Wilhelm Kube
German politician and Nazi official / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Wilhelm Kube (13 November 1887 – 22 September 1943) was a Nazi official and German politician. He was an important figure in the German Christian movement during the early years of Nazi rule. During the war he became a senior official in the occupation government of the Soviet Union, achieving the rank of Generalkommissar for Generalbezirk Weißruthenien. He was assassinated by a Soviet partisan in Minsk in 1943 after his participation in the Holocaust, triggering brutal reprisals against the city's citizens.
Wilhelm Kube | |
---|---|
Gauleiter of Gau Ostmark | |
In office 1 February 1928 – 1 June 1933 | |
Gauleiter of Gau Kurmark | |
In office 1 June 1933 – 7 August 1936 | |
Succeeded by | Emil Stürtz |
Oberpräsident of Brandenburg | |
In office 29 May 1933 – 7 August 1936 | |
Preceded by | Adolf Meier |
Succeeded by | Emil Stürtz |
Oberpräsident of Posen-West Prussia | |
In office 18 July 1933 – 7 August 1936 | |
Preceded by | Hans von Meibom |
Succeeded by | Emil Stürtz |
Generalkommissar for Generalbezirk Weißruthenien | |
In office 17 July 1941 – 22 September 1943 | |
Preceded by | Position created |
Succeeded by | Curt von Gottberg |
Personal details | |
Born | (1887-11-13)13 November 1887 Glogau, Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
Died | 22 September 1943(1943-09-22) (aged 55) Minsk, RK Ostland |
Manner of death | Assassination |
Political party | Nazi Party |
Education | History, economics and theology |
Alma mater | University of Berlin |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Rank | Generalkommissar |
An extreme antisemite and participant in numerous war crimes against Jewish people, he is known to have said about Jews: "What plague and syphilis are to humanity, are Jews to the white race."[1] However, Kube behaved towards German Jews in a relatively mild way during his rule in Minsk, by trying—generally unsuccessfully—to protect them, whom he felt as culturally closer to Germans, from extermination.[2] As for Minsk, he planned to level the city and replace it with a German settlement, called Asgard.[3]