Walter Buch Party leader of the NSDAP Date of Birth: 24.10.1883 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Walter Buch
2. Early Life and Military Career
3. Rise in the NSDAP and SA
4. Political Career and Controversies
5. Later Years and Death

Biography of Walter Buch

Walter Buch was a prominent figure in the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) and served as the Chairman of the Party's Supreme Court from November 1927 to May 1945. He was also a Reichsleiter (1933) and held high-ranking positions in the SS and SA.

Early Life and Military Career

Walter Buch was born into a noble family and received his education in the gymnasiums of Konstanz and Karlsruhe. In 1902, he joined the 114th Infantry Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm II" as a cadet. He was promoted to lieutenant on January 27, 1904. During World War I, Buch served as an adjutant and later commanded a company and a battalion. In March 1918, he was promoted to major and in September 1918, he was transferred to the Ministry of War in Berlin. After the November Revolution in Germany in 1918, Buch resigned and joined the Baden organization of former military personnel.

Rise in the NSDAP and SA

In November 1922, Walter Buch joined the NSDAP and became a key member of the party. From August 1923, he served as the commander of SA units in Franconia, with Nuremberg as the center. He participated in the failed Beer Hall Putsch in Munich on November 8-9, 1923. In the late 1923 to 1924, he was one of the leaders of semi-legal SA formations. In November 1927, he became the chairman of the Investigative and Arbitration Committee (USCHLA), which was later transformed into the Supreme Party Court (OPG) in December 1933. The main task of the Supreme Party Court, and its subordinate courts, was to ensure the purity of the ranks of the Nazi Party, handle cases against party members, and resolve internal conflicts.

Political Career and Controversies

From December 1928, Buch was a deputy in the Reichstag for Eastern Hanover. At that time, the NSDAP had only 12 seats in the Reichstag. Around the same time, he joined the SS. On September 2, 1929, Buch's daughter Gerda married Martin Bormann, who was working in the insurance service at the SA High Command headquarters. Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess were witnesses at their wedding. In 1932, Buch attempted to organize a group to assassinate Ernst Röhm, the Chief of Staff of the SA. On June 30, 1934, he actively participated in the purge of the SA leadership in Munich during the "Night of the Long Knives."

As the Chairman of the Supreme Party Court, Buch tried to play the role of the party's conscience and behave independently. In late 1935, he initiated an investigation into the activities of Gauleiter and Ober-President of East Prussia Erich Koch, accusing him of abuse of power. However, Hitler ordered the investigation to be stopped. After that, Buch traveled to the United States for some time. Upon his return, he presented Hitler with a dossier on Robert Ley, the Imperial Organizational Leader and leader of the Labor Front, demanding his resignation. In the summer of 1936, Buch, together with Martin Bormann, orchestrated the resignation of Gauleiter Kurmark and Poznań-East Prussia, Ober-President Wilhelm Kube, who spread rumors about Buch's wife and Bormann's mother-in-law being of Jewish origin. Buch's interest in Kube's personal life and his leadership style in the Kurmark district had prompted Kube's insinuations against Buch's wife. After the nation-wide Jewish pogrom on November 10, 1938, known as Kristallnacht, Buch attempted to bring the perpetrators to justice through the Supreme Party Court. A total of 30 Nazis were held accountable, 4 were expelled from the NSDAP, and others faced various consequences. However, Buch was unable to obtain Hitler's permission to prosecute the organizers and leaders of Kristallnacht. Following this, he went on a demonstrative trip to South America.

Later Years and Death

During this time, Buch's influence in the party began to decline, and his son-in-law, Martin Bormann, Chief of Staff to Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, and his daughter Gerda ceased to associate with him. Nevertheless, Buch remained in his position as Chairman of the Supreme Party Court until the end of the war. On April 30, 1945, he was arrested by American forces and subsequently sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment, including 3 years in labor camps. In July 1949, during another wave of denazification, he was declared a "major offender" for committing war crimes.

Walter Buch ended his life by committing suicide, cutting his wrists and throwing himself into Lake Ammersee.