Individual NAZI Biographies: Wilhelm Brückner

Figure 1.--Hitler loved to be photographed with children. There are countless such images. This one is a card in the Deitchland Erwach series. The scenes are always like this, him greeting the children, accepting flowers or patting them on the head. We never see him actually engaged in any meaningful way. We are not sure where the photograph was taken. It does nor seem to be the Berrghof. It was probanly taken before the Berghof was built. The man he is with is his Adjutant Wilhelm Brückner, at the time a Oberleutnant.

There are two NAZI Wilhelm Brückners. Here we are talkinbg about the Wilhelm Brückner who served as Hitler Chief Adjuntant until thWilhelm Brückner e War era (183?-40). The other Wilhelm Brückner was a NAZI war criminal and mass murderer from Hassenberg. The Wilhelm Brückner we are discussing here was an important NAZI, but never personlly conncted with war crimes. Wilhelm wa born in Baden-Baden (1884). he was raised in Baden-Baden and attended school there, earing an Abitur. He studdied law and economics in Strasbourg, Freiburg, Heidelberg, and Munich. We are not sure why he attended so many universities. With the outbreak of World War I he served as an offiver in a Bavarian infantry regiment rising to the rank of lieutenant. That seems aow rank for a man of his age and background. After the war in the chaos of a defeated Germany, he joined the right-wing Freikorp Epp and served in Schützenregiment 42 as a member of the Reichswehr which supressed the Bavarian Soviet Republic. He joined the NAZI Party (1922) an reportedly stressed Hitler to laubch the Beer HAll Putch (1923). After various jobs, Hitler as the NAZI Party was becoming aajor political force slected him to becone hos Adjutant amnd body guard (1930). In the early years he was among Hitler's inner circle. He was pictured in the propaganda film 'Hitler über Deutschland' (1932). Hitler afyer purging the SA appointed him SA-Obergruppenführer (November 1934) A car accident soon after brought Brückner onto contact with Dr. Karl Brandt, who became Hitler's personal physcian for years. Unlike other around Hitler, Brückner seems to have been well liked by NAZI Party applicants and everyday visitors at the Reich Chancellery. He was seen as straightforward and affabile. The outbreak of World War II changed his position. Wehrmacht and SS adjutants had the important issues to raise with Hitler. Hitler dismissed him as aesult of a dispute with his house manager, Arthur Kannenberg. (October 1940). It is thoufgt that Martin Bormann who was a master at manipulating Hitler was behind his firing. He was succeeded with Julius Schaub. Brückner joined the Wehrmacht and rose ti the rank of colonel. After the War, unlike other important NAZIs, he never wrote a book/ As adjutant and a Hitler intimate, he cwould have have provided a great deal of valuable information. He died in Herbsdorf, Upper Bavaria (1954).

Navigate the CIH World War II Section
[Return to the Main NAZI bio page]
[Biographies] [Campaigns] [Children] [Countries] [Deciding factors] [Diplomacy] [Geo-political crisis] [Economics] [Home front] [Intelligence]
[POWs] [Resistance] [Race] [Refugees] [Technology] [Totalitarian powers]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Return to Main World War II page]
[Return to Main war essay page]
[Return to CIH Home page]





Created: 9:51 AM 10/13/2014
Last updated: 9:51 AM 10/13/2014