Leonardo Conti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leonardo Conti
Conti as an SS-Gruppenführer
Reich Health Leader
In office 20 April 1939 – August 1944
Deputy	Kurt Blome
Preceded by	Gerhard Wagner
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	(1900-08-24)24 August 1900 Lugano, Switzerland
Died	6 October 1945(1945-10-06) (aged 45) Nuremberg Prison, Bavaria, Allied-occupied Germany
Political party	Nazi Party
Alma mater	University of Erlangen–Nuremberg
Profession	Physician
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire  Nazi Germany
Branch/service	Imperial German Army Schutzstaffel
Years of service	1918–1919 1930–1945
Rank	SS-Obergruppenführer

Leonardo Conti (born August 24, 1900 – died October 6, 1945) was a German doctor and a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany. He held the important position of Reich Health Leader. This meant he was in charge of all health matters for the country. Conti was involved in terrible programs that harmed many people. He died before he could be put on trial for his actions.

Early Life and Education

Leonardo Conti was born in Lugano, Switzerland. His father was Swiss Italian, and his mother was German. His mother, Nanna Pauli, later became a leader for midwives in Nazi Germany.

Conti went to elementary school in Switzerland. He then attended a high school in Berlin, Germany. In 1918, during World War I, he joined the German army. However, the war ended before he saw any fighting.

After the war, Conti studied medicine at universities in Berlin and Erlangen–Nuremberg. He was very active in student groups and right-wing politics. He joined groups that believed in German nationalism and were against Jewish people. He even took part in a political uprising called the Kapp Putsch in 1920.

Conti became a doctor in 1925. He worked as a general doctor and a children's doctor in Munich.

Joining the Nazi Party

In 1927, Conti moved back to Berlin. He joined the Nazi Party, which was led by Adolf Hitler. He quickly became a doctor for the SA, which was the Nazi Party's own army-like group. He helped organize medical services for them in Berlin.

Conti also started the Berlin branch of the Nazi German Doctors' League. In 1930, he was asked to treat Horst Wessel, an SA member who was shot. Wessel's death was used by the Nazis for propaganda.

Conti later joined the SS in 1930. The SS was another powerful Nazi organization. He became a senior doctor for the SS in eastern Germany.

Conti's Role in Nazi Germany

After the Nazis took power in Germany, Conti was given many important jobs. Most of these jobs were related to medicine and health.

• In 1934, he was appointed to the Prussian State Council.
• He was in charge of all medical plans for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
• In 1936, he joined the personal staff of Heinrich Himmler, a very powerful SS leader.
• In 1937, he became the president of a world sports medicine group. This group now sees his time as president as a "black page" in their history.
• Conti also played a part in stopping Jewish doctors from practicing medicine.

On April 20, 1939, Conti became the Reich Health Leader. This made him the top health official in Germany. He was also made head of the Main Office of Public Health. In August 1941, he was elected to the Reichstag, which was the German parliament. He continued to rise in rank within the SS, becoming an SS-Obergruppenführer in 1944.

Health Policies and Their Impact

Conti strongly believed that the Nazi government should control public health. He wanted to expand local health offices. This was done to control the population's genes and remove people considered "weak." The goal was to "improve" the German race, which was a dangerous part of Nazi ideas.

Conti worked with another doctor, Karl Brandt, on a terrible program. This program was called Action T4. It targeted people with severe mental and physical disabilities. Between 1939 and 1945, this program led to the deaths of over 200,000 adults and children. Conti was initially involved in leading this program.

Conti was also involved in some human experiments.

SS Ranks Held

Images for kids

• 

  A report being presented to Conti in 1943.

See also

• Register of SS leaders in general's rank