Franz Ritter von Epp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Franz Ritter von Epp
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| Reichsstatthalter of Bavaria | |
| In office 10 April 1933 – 29 April 1945 |
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| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Reichskommissar of Bavaria | |
| In office 10 March 1933 – 10 April 1933 |
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| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Reichsleiter | |
| In office 31 August 1933 – 29 April 1945 |
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| Member of the Reichstag | |
| In office 20 May 1928 – 8 May 1945 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 October 1868 Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Died | 31 January 1947 (aged 78) Munich, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Resting place | Munich Waldfriedhof |
| Political party | BVP, from 1928 NSDAP |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
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| Branch/service |  Imperial German Army Schutztruppe |
| Rank | General der Infanterie |
| Commands | Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Boxer Rebellion World War I
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| Awards | Pour le Mérite Military Order of Max Joseph |
Franz Ritter von Epp (born Franz Epp; from 1918 as Ritter von Epp; 16 October 1868 – 31 January 1947) was a German general and politician. He began his military career in the Bavarian Army. His success in wartime earned him a special honor called a knighthood in 1916. After World War I ended, von Epp became a commanding officer in groups like the Freikorps and the Reichswehr.
He was a member of the Bavarian People's Party before joining the Nazi Party in 1928. That year, he was elected to the German parliament, known as the Reichstag. He held this position until the end of Nazi Germany. He also served as the Reichskommissar and later Reichsstatthalter for Bavaria, and was a Reichsleiter within the Nazi Party.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Military Service
Franz Epp was born in Munich in 1868. His father, Rudolph Epp, was a painter. Franz went to school in Augsburg and then joined the military academy in Munich.
He volunteered to serve in East Asia during the Boxer Rebellion from 1900 to 1901. This was a conflict in China. Later, he became a company commander in the German colony of German South-West Africa (which is now Namibia). There, he took part in military actions. During the First World War, he led the Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment. He served in places like France, Serbia, Romania, and at the Battles of the Isonzo front.
Awards and Honors for War Service
For his service in the war, Epp received many medals. The most important one was the Pour le Mérite, which he received in May 1918. He was also given a knighthood, becoming Ritter von Epp in February 1918. He also earned the Bavarian Military Order of Max Joseph in June 1916.
After World War I: Freikorps and Politics
After the war, Epp created a group called the Freikorps Epp. This was a right-wing military unit made up mostly of soldiers who had fought in the war. A future leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm, was part of this group. This unit helped put down a communist government in Munich called the Bavarian Soviet Republic.
Epp later joined the Reichswehr, which was Germany's official army at the time. He was promoted to Generalmajor in 1922. He left the German Army in 1923 because he became involved with right-wing political groups.
When the Nazi Party needed to buy a newspaper to share its ideas, Epp provided about 60,000 Reichsmarks. This money came from secret army funds. It was used to buy the Völkischer Beobachter, which became the main newspaper for the Nazi Party.
The Sturmabteilung (SA) was a large group of men who guarded Nazi meetings and caused trouble for other political parties. Some SA leaders, like Ernst Röhm, hoped the SA would replace the regular army once Adolf Hitler gained power. Epp was put in charge of a department called the Wehrpolitisches Amt (Army political office) to deal with this. However, Hitler did not trust the SA. In 1934, Hitler had the SA leaders removed, and many were killed in an event known as the Night of the Long Knives.
Political Career in the Nazi Party
After leaving the Bavarian People's Party, Epp was elected to the Reichstag on 20 May 1928. He was one of the first 12 Nazi Party members to be elected to the German parliament. He continued to be elected in every election until 1945.
From 1928 to 1945, he led the Nazi Party's Military-Political Office. He also became the head of the German Colonial Society. This group wanted Germany to get back its colonies that it lost after World War I. In August 1933, he was given the rank of Reichsleiter, which was the second-highest political rank in the Nazi Party. He also joined the Academy for German Law in October 1933. From May 1934, he led the NSDAP Office of Colonial Policy until it closed in February 1943.
Leading Bavaria under Nazi Rule
Epp's most important action in history happened on 9 March 1933. This was two weeks before the Reichstag passed a law that gave Hitler special powers. On Hitler's orders, Epp took control of the Government of Bavaria. He set up a Nazi government there, becoming the Reichskommissar.
On 10 April, Hitler appointed him Reichsstatthalter for Bavaria. In this role, he often disagreed with Bavaria's Nazi Minister-President Ludwig Siebert. Epp tried to limit the central government's influence on Bavarian politics, but he was not successful. However, he remained Reichsstatthalter until the end of the war, even though he had lost much of his political power by then.
Arrest and Death
In 1945, Franz Ritter von Epp was arrested. This happened because he was linked to an anti-Nazi group called Freiheitsaktion Bayern. This group wanted Germany to surrender to the Allies. However, Epp did not want to be directly involved with the group. He thought their goal was like betraying the German Army.
At the end of the war, he was in the hospital in Bad Nauheim because of a heart condition. On 9 May 1945, a hospital worker told American agents that Epp was a patient there. He was arrested and sent to a prison camp in Munich. He was waiting for a trial at Nuremberg. He died in prison on 31 January 1947.
Decorations and Awards
- Order of the Red Eagle, 4th class (German Empire)
- Order of the Crown, 4th class with swords (Prussia)
- Military Merit Order, 3rd and 4th class with Swords (Bavaria)
- 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class, 1914
- 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class, 1915
- Knights Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph (Kingdom of Bavaria), 1917
- Pour le Mérite, 1918
- Knight of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern with swords (Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen)
- Knight 2nd class of the House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis (Oldenburg)
- Knight of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)
- Honour Chevron for the Old Guard, February 1934
- Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918, 1934
- Golden Party Badge
- Sudetenland Medal, 1938
- Anschluss Medal, 1939
- War Merit Cross 2nd Class and 1st Class with Swords
- Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords, 1943
- Military Merit Cross, 2nd class (Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
- Nazi Party Long Service Award (10 and 15 years)
- Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class (Austria)
- On 18 May 1933, the city of Passau decided to make von Epp a Citizen of Honor.
Images for kids
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Franz von Epp opening a school for colonialism in 1938
See also
In Spanish: Franz von Epp para niños
- Herero and Namaqua Genocide
- Reichskolonialbund
- Colonial Political Office of the NSDAP
- Research Materials: Max Planck Society Archive
