SAMURAI POLICE 1109: THE BAD COP OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA: KARL HERMANN FRANK (24 JANUARY 1898 TO 22 MAY 1946)

On this date, 22 May 1946, a SS Nazi War Criminal, Karl Hermann Frank was executed by hanging in public. I will post the information about him from Wikipedia and other links.

Karl Hermann Frank [PHOTO SOURCE: http://reinhardhimmler.tumblr.com/]

Born	24 January 1898 Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary)
Died	22 May 1946 (aged 48) Prague
Allegiance	Germany
Years of service	1918–1945
Rank	SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS und Polizei
Awards	Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross without Swords, Golden Party Badge, SS-Ehrenring

Karl Hermann Frank (24 January 1898 – 22 May 1946) was a prominent Sudeten German Nazi official in Czechoslovakia prior to and during World War II and an SS-Obergruppenführer. He was executed by hanging after World War II for his role in organizing the massacres of the people of the Czech villages of Lidice and Ležáky.

Karl Hermann Frank (Photo on September 1942)

Karl Hermann Frank

Early life

Born in Karlsbad, Bohemia in Austria-Hungary (present-day Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic), Frank was taught by his father (a proponent of Georg Ritter von Schönerer’s policies) about nationalist agitation. After spending an unsuccessful year at the law school of the German language Charles University in Prague, Frank served in the Austro-Hungarian Army at the end of World War I. After the war, Frank operated a book store and joined various right wing groups and societies, such as the Kameradschaftsbund.

An extreme advocate of the incorporation of the Sudetenland into Germany, Frank joined the Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei (Sudeten German National Socialist Party or DNSAP) in 1919 and set up a book store from which he distributed Nazi propaganda. When the party was suppressed by the Czechoslovak government, Frank helped organize the Sudeten-German Homeland Front in 1933, which officially became the Sudeten German Party (SdP) in 1935.

In 1935, Frank became deputy leader of the SdP and was elected a member of the Czechoslovak Parliament. Coming to represent the most radical National Socialists in the SdP, Frank was made Deputy Gauleiter of the Sudetenland when it became part of Germany in October 1938. Frank's radicalism gained him the favor of Heinrich Himmler, who made Frank an SS-Brigadeführer in November 1938.

Reinhard Heydrich (left) & Karl Hermann Frank (right) [PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/domaci/15859-konec-k-h-franka-obesen-jen-tri-hodiny-po-vyneseni-rozsudku/]

Reinhard Heydrich (left) & Karl Hermann Frank (right) [PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/lidice.html]

Heydrich (left) with Karl Hermann Frank at Prague Castle in 1941

World War II

In 1939, Frank was promoted to SS-Gruppenführer and appointed Secretary of State of the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia under Reich Protector Konstantin von Neurath. Himmler also named him the protectorate's Higher SS and Police Leader of the protectorate, making him its ranking SS officer. Although nominally under Neurath, Frank wielded great power in the protectorate due to his vast knowledge of Czech affairs and Himmler's support.

As Secretary of State and chief of police, Frank pursued a policy of harsh suppression of dissident Czechs and pushed for the arrest of Bohemia and Moravia's Prime Minister, Alois Eliáš. These actions by Frank were countered by Neurath's "soft approach" to the Czechs thereby encouraging anti-German resistance by strikes and sabotage. This frustrated Frank and led to him secretly working to discredit Neurath.

Hitler's decision to adopt a more radical approach in Bohemia and Moravia should have worked in Frank's favor. Hitler relieved Neurath of his active duties on 23 September 1941, though he still remained Reich Protector on paper. Frank hoped to be appointed as Deputy Protector and day-to-day head of the protectorate, but was passed over in favor of Reinhard Heydrich. Although the working relationship between Frank and Heydrich was initially tense, even though they both believed that the Czechs needed to be dealt with harshly. The two soon put aside their differences and became an efficient and effective duo. The two launched a reign of terror in the protectorate, arresting and killing dozens of opponents and ramping up the deportation of Jews to concentration camps.

Czech state president of the Protectorate, dr. Emil Hácha (sitting), listening to a speech of Reichsprotektor Kurt Daluege next to SS and Police General Karl Hermann Frank in Prague, September 1942.

Destruction of Lidice

Bodies of some of the men murdered in the Lidice massacre, a notorious crime against humanity organized by Karl Frank and Kurt Daluege.

Lidice

When Heydrich was assassinated in May 1942, Frank was once again passed over for promotion to Deputy Protector; Kurt Daluege was chosen instead. Daluege and Frank were instrumental in initiating the destruction of the Czech villages of Lidice and Ležáky in order to take revenge on the Czech populace for Heydrich's death. Under Daluege, Frank continued to consolidate his power and by the time Wilhelm Frick was appointed Reich Protector in 1943, Frank was the most powerful official in Bohemia and Moravia. In August 1942, he was made a Minister of State as Reich Minister for Bohemia and Moravia. In June 1943, he was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer and General of Police in Prague. Frank was also made a General of the Waffen-SS.

From 30 April to 1 May 1945, before the Prague Uprising, Frank announced over the radio that he would drown any uprising in a "sea of blood". Later, as rumors of an impending Allied approach reached the city, the people of Prague streamed into the streets to welcome the victors. Frank ordered the streets to be cleared and instructed the German army and police forces in Prague to fire at anyone who disobeyed.

Karl Hermann Frank on trial [PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/XB290654/Karl-Hermann-Frank?img=4&search=headphones&bool=phrase]

Trial and death

Frank surrendered to the U.S. Army in Pilsen on 9 May 1945. He was extradited to the People's Court in Prague and tried during March and April 1946. After being convicted of war crimes and the obliteration of Lidice, Frank was sentenced to death. He was hanged on 22 May 1946 in the courtyard of the Pankrác Prison in Prague, before 5,000 onlookers. He was buried in an anonymous pit at Prague's Ďáblice cemetery.

Karl Herman Frank hanging from the neck in Prague, 1946, for his role in organizing the massacres of the people of the Czech villages of Lidice and Ležáky. He was the Higher SS and Police Leader and Secretary of State of the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. [PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/538532067912340108/]

Personal life

Frank was married twice. On 21 January 1925 he married Anna Müller (born 5 January 1899 in Karlsbad). They divorced on 17 February 1940 (later the same year Müller remarried Karl-Hermann's successor as deputy Gauleiter of Sudetenland, SA-Brigadeführer Dr. Fritz Köllner). The couple had two sons Harald, born 20 January 1926, and Gerhard, born 22 April 1931. Harald served as a SS-Panzergrenadier with the 1. SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and was severely wounded in March 1945 in Hungary. On 14 April 1940 Frank remarried a physician, Karola Blaschek (born 13 August 1913 in Brüx). They had one son, Wolf-Dietrich (born 20 August 1942), and two daughters Edda, (born 16 August 1941) and Holle-Sigrid (born 8 March 1944). After the war, Blaschek was held a prisoner by the Soviets until 1956 and her children grew up in care homes.

Summary of SS career

Dates of rank