The first Nazi activists county artisan federal Hans Kummerfeld; Nordhastedt and butter dealer Emil Paulsen (born 1897) from Meldorf, 1923 Instructor of the"steel helmets youth", in the summer of 1926, NS-local-group and SA-leader of the "Sturm Dithmarschen"*2, both of which after the war were members of the Orgesch*1 and the steel helmet. In Albersdorf it was the owner of a printing Ferdinand Dieckmann (1890), Chairman of the Albersdorfer artisan Federal, former member of the DNVP, VSB*3 and steel helmet and later mayor of Meldorf, the two young employees Hans Gosch and Hans Hinrichsen, and from St. Michaelisdonn the young bank officer Willi Ehlers (born 1904), who also changed from the steel helmet to the Nazi party. Since 1924, nine years before the "seizure of power", local groups have been set up in Dithmarschen. It started with the rural community of Lunden in the fall of 1924 with a local group founded by bank employee Otto Diers (b. 1901) and the farmers Willi Looft (b. 1902) and Richard Wiborg. On 1/30/1926, a public meeting was held in Heide in front of 50 visitors. On 21/11/1926 a county meeting at which the first circuit section of Schleswig-Holstein NSDAP was formed took place, lead by the St. Michaelisdonner Ehlers. Claas Thomsen was commissioned to build an "SA"*4. The Heider and Dithmarsch SA squad 16 was founded in 1926 and could not always occur uniformly in a brown shirt for unemployed members. Local-groups-leader Brauer commented, it's not the shirt, but the spirit that lives in the hearts of our German people. Now followed Meldorf, Albersdorf, Nordhastedt, Wesselburen and St. Michaelisdonn, 1926 Süderhastedt, 1927 Marne, Burg /Dithm., Tellingstedt, Hennstedt, Friedrichstadt and the dithmarsian county group in 1928.
On 10/12/1927, Hitler spoke in a specially convened for the farmers from Gau Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, called "Country People's Assembly" in the" Circus Busch" in Hamburg before nearly 4,000 visitors. behind the SA-Standarte 100 in total Schleswig-Holstein-Nazis marched in brown shirt, also from Dithmarschen and the district of Steinburg.
In January 1928, the Nazi Party led a protest rally in the city Meldorf. Beeck and Kummerfeld carried the party badges and speeches were peppered with anti-Semitism from the pen of Gauleiter Lohse, distributed 7000 leaflets and held a public meeting, where the Gauleiter Lohse as always appeared with the same speech.
The first appearance of the Nazis to the Reichstag election was held on 23.03.1928 in Heider City Theatre, which belonged to the Nazi Party member Frederick Bossel. Uncritically and detailed the "Heider Anzeiger" reported the inhuman policy that the Nazis were planning.
On the list for the Reichstag Dithmarsian farmer Claus Rönnfeld, Westerwohld (born 1884, NSDAP member No. 406795) ran behind the top candidate Count Reventlow.*5).On the list for the Prussian Landtag on the 3rd Place of the NSDAP list was the blacksmith master Kummerfeld Nordhastedt (born 1887, member number 58512). Who was one of the most active members and played an important role in Schleswig-Holstein after the seizure of power. Since 1932 he has been a member of the Prussian Landtag and on 12.11.1933 member of the Reichstag. For this purpose he assumed the presidency of the Chamber to Flensburg and was Gauhandwerksmeister.
On the Dithmarsian side also was the only farmer Hans Beeck; Spearsdieck (born 1884; Member No. 20872) born in Windbergen, kandidat on the 8th Place. The 7th Place went to Peter Hansen farm worker, Barlt. Am 1 September 1928 joined the politician and author Hermann Glüsing and was immediately secretary of the local branch Wrohm. From 1945 he was a member of parliament and member of the CDU(called Hermann Bonn). He later explained it this way: "The whole thing with the DNVP and the Stahlhelm (it was) not attractive enough and a little too lax". He would then practically have been "revolutionary". That did not impair him on his ladder to the district president of Dithmarschen. Even today he is venerated by Dithmarsian CDU supporters and county employees.
On 14/10/1928 Adolf Hitler was in Heide. About 1800 SA-men, 8 standards and an equestrian formation paraded on the square. During the months of September and October Dithmarschen was a true marathon event subjected to 42 events with over 6000 visitors.
1929 Dithmarsian had four members of parliament of Schleswig-Holstein County Council: The farmer Hermann Peters; Hochdonn was SPD and the other three NSDAP; Beeck, Kummerfeld and farmer Hermann Meister; Süderdeich.
In March 1930, the Red Swastika was founded at the beginning of which twelve women joined. The Presidency took Helene Nottelmann. In November 1930, the group consisted of 39 women. "By maintaining the tribe type within the Dithmarsian nationality the racial issues of our movement coule come to its right. It applies the new strengthening of the family sense, to awaken the sacred sense of obligation against type and blood in the young. The stressful struggle to politics has always been the responsibility of the man. "On 10.01.1931, the National Socialist Women was established from the Red Swastika.
In Sept. 1931, a Litzmann-girl group, named after the World War II general and party member, which occurred at party events with dance and song presentations and provided a beautification of the evening. Their leader was Inge Lienau. On August 9th 1931, the day of the "Referendum", it came to physical altercations between SA and some Meldorfer Foreign Reichsbanner people in Meldorf. which led to that at times the polling station had to be closed.
On 9/25/32 Hermann Goering was speaking before Heider 3600 men of the SA on the Heider Rennbahn. In this context, the NSDAP Heide noted that the "banner 85 Dithmarschen" is the largest one in Germany.
At the time 78% of the Meldorf middle classes belonged to the NSDAP and 79% to the SA. Since its founding six years ago, there were violent attacks against political dissenters and especially against communists. From a report of the district councils between July 1932 and March 1933 it was announced that the perpetrators in Norderdithmarschen almost exclusively belonged to the Nazi Party.
But there were also exceptions. A dozen SA-men who attended a meeting in the farmers meeting in "Dithmarscher Hof" (today Oldenwöhrden) as listeners were beaten by about 50 communists from Wesselburen, Woehrden and Meldorf.
On 5.3.32 there were about 100 arrests in Meldorf. In July 32, it has come to a fight between Hamburg Communists and Nazis in Meldorf, where there had been thrown with bricks and even shot sharp. On 07/20/32 a speaker of a SPD election rally was harassed on the way to the station by the Nazis in Meldorf. In November Nazis raided a former SA man and injured him with a heavy hook on which a 10 inch nail was attached dangerous. The neighbors of the victim, although it heard the cries of the mistreated, went quietly back to bed without helping him or at least calling a doctor.*6
A serene image Karsten Schrum features in his essay "Nazism" In 1933 he pictures "a Hitler largely favorable population", and as there was no more to win the war:" The funeral of from Farnewinkel coming, downed fighter pilot Walter Oesau on the Meldorfer cemetery in May 1944 was the last event that brought all Meldorf on the legs. Overall, the Meldorf provides a picture of the Nazi period that is substantially different from that of other small towns in Schleswig-Holstein." This needs to contradict, but that the author could not know at the time. There have been more Meldorf Nazi criminals, as in other cities. This with stand from 23.12.2010.
"The transfer of power went calmly on," quoted Jens Peter Biel district leader Matthiessen in his essay in the Journal Dithmarschen. That alone distinguishes this city already hundreds of other cities where the opposition protested further, as long as it was still possible, ie until 05.03. and 03.12.1933, the days of the last free elections.
His statement Meldorf would have been "under the sign of this apparently run without aggression election campaign" is formulated more infelicitous than trying to conceal the special role of the gray town by the sea. The aggression marched and shouted through the streets of the picturesque town and the aggression of the Dissenters remained unrecognized in the living room, in the form in your pocket clenched fists.
Biel says in 1998, Nazism took place not just on the main political action stages of the empire, but also in Meldorf, the county town of Süderdithmarschen. This was perhaps a new openness to some researchers, shortly before the opening of the iron courtain. Wasn't it but the widely taught history of innocent and persecuted Germans. However, where there was a pursuit, there was also a reason for persecution. And will now come to light, the more people die and leave an emptiness that makes the city freely, to discover the "Forgotten" the full extent again.
1The founder Georg Escherich (Ge-org Esch-erich) took part in the Kapp Putsch. The largest complex in Schleswig-Holstein were the approximately 10,000-member "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dithmar" which had been established in Heath. At its peak the farm owner Kahlke, county chairman of the DNVP in Norderdithmarschen, the master mason Böhme Meldorf, and the Dentist core of Boers were Wessel. Because weapons finds Chancellor issued the ban on the host on 24/06/1921 Orgesch. In Dithmar was the direct transition from the Orgesch associations, reconsider helmet to the NSDAP.
2After 1939 he was first Chief Commissioner in Vitebsk, then Gebietskommissar in Libau (1943) and was involved in war crimes.
3The Social Völkisch block in the Deutschvolkische dominated the Freedom Party, wanted to collect anti-Semites who were due to the prohibition of their societies and clubs after the Rathenau murder without organizational support.
4 SA were armed groups of Nationalsozialisten.
5Member number reflected the accession time again, the lower the number, the earlier the entry into the party.
6 Klaus Schwieger, the end of the weimar republic in Süderdithmarschen, essay 1970