SS General August Heissmeyer Photograph Album
Museum archive interest
£2100 (was £2500)
Discounted by instruction of the consigner
One of the most enigmatic members of the higher SS leadership, SS General August Heissmeyer joined the SS in 1930, and quickly received promotion. By 1935 he became the Chief of the SS Main Office, a year later he also became the Inspector of the NPEA. By 1940, Heissmeyer headed the SS Totenkopf Division, and towards war's end, he headed 'Kampfgruppe Heissmeyer' using Volksturm and HJ members to protect areas of Berlin. He evaded capture directy after the war, but was eventually caught and classed as a major war offender. Strangely he didn't spend much time in prison, and later became the Director of Coca-Cola in Germany.
Photograph album with good post card sized photographs throughout. 25 photographs in total. Some excellent photograph of Heissmeyer reviewing members of Totenkopf Regiment 'Oberbayern'. Good clear images with Heissmeyer talking to Oberbayern officers. One of the photogaphs shows both heissmeyer and Kaltenbrunner reviewing members of Oberbayern. Further images shows Heissmeyer in a museum or art gallery looking at art objects. Many research possibilities with this album.
Condition report: The album with plain covers. No album page notes.
Hoffmeyer, a banker by trade, joined theSA in 1927 and the NSDAPin 1937 (membershipnumber 5,480,793). In 1939 he switched from the SA to theSS(SS number 314,948). [1] He belonged to thesecurity service of the Reichsfuhrer SS(SD). [2]
From 1938 to 1941 Hoffmeyer was managing director of theBund deutscher Ostenand from 1938 at the same time worked at the main office for theVolksdeutsche Mittelstelle( VoMi ), where he became head of the office for "Securing German nationality in the new eastern areas". After the beginning of theSecond World War, he was partlyresponsible for the resettlement ofethnic Germans , eg fromGerman-occupied Poland, according to treaties with the Baltic States and theSoviet Unionfrom theBaltic States(Baltic Germans) andRomania(Bessarabian Germans,DobrogeaGermans andBukovinaGermans ) involved. [3]
After theattack on the Soviet Union , Hoffmeyer headed the Sonderkommando R(Russia) from July 1941 , which included experts from the VoMi and the SD. The task of the Sonderkommando R, which operates inTransnistria, central Ukraine andCrimeaand consists of three task forces, which was not only to register and look after the resettlement of ethnic Germans. The Sonderkommando R was formed in 1942 by employees from theReich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationality(RKF), theRace and SettlementMain Office (RuSHA) and theSS Economic and Administrative Main Office(WVHA) extended. After the reorganization of the Sonderkommando R in 1943, the Volksdeutsche Leitstelle, also headed by Hoffmeyer, emerged. [4] The Sonderkommando R was in charge of the 7,000-strong paramilitary"Self-Defense"group , which searched for Jews, communists and partisans in the towns and, after capture, carried out shootings. [5] [6]
In October 1941, Hoffmeyer was promoted toSSOberfuhrer in the SS and in November 1943 he achieved the rank of Brigadefuhrer. He was also appointed Major General of the Police in 1942. [7]
Most recently he worked inOdessa,KievotherBucharest. After thefall of Antonescu and the change of front in Romania, he led a combat group, which he soon handed over to LieutenantGeneral Alfred Gerstenberg.Hoffmeyer committed suicidein captivity together with his colleague Erwin Müller on September 11, 1944 in Craiova . [3]
Provenance: Acquired for the Meadway Collection from a German-based collection circa 2006.
Notes: Due to copyrights of images, we cannot accept returns on photograph albums.
