Hinrich Lohse
Nazi propaganda photograph of Hinrich Lohse, as published in a Latvian newspaper in 1941.
Reichskommissar of Reichskommissariat Ostland
In office July 17, 1941 – September 26, 1944
Appointed by	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Erich Koch
Oberpräsident of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein
In office March 25, 1933 – May 6, 1945
Preceded by	Heinrich Thon
Succeeded by	Otto Hoevermann (acting)
Gauleiter of Gau Schleswig-Holstein
In office March 27, 1925 – May 6, 1945
Leader	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	September 2, 1896 Mühlenbarbek, Schleswig-Holstein
Died	February 25, 1964 (aged 67) Mühlenbarbek, Schleswig-Holstein
Political party	NSDAP

Hinrich Lohse (September 2, 1896 – February 25, 1964) was a Nazi German politician, best known for his rule of the Baltic states during World War II.

Early life [edit]

Hinrich Lohse was born in the town of Mühlenbarbek in Province of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born into a small farming family. From 1903 to 1912 he attended the Volksschule in his hometown, and afterwards the higher trade school. In 1913 he worked as an employee at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg. During the First World War, he served in the Imperial German Army from 23 September 1915 until his discharge for war wounds on 30 October 1916.

Nazi Party career [edit]

From 1919, Lohse was first an associate at the Schleswig-Holstein Farmers' Association, and then as of 1920 General Secretary of the Schleswig-Holsteinische Bauern- und Landarbeiterdemokratie. In 1923 he joined the Nazi Party and became on 27 March 1925 the NSDAP Gauleiter for Schleswig-Holstein. In 1924, as a member of the Völkisch-Sozialer Block list, he became the only Nazi to be elected to the city representative college (Stadtverordnetenkollegium) of Altona/Elbe. During this time, he led various nationally-oriented farming associations in northern Germany, such as the Landvolkbewegung ("Country People's Movement"), into the Nazi Party. Between 1928 and 1929, Lohse also temporarily administered the Nazi Gau of Hamburg.

Lohse, who had been a member of the Reichstag since 1932, was appointed shortly after the Nazis' seizure of power as Oberpräsident (High President) of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1934, he took over the chairmanship of the Nordic Association (Nordische Gesellschaft). In 1942, Lohse was appointed Reich Defence Commissar, as were all Gauleiters.

Occupation official in the Soviet Union [edit]

On July 17, 1941, after the German occupation of parts of the Soviet Union, Lohse was appointed the "Reichskommissar for the Ostland". Lohse retained his functions in Schleswig-Holstein and shuttled between his two seats of Riga and Kiel. After taking office, Lohse filled many important posts with likeminded old friends from Schleswig-Holstein. He held this function until he left, or rather fled, the Reichskommissariat Ostland in the autumn of 1944. In Schleswig-Holstein, during the time when Nazi Germany was losing power, he still exercised absolute rule as Reich Defence Commissar.

He shared with Hans-Adolf Prützmann many of the responsibilities for the ghettoization of the Jews of Latvia. ^[1]

Post-war trial and life [edit]

On 6 May 1945, owing to British demands, Lohse was unseated as High President of Schleswig-Holstein by Reich President Karl Dönitz. Shortly thereafter, he was seized by the British military. Lohse was sentenced in 1948 to 10 years in prison, but was released in 1951 due to illness. Two inquiries were launched by prosecutors against him; the grant of a High-Presidential pension which Lohse was fighting for was withdrawn under pressure from the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag. Lohse spent his twilight years in Mühlenbarbek.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Directions concerning treatment of Jewish property 13 October 1941

• The murder of Jews in the Reichskommisariat Ostland (German)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hinrich Lohse

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Holocaust in Latvia

v t e The Holocaust in Latvia Main article The Holocaust Related articles by country Belarus Estonia Lithuania Norway Poland Russia Ukraine Crimes Burning of the Riga synagogues Dünamünde Action Jelgava Pogulianski Rumbula Liepāja (Šķēde) Nazi murders of women and children on the beach at Liepaja, Latvia, December 15, 1941 Victims Jewish people of Latvia Gypsies Joseph Carlebach Simon Dubnow Else Hirsch Perpetrators Alois Brunner Rudolf Batz Fritz Dietrich Otto-Heinrich Drechsler Erich Ehrlinger Karl Jäger Friedrich Jeckeln Heinz Jost Konrāds Kalējs Ernst Kaltenbrunner Wolfgang Kügler Rudolf Lange Hinrich Lohse Hans-Adolf Prützmann Eduard Roschmann Alfred Rosenberg Martin Sandberger Rudolf Joachim Seck Franz Walter Stahlecker Eduard Strauch Nazi occupation and organizations Einsatzgruppen Reichskommissariat Ostland Rollkommando Hamann Collaborators Individuals Viktors Arājs Herberts Cukurs Kārlis Lobe Organizations Arajs Kommando Latvian Auxiliary Police Schutzmannschaft Ghettos and camps Daugavpils Ghetto Jungfernhof concentration camp Kaiserwald concentration camp Riga Ghetto Salaspils concentration camp Documentation Generalplan Ost Jäger Report Concealment Sonderaktion 1005 War crimes investigations and trials Einsatzgruppen Trial Extraordinary (Soviet) State Commission Righteous among the Nations Jānis Lipke Roberts Sedols Memorials Bikernieki Memorial Related articles The Holocaust Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany