Adolf Wagner facts for kids

Adolf Wagner (born 1 October 1890 – died 12 April 1944) was an important official and politician in the Nazi Party. He served as the Party's regional leader (called Gauleiter) in Munich and was also the powerful Interior Minister of Bavaria for most of the Third Reich (Nazi Germany).

Early Life and World War I

Adolf Wagner was born in Algringen (now Algrange) in an area called Alsace-Lorraine, which was part of the German Empire at the time. His father was a coal miner. Wagner went to local schools and later studied natural science and mathematics at Strasbourg University. He then studied mining at RWTH Aachen University and became a mining engineer in 1914.

When World War I started, Wagner volunteered to join the Imperial German Army. He fought on the Western Front, where he was wounded twice. First, he was injured by poison gas, and in 1918, he lost his right leg below the knee. He was recognized for his bravery and received the Iron Cross, both 1st and 2nd class. He left the army in 1918 when the war ended.

After the war, Wagner returned to Lorraine. However, in 1919, the French authorities expelled him because the area became part of France again. He then moved to Bavaria in Germany and worked as a manager in mining companies until 1929.

Joining the Nazi Party

Wagner joined the Nazi Party in 1923. He quickly became a local leader in his town. He took part in the Beer Hall Putsch on 9 November 1923, which was a failed attempt by the Nazis to take control of the government. Because of his involvement, he later received a special award called the Blood Order.

When the Nazi Party was temporarily banned after the failed coup, Wagner joined a group called the Völkischer Block, which was a way for Nazis to continue their activities. He was elected to the Bavarian state parliament (the Bavarian Landtag) in 1924 and served there until 1933.

Becoming a Gauleiter

After the Nazi Party was allowed again, Wagner rejoined it in 1925. He quickly rose through the ranks.

• On 1 October 1928, he was made Gauleiter (regional leader) of the Upper Palatinate area.
• Then, on 1 November 1929, he became the Gauleiter of Greater Munich, which was a very important position because Munich was the main city for the Nazi movement.
• Finally, on 16 November 1930, his region grew to include Upper Bavaria, and he became Gauleiter of Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria. This region was given a special name, Traditionsgau, because of its importance to the Nazi Party's history.

As Gauleiter of Munich, Wagner was in charge of the yearly events that remembered the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. He also had the special title of "Speaker of the Party." This meant he was chosen to read Adolf Hitler's important messages at big public events, like the annual Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg. People often said that Wagner's speaking style sounded very much like Hitler's.

Powerful Roles in Bavaria

When the Nazis took control of the Bavarian state government on 10 March 1933, Hitler sent Wagner to take charge of the Bavarian police. In this role, he controlled all the security forces in the state. He supported setting up special places to hold people the Nazis considered dangerous. This led to the creation of the first such camp in Dachau.

On 12 April 1933, Wagner was officially made Minister of the Interior for Bavaria and also the Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria. This gave him a lot of power in both the Nazi Party and the government. In November 1933, he was elected to the Reichstag, which was the German parliament. On 28 November 1936, he also became the Bavarian Minister for Education and Culture.

In May 1934, Wagner worked on a plan to change how Germany was organized, aiming for more central control by the Nazi Party. He wanted Party officials to have all the power, with state authorities just carrying out orders. His plan suggested new areas called Reichsgaue that would ignore old state borders. The Party leaders of these new areas would be like undisputed rulers. However, this plan was not fully put into action in Germany itself, but it later became a model for how foreign territories were organized when they were taken over by Germany.

Role in Key Events

Wagner played a significant role during a violent event known as the Night of the Long Knives on 30 June 1934. During this time, Hitler ordered the arrest and killing of many leaders of the SA, a Nazi paramilitary group. When Hitler arrived in Munich, Wagner had already arrested the SA leaders there. He also made sure that wanted SA leaders arriving by train were caught. Later that day, when a prison governor hesitated to hand over six SA leaders for execution, Wagner, using his power as Bavarian Interior Minister, signed the document that allowed them to be turned over and killed.

Wagner was also involved in carrying out the Nazi Party's policies against Jewish people. In May 1935, he organized violent anti-Jewish protests in Munich. On 9 July 1938, he ordered the destruction of the main synagogue in Munich. A few months later, during the Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) on 9-10 November 1938, other historic synagogues in the city were destroyed, and Jewish shops were looted.

As Bavarian Education Minister, Wagner made a controversial order on 23 April 1941. He said that school prayers should be replaced by Nazi songs and that crucifixes and religious pictures should be removed from Bavarian classrooms. This caused a lot of anger among the Roman Catholic Church and the public, especially in heavily Catholic Bavaria. The opposition was so strong that Wagner had to cancel his order on 28 August. This was one of the few times that public opposition successfully changed a Nazi policy.

Relationship with Hitler

Despite the setback with the school prayer order, Hitler seemed to remain on good terms with Wagner. Wagner was one of the Alter Kämpfer (Old Fighters), meaning he had been with the Nazi Party from early on, and he held the Golden Party Badge, a special award. Because of his close connection to Hitler, Wagner often boasted that he could ignore orders from other ministers and that they would have to come to Munich to meet him. Hitler sometimes even let Wagner use his airplane for trips to Berlin. Wagner generally had direct access to Hitler and could ask him for support when he had disagreements with other officials. He was often part of the small group of close friends invited to Hitler's home, the Berghof, near Berchtesgaden. There is even rare color film footage from around 1938, filmed by Hitler's companion Eva Braun, showing Wagner talking with Hitler on the terrace of the Berghof.

War Years, Illness, and Death

When World War II began on 1 September 1939, Wagner was given another important role. He was named Reich Defense Commissioner for two large military districts. He was the only person to be in charge of two such districts. His job included overseeing civil defense, air defense, and evacuation plans. He also managed the local war economy, which involved things like wartime rationing and stopping black market activities.

Later, he also became the Housing Commissioner for his region and helped in finding forced civilian labor for Germany's wartime industries.

In June 1942, Wagner became very ill. His official duties were taken over by Paul Giesler on a temporary basis. Then, on 15 July 1942, Wagner suffered a stroke that left him severely disabled, making it hard for him to speak and move. He remained in his positions in name only until a second stroke caused his death on 12 April 1944. After his death, Paul Giesler became his permanent successor.

Hitler, who rarely appeared in public by then, attended Wagner's grand funeral on 17 April at the Deutsches Museum. The Minister of Propaganda, Josef Goebbels, gave a speech praising Wagner. After his death, Wagner was given the German Order, which was the highest award of the Nazi Party. He was buried near the Ehrentempel (Honor Temples), where those killed in the Beer Hall Putsch were laid to rest.

Images for kids

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  Adolf Wagner in his uniform.

See also

In Spanish: Adolf Wagner para niños