Hans-Adolf Prutzmann German military officer, SS Obergruppenführer Date of Birth: 31.08.1901 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Hans-Adolf Prützmann
2. Early Life and Career
3. Involvement with the Nazi Party
4. SS Service
5. Involvement in Latvia and "Werwolf" Organization

Biography of Hans-Adolf Prützmann

Hans-Adolf Prützmann was a German military officer and Obergruppenführer of the SS. He is known as the leader of the occupational administration in Latvia, responsible for the deportation of Jews and the destruction of tens of thousands of Jewish individuals.

Early Life and Career

Prützmann was born in Tolkemit, West Prussia, Germany. After completing his secondary education, he enrolled at the University of Göttingen to study agriculture. In 1918, he joined the Freikorps, a voluntary military corps. In 1923, Prützmann participated in the suppression of an uprising in Upper Silesia as part of the corps. He worked as a civil servant in the field of agriculture in Pomerania, Brandenburg, and East Prussia for seven years.

Involvement with the Nazi Party

In 1929, Prützmann joined the Sturmabteilung (SA), but he only remained there for a year before transferring to the SS and simultaneously joining Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) in 1930. He served as a deputy in the Reichstag for a period while building his career in the SS. By 1933, he had reached the rank of Brigadeführer, and in 1934, he became Gruppenführer.

SS Service

Prützmann served in the SS-Abschnitt (subdivision) 'Southwest' in Stuttgart. In March 1937, he was transferred to the 'Northeast' direction in Königsberg. He served in this division until May 1941. In April 1941, Prützmann was appointed as a General-Lieutenant of the Police, and in June, he became a Polizeiführer SS in the northern part of Russia. He held this position until October 1941. Later, until the summer of 1944, he occupied a similar position in Ukraine and southern Russia. In the summer of 1944, Prützmann was tasked with leading a specially designated combat group, named after him, in Ukraine. For his actions, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.

Involvement in Latvia and "Werwolf" Organization

In the summer of 1941, Prützmann became the highest-ranking SS and police leader in Latvia, overseeing the deportation of Jews and the Holocaust in the country. In September 1944, on Heinrich Himmler's order, Prützmann established the organization "Werwolf." The aim was to create a German partisan army using the well-studied modus operandi of Ukrainian insurgents. In early 1945, again under Himmler's orders, he carried out an operation to eliminate Franz Oppenhoff, a pro-Allied mayor of Aachen.