the Protection of German Culture"), which was set up under the direction of Stadtlers . Fenner soon took over the management of the press department of this organization. This was concerned with the collection of international daily news about the Soviet Union and the German Spartakists and also published a so-called anti - Bolshevik correspondence , which was sent to press editors in order to provide them with news on the topics mentioned. In addition, Fenner published a number of relevant books and brochures on Russia and the Soviet Union. Politically, he belonged to the German National People's Party (DNVP) for a year during this time.

From 1923 to January 1, 1930, Fenner worked for an intelligence agency of the Reichswehr Ministry. He also published articles in the magazine Das Gewissen , which he was considered an expert on Russia.

Career in Nazi intelligence services and Gestapo

On November 1, 1930 (membership number 377.645) Fenner joined the NSDAP. He is also said to have been in the party's intelligence service since November 1, 1930, which probably meant the organization headed by Arthur Schumann at the time (and not the SS intelligence service).

On October 1, 1933, Fenner was hired as a detective at the Secret State Police Office in Berlin. In 1934 at the latest he was given the position of a consultant. The SD agent Heinrich Pfeifer , who got to know him there at the time, assigned him the position of clerk for Russia and the Far East and the rank of detective inspector. According to Pfeifers' level of knowledge, Fenner worked for the Ochrana during the Tsar's time , which is why he was considered a great expert on all GPU issues at the Gestapo headquarters. He also called him a "bad nerd and busybody". This information is supported in the business distribution plan of the Secret State Police Office of October 1, 1935, in which Fenner is listed as head of Department III 1 C ("Russia, Eastern Fringe States") with the rank of detective detective. In the business distribution plans of the Secret State Police Office dated January 1, 1938 and July 1, 1939, Fenner figured with the rank of "Criminal Inspector" or "Criminal Councilor" as head of Section III D ("Defense cases and other matters of importance to the police with the target country: Soviet Union , Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Japan including colonies, China, rest of Asia, unless colonial property of non-Asian states ").

In the book Inside the Gestapo , published in Great Britain in 1940, which is also based on a manuscript written by Pfeifer, the following description by the Gestapo Commissioner Fenner can be found:

"Russia and the Far East are dealt with in this subdivision [of Department III of the Gestapo] by Detective Inspector Fenner, a Baltic German. Fenner is of medium stature, slim, very dark, always impeccably dressed and looks like a southerner or a Mexican. He worked his way up the career ladder from the very bottom. He is reported to have worked for the Ochrana in Russia during his student days and is considered a GPU expert of the Gestapo. He has gray, thick hair, clean-shaven and around 45-50 years old . "

On May 1, 1934, Fenner was drafted into the police service as a probationary detective assistant. From November 8, 1934 to May 31, 1935, Fenner then took part in a course for trainee detective officers at the police institute in Charlottenburg. He passed the detective inspector's examination on May 29, 1935 with the grade "very good". On May 30, 1935, he was taken over as an auxiliary crime commissioner in the Prussian Secret State Police. From September 1, 1935, he was used as a probationary detective. By appointment certificate from March 1936, Fenner was then appointed regular detective in the Prussian State Service. Later he was promoted at least to the criminal councilor.

As far as can be seen from the SS seniority lists, Fenner did not join this organization, unlike most high-ranking Gestapo officials.

In the Berlin address books Fenner can be traced back to 1937 with his residence at Admiral-Schröder Strasse 39 with the professional title "Kriminalkommissar". After the annexation of Austria by the German Reich in 1938, Fenner was transferred to Vienna. It can be traced there until at least 1942.

marriage and family

According to his personnel records at the Gestapo, Fenner was married, and his wife died on December 1, 1933.

Fonts

  • Maxim Gorki's political views and his position on the Soviet government , Berlin 1919.
  • Germany and Russia. One response to Professor Dr. P. Eltzbacher , (= Revolutionary Issues, New Series, Issue 7) Berlin 1919.
  • The despots of the Soviet republic. A word of enlightenment about Bolshevik diplomats and statesmen , (= Revolutionary Issues, Issue 10), Berlin 1919.
  • The propaganda schools of the Bolsheviks , Berlin 1919.
  • The Red Army , 1920.
  • Political-statistical manual of the Soviet Union , 1926.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Extract from the baptismal register of Heinrich Fenner at ancestry.de
  2. Claudia Kemper: The "Conscience" 1919-1925. Communication and networking of the young conservatives . Oldenbourg, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-486-70496-9 , passim.
  3. ^ Heinrich Orb: 13 Years of Power Intoxication , 1945 p. 148.
  4. In the business distribution plan of January 1, 1938, the area of ​​responsibility of Fenner's unit is expanded to include the section "Defense incidents with unknown target countries and matters of defense police significance from the Memelland area", which is no longer part of the unit description in the business distribution plan of 1939.
  5. Hans Juergen Koehler: Inside the Gestapo , London 1940, p. In the original the passage reads: "" Russia and the Far East are covered in this Sub-Department by Criminal Commissioner Fenner, a Baltic German. Fenner, of middle stature, slim, very swarthy, always well-dressed, looking like a Southerner or Mexican, has worked his way up from the lowest rung of the ladder. He is alleged to have worked for the Ochrana during his student days in Russia and is considered to be the GPU expert of the Gestapo. He has graying, thick hair, is smooth-shaven and about 45-50. "
  6. ^ P. 587: Berlin address book for 1937, p. 587 ("Fenner, Hen, Kriminalkommissar") .
  7. ^ Digitized address book for Vienna for 1942 , p. 239: "Fenner Heinz, KrimRat, XIX, Geweyg [asse] 2".