Theodor Eicke - one of the most famous Nazi criminals during the Third Reich. He played a significant role in the establishment of a dictatorial regime in Germany and other countries.
I was personally acquainted with many prominent figures of the National Socialist Party, took part in the coup, as a result of which Hitler was able to take power into his own hands. Eicke was also guilty of many crimes against humanity while running various concentration camps.
Theodor Eicke: biography. Youth
Theodore was born on the territory of modern France, in Lorraine. His father was a we althy landowner and ran a railway station. In 1892, his eleventh child, Theodor Eicke, was born. The date of birth is disputed by German historians, but the generally accepted one is the seventeenth of October. Theodore studied at the school. However, he was extremely unsuitable for studying and communicating with peers. Due to constant absenteeism and strange behavior, he is expelled from the educational institution. Immediately after this, Theodor Eicke goes to the army. In two years, he changed several divisions. He met the beginning of the World War in the Bavarian Infantry Regiment.
First War
Immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, Eike fights on variousfronts. He received his baptism of fire in Flanders. In the spring of 1915, fierce battles broke out near the city of Ypres. The German army used chemical weapons for the first time. At night, special troops pulled up artillery to the front line. The next morning the British positions were bombarded with chlorine. However, the wind blew towards the German fortifications, and many soldiers were poisoned by their own chemical weapons. After Ypres, Theodor Eicke goes to Verdun. It is there that the most difficult battles of that war flare up. In total, about a million people on both sides died in the fields near Verdun. Having received several wounds, Eicke is transferred to the reserve corps, where he meets the end of the war.
Post-war life
After the war, Theodor Eicke changes several professions. The new German society is critical of the terrible senseless war. Theodore was unable to adapt to peacetime and is imbued with hatred for the whole society. He vehemently hates the Weimar Republic formed as a result of the revolution, but at the same time works as a secret informant. In 1928, the National Socialist Party gained popularity. Extreme militarism, revanchism and misanthropy are to Eike's liking, and he joins the Nazis. Three years later, he holds the position of commander of an SS platoon - special paramilitary units that were subordinate to Himmler.
After a while, Theodore is arrested, but a Nazi-loyal judge releases him. Eike flees to Italy.
There is bonding with other refugees from Germany. at thirty-threeHitler seizes power. Theoder Eicke returns to the country. He was a personal favorite of Himmler, who appoints him to a high position. The first concentration camp is set up in the spring.
Nazi career
Eike becomes commandant of Dachau. Immediately after taking office, he makes a number of changes. He holds all the camp guards with iron fists. At the same time, he creates terrifying orders in Dachau. For many misdemeanors, prisoners are executed without trial or investigation. The cruelest exploitation makes it possible to turn the concentration camp into a profitable enterprise. Himmler appreciated these merits of Eicke and appointed him to the post of inspector for camps. He wants Theodore to personally inspect the other camps and reorganize them along the lines of Dachau.
On the thirtieth of June, the thirty-fourth, the famous "Night of the Long Knives" took place. Theodor Eicke and Hitler were personally involved in the elimination of Ernts Röhm's main opponent.
According to some reports, Eicke shot at Ernst when he came to kill him with his adjutant. After that, he continued to work on the arrangement of Nazi concentration camps.
Creating SS
For tighter control, he creates paramilitary SS "Totenkopf" groups. Immediately after the outbreak of World War II, Totenkopf units are sent to the east. But the first battle of the Waffen-SS took place in France. All fighters were characterized by fanatical devotion to the ideas of National Socialism. Parts of the SS suffered huge losses, since Theodor Eicke was not muchtook care of the staff. Also, the SS divisions already at the beginning of the war became famous for their particular cruelty towards prisoners of war and civilians.
After the start of the war against the Soviet Union, SS units are transferred to the East. There they take part in the occupation of the B altic states. During this operation, Eicke's car is blown up by a mine and he is injured. In early 1942, the Totenkopf Division was fighting in the south of the Eastern Front.
On the Eastern Front
When the Soviet troops begin to counterattack, the Germans go on the defensive. Eike's division managed to repulse several attacks near Lake Ilmen. However, in the cold winter of the forty-second Red Army managed to carry out an offensive and encircle several German divisions.
During the breakout from the encirclement, the "Dead Head" lost most of its personnel.
After that, the German officer Theodor Eicke was appointed General of the SS troops, and he was also presented with several awards. After that, "Totenkopf" was sent back to France, where the division was understaffed. They also participated in the occupation of Vichy France, as Berlin was worried about the loy alty of the Vichy regime. While on the Western Front, the "Dead Head" continued to commit atrocities, which dramatically increased the number of partisan anti-fascist detachments.
Battle for Kharkov
In the winter of forty-third, a new battle for Kharkov broke out.
After the capture of Kursk, Soviet troops advanced rapidlyforward, wanting to free their territory as quickly as possible. Already in early February, the first units of the Red Army were advancing from Belgorod in the direction of Kharkov. The "Dead Head" division was transferred to this sector of the front. In mid-February, German troops were surrounded, and the SS divisions, contrary to Hitler's orders, retreated. During the subsequent counterattack, the Germans still managed to capture the city.
On the twenty-sixth of February, Eicke went with an inspection to the Kharkov region. However, his plane was shot down by machine-gun fire from the ground. The leader of the "Totenkopf" died on the spot. Initially, he was buried near the village of Artelne.
However, on Himmler's personal order, Eike's body was sent near Zhytomyr so that his grave was out of reach of the Red Army. However, in December 1943, Soviet troops liberated Zhytomyr, and the fate of Eike's grave is unknown. In March, the Völkischer newspaper reported that SS General Theodor Eicke had died. The photo and obituary were posted on the front page.
