Walter Heringlake

Walter Heringlake

Walter Heringlake (born March 7, 1901 in Siegen ; † September 23, 1969 there ) was a German politician ( NSDAP ).

Private and political biography

Until the end of National Socialism

After primary school , Walter Heringlake attended the technical school for the iron and steel industry from 1915 to 1917. He then worked in the iron industry. In 1925 he started his own business in coal . In the same year he joined the newly approved and reorganized NSDAP, in which he was Gauinspector Siegerland-Wittgenstein from 1934 to 1939, but was a member of the "old" since 1923, as evidenced by the ownership of the "Old Guard" and other information. NSDAP and thus "old fighter" . From 1936 to 1941 he belonged to the politically insignificant National Socialist Reichstag for constituency 18 (South Westphalia).

In 1939, Heringlake and another party member acquired the "Merkur" incandescent lamp factory in Soest as part of an " Aryanization " process.

The Jewish owner Julius Rosenthal fled to Switzerland, where he succumbed to a heart attack as a result of the events. Heringlake and his later partner immediately took action. In doing so, they relied on the decree on the use of Jewish assets issued on December 3, 1938 , which provided for the rapid forced sale by an official "trustee" if there was no agreement with the Jewish owner. The two prospective buyers set up the purchase agreement in such a way that ownership had already passed before the purchase price of RM 975,000 had to be paid, so that they could "pay" by silvering securities and receivables from the company using little or no equity. Since the company “flourished very well”, there had been “a sharp wrestling match” among the interested parties, in the course of which a competitor who had approached the two acquirers had been arrested on a pretext so that he gave up. Heringlake ended his activity as a district inspector in the year of the acquisition and switched entirely to the role of businessman. The demand for incandescent lamps, and thus production, rose considerably under wartime conditions, while the number of employees was reduced and z. T. could be converted to forced labor.

In 1942 Heringlake was sentenced to RM 5,000 by the Dortmund Special Court for aiding and abetting his partner's illegal construction (1942). In the same year u. a. the Gaugericht for investigations into the modalities of the acquisition of the company Merkur to the official files. There was a threat of party proceedings, which was prevented by the intervention of Gauleiter Paul Giesler .

After the end of National Socialism

After the Second World War, Heringlake was interned by the British military government as polluted by Nazism (1945-1947) and then provisionally classified in denazification category III ("less polluted "). In the subsequent local procedure, on the other hand, it was classified in the most favorable category (V = "relieved"). Heringlake had declared to have belonged to a - to this day unknown - "resistance movement" and to have been threatened with "certain death", which the committee took over from him. He saw in him an "idealist" because he had joined the NSDAP so early: the party was still "within a decent framework". While the chairman of IG Metall described him as a “criminal”, the former National Socialist Mayor Alfred Fissmer and the Social Democratic District President Fritz Fries stood by Heringlake's side. According to Fissmer, Heringlake “always stood up for justice and freedom.” “The violations of law and the violence” would have “repelled him. […] He condemned the persecution of the Jews in a particularly harsh manner. ”Fries supported Heringlake's claim that after the November pogrom in Siegen he only stayed in office at the insistence of others, namely to prevent worse. Heringlake helped him “with business wherever he could. [...] I see him as exonerated [...] I do not consider him to be a beneficiary. ”Heringlake only“ rendered outstanding services ”to the incandescent lamp factory.

Heringlake had to return ownership of the Soest incandescent lamp company to Julius Rosenthal's heir. For this he and his partner received a severance payment of DM 125,000 each.

Heringlake now devoted himself exclusively to his social and other business ventures and activities. He became co-founder and managing director of the Siegen heating oil trading company and managing director of the Berleburg branch of the regionally important sheet metal factory Bertram Müller GmbH (Weidenau). The owner was his hunting companion and former party member, the former district hunter Wittgenstein Bertram Müller. In 1952 Heringlake was the rifle king of his home village in Siegerland.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See: Reimer Möller, "Merkur" - The good light from Soest, in: Birgit Bedranowsky / Wilhelm Becker (eds.), A century of public power supply in Soest 1899–1999 (Soester contributions to the history of natural sciences and technology, volume 7 ), Soest 1999, pp. 153-168; Gerhard Köhn with the assistance of Dirk Elbert, The Jewish community Soest. Its members from 1700 to the expulsion and murder in the Third Reich, Soest 1993, p. 269.
2. ↑ Regional personal dictionary on National Socialism in the old districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein, article Walter Heringlake .
3. ↑ Regional personal dictionary on National Socialism in the old districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein, article Walter Heringlake .
4. ^ Ulrich Friedrich, Opfermann, Siegerland and Wittgenstein under National Socialism. Personen, Daten, Literatur, Siegen 2001, 2nd edition, p. 2229; ders., "With clinking windows and hooting". Jews and Volksgemeinschaft in Siegerland and Wittgenstein in the 19th and 20th centuries, Siegen 2009, p. 135; Regional dictionary of persons on National Socialism in the old districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein, article Walter Heringlake .
5. ↑ All information, unless otherwise documented, from: Main State Archives Düsseldorf, NW 1.049-3.804 (= denazification files); Westfälische Rundschau, March 31, 1949; Dieter Helmes, Structure and Development of the NSDAP in Siegerland before the takeover of power, Siegen 1974, p. 136; Dieter Pfau, "Christian Cross and Swastika". Siegen and Siegerland on the eve of the “Third Reich”, Bielefeld 2000; Ulrich Friedrich, Opfermann, Siegerland and Wittgenstein under National Socialism. Personen, Daten, Literatur, Siegen 2001, 2nd edition, p. 2229; ders., "With clinking windows and hooting". Jews and Volksgemeinschaft in Siegerland and Wittgenstein in the 19th and 20th centuries, Siegen 2009, pp. 132–135; Regional dictionary of persons on National Socialism in the old districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein, article Walter Heringlake .

literature

• Joachim Lilla , Martin Döring, Andreas Schulz: extras in uniform. The members of the Reichstag 1933–1945. A biographical manual. Including the ethnic and National Socialist members of the Reichstag from May 1924. Droste, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-7700-5254-4 .
• Ulrich Friedrich Opfermann, "With clinking windows and hooting". Jews and the Volksgemeinschaft in Siegerland and Wittgenstein in the 19th and 20th centuries, Siegen 2009
• Erich Stockhorst : 5000 people. Who was what in the 3rd Reich . 2nd Edition. Arndt, Kiel 2000, ISBN 3-88741-116-1 .

Web links

• Regional dictionary of persons on National Socialism in the old districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein, article Walter Heringlake
• Walter Heringlake in the database of members of the Reichstag