# Alfred Freyberg > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alfred_Freyberg > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alfred_Freyberg.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Freyberg > Source revision: 1352048138 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|German Nazi politician & SS-Gruppenführer}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Alfred Freyberg | image = Alfred Freyberg.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Freyberg, ({{circa}} 1938) | order = | office1 = ''[Ministerpräsident](/source/Ministerpr%C3%A4sident)''
[Free State of Anhalt](/source/Free_State_of_Anhalt) | status = | term_start1 = 21 May 1932 | term_end1 = 8 January 1940 | deputy1 = | predecessor1 = [Heinrich Deist](/source/Heinrich_Deist) | successor1 = [Rudolf Jordan](/source/Rudolf_Jordan_(politician)) | office2 = ''[Oberbürgermeister](/source/Burgomaster)'' of [Leipzig](/source/Leipzig) | term_start2 = 21 August 1939 | term_end2 = 18 April 1945 | predecessor2 = [Rudolf Haake](/source/Rudolf_Haake) (Acting) | successor2 = [Wilhelm Johannes Vierling](/source/Wilhelm_Johannes_Vierling) | prior_term = | pronunciation = | birth_name = Bruno Erich Alfred Freyberg | birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|07|12|df=y}} | birth_place = [Harsleben](/source/Harsleben), [Province of Saxony](/source/Province_of_Saxony), [Kingdom of Prussia](/source/Kingdom_of_Prussia), [German Empire](/source/German_Empire) | death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|4|18|1892|07|12|df=y}} | death_place = [Leipzig](/source/Leipzig), [Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany) | death_cause = [Suicide](/source/Suicide) by [cyanide poisoning](/source/cyanide_poisoning) | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = [Nazi Party](/source/Nazi_Party) | other_party = | spouse = Magdalena Schwannecke (1896–1945) | relations = | children = Wilhelm Friedrich (1923–1944)
Barbara
(1925–1945) | parents = | mother = | father = | education = | alma_mater = | profession = [Lawyer](/source/Lawyer) | awards = [Golden Party Badge](/source/Golden_Party_Badge) | signature = | sports_nickname = | allegiance = [German Empire](/source/German_Empire)
[Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany) | branch = [Imperial German Army](/source/Imperial_German_Army)
''[Schutzstaffel](/source/Schutzstaffel)'' | service_years = 1914–1917
1933–1945 | rank = ''[Leutnant](/source/Leutnant)''
SS-''[Gruppenführer](/source/Gruppenf%C3%BChrer)'' | unit = | commands = | battles = [World War I](/source/World_War_I) | mawards = [Iron Cross](/source/Iron_Cross), 2nd class }} '''Bruno Erich Alfred Freyberg''' (12 July 1892 – 18 April 1945) was a German lawyer, [Nazi Party](/source/Nazi_Party) politician and SS-''[Gruppenführer](/source/Gruppenf%C3%BChrer)'' who served as the ''[Ministerpräsident](/source/Ministerpr%C3%A4sident)'' of the [Free State of Anhalt](/source/Free_State_of_Anhalt) from 1932 to 1940 and the ''[Oberbürgermeister](/source/burgomaster)'' (Lord Mayor) of [Leipzig](/source/Leipzig) from 1939 to 1945. He committed [suicide](/source/suicide) together with his family in the closing days of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War) in Europe. == Early life == Freyberg was born the son of a farmer in [Harsleben](/source/Harsleben) in the [Harz district](/source/Harz_(district)). He attended ''[volksschule](/source/volksschule)'' there and then went to the ''[realgymnasium](/source/gymnasium_(Germany))'' in [Halberstadt](/source/Halberstadt). Beginning in 1911, he studied law at the [University of Geneva](/source/University_of_Geneva), [University of Königsberg](/source/University_of_K%C3%B6nigsberg), [Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München](/source/Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit%C3%A4t_M%C3%BCnchen) (LMU Munich) and [Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg](/source/Martin_Luther_University_Halle-Wittenberg). At the beginning of the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), he left school and entered the [German Imperial Army](/source/German_Imperial_Army) as a ''Kriegsfreiwilliger'' (war volunteer). He served in an [artillery](/source/artillery) regiment and was promoted to ''[Leutnant](/source/Leutnant)'' of reserves in March 1917. That same year he was seriously wounded near [Verdun](/source/Verdun), was awarded the [Iron Cross](/source/Iron_Cross), 2nd class, and was discharged after his recovery.{{cite web |last1=Peschel |first1=Andreas |title=Alfred Freyberg |url=https://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/Alfred_Freyberg_(1892-1945) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506202240/https://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/Alfred_Freyberg_(1892-1945) |archive-date=May 6, 2023 |access-date=28 April 2023 |website=Saxon Biography |language=German}} Freyberg then returned to his studies and in 1918 passed the preliminary state law exam in [Naumburg](/source/Naumburg). Between 1918 and 1922 he worked as a ''[Referendar](/source/Referendary)'' (legal apprentice) in [Wernigerode](/source/Wernigerode), Halberstadt and Naumburg and passed the final state law examination in [Berlin](/source/Berlin) in 1922. From 1923 he worked as a court [assessor](/source/Assessor_(law)), first in the Reich tax administration office in Berlin, then transferring to the tax office in Halberstadt, the tax court in [Magdeburg](/source/Magdeburg) and the tax office in [Quedlinburg](/source/Quedlinburg). On 1 August 1924 he was appointed a ''Regierungsrat'' (Government Counselor). == Nazi Party career == Freyberg joined the Nazi Party in Quedlinburg on 27 May 1925 (membership number 5,880) and founded the ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) there, which he led until 1927 as ''[Ortsgruppenleiter](/source/Ortsgruppenleiter)''. As an early member of the Party, he would later be awarded the [Golden Party Badge](/source/Golden_Party_Badge).{{sfn|Schiffer Publishing Ltd.|2000|p=12}} Dismissed from the tax office in 1926 for his political activism, he went into private practice as a lawyer in Quedlinburg. From 1927 to 1929 he was a Party ''[Bezirksleiter](/source/Bezirksleiter)'' (District Leader).{{sfn|Klee|2007|p=164}} In 1929, he became a [notary](/source/notary) at the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg. In November 1929 he was elected a City Councilor and became the leader of the Nazi faction in the council. At the [state election on 24 April 1932](/source/1932_Anhalt_state_election), the Nazis became the largest party in the ''[landtag](/source/landtag)'' of the [Free State of Anhalt](/source/Free_State_of_Anhalt), increasing their representation from one to fifteen seats. The Nazis formed a [coalition government](/source/coalition_government) with the conservative [German National People's Party](/source/German_National_People's_Party) (DNVP) on 21 May 1932 and Freyberg became the first Nazi ''[Ministerpräsident](/source/Ministerpr%C3%A4sident)'' of a state in the [Weimar Republic](/source/Weimar_Republic). Following the [Nazi seizure of power](/source/Nazi_seizure_of_power), Freyberg served as the sole Minister of State in Anhalt from April 1933 to January 1940.{{cite web |title=Der Freistaat Anhalt Die Landesregierungen 1918–1933 |url=http://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Anhalt/Ueberblick_Reg.html |access-date=28 April 2023}} On 22 November 1933, Freyberg joined the ''[Schutzstaffel](/source/Schutzstaffel)'' (SS) with the rank of SS-''[Obersturmbannführer](/source/Obersturmbannf%C3%BChrer)'' (membership number 113,650).{{sfn|Schiffer Publishing Ltd.|2000|p=12}} On 29 March 1936, he was elected as a ''[Reichstag](/source/Reichstag_(Nazi_Germany))'' deputy from electoral constituency 10 ([Magdeburg](/source/Magdeburg_(electoral_district%2C_1919%E2%80%931938))), was reelected on 10 April 1938 and served until his death.{{cite web |title=Datenbank der deutschen Parlamentsabgeordneten |url=https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?name=Alfred+freyberg&geschlecht=&ort=&beruforg=&BERUF=&BERUFSFELDER%5B%5D=&KONFESSION%5B%5D=&WP%5B%5D=&PARTEI%5B%5D=&schlu=reichstag24&recherche=ja |website=Alfred Freyberg entry in the Reichstag Members Database |access-date=28 April 2023}} From 1938, he also worked in the headquarters of the ''[Sicherheitsdienst](/source/Sicherheitsdienst)'' (SD), the Nazi intelligence service headed by then SS-''[Gruppenführer](/source/Gruppenf%C3%BChrer)'' [Reinhard Heydrich](/source/Reinhard_Heydrich). On 21 August 1939 Freyberg was appointed the ''[Oberbürgermeister](/source/Oberb%C3%BCrgermeister)'' of the city of Leipzig, then Germany's [sixth most populous city](/source/List_of_towns_and_cities_in_Germany_by_historical_population). He left his post at the head of the Anhalt state government on 8 January 1940, being succeeded by the Anhalt ''[Reichsstatthalter](/source/Reichsstatthalter)'' (Reich Governor) [Rudolf Jordan](/source/Rudolf_Jordan_(politician)).{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2017|p=20}} Freyberg was a committed [anti-Semite](/source/anti-Semite) and his administration pursued policies of discrimination, exploitation and, ultimately, expulsion of [Jews](/source/Jews) from Leipzig to the [Auschwitz death camp](/source/Auschwitz_death_camp). On his fiftieth birthday, 12 July 1942, Freyberg was promoted to SS-''Gruppenführer'' by [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler).{{cite web |last1=Gibas |first1=Monika |last2=Briel |first2=Cornelia |last3=Knöller |first3=Petra |last4=Held |first4=Steffen |title=Aryanization" in Leipzig. Driven out. Robbed. Murdered. |url=https://studylib.net/doc/8869458/aryanization%E2%80%9D-in-leipzig.-driven-out.-robbed.-murdered. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504063601/https://studylib.net/doc/8869458/aryanization%E2%80%9D-in-leipzig.-driven-out.-robbed.-murdered. |archive-date=May 4, 2023 |access-date=28 April 2023 |page=18}} == Death == On 18 April 1945, one day before elements of the [U.S. Army](/source/U.S._Army) entered Leipzig, Freyberg committed [suicide](/source/suicide) by [cyanide poisoning](/source/cyanide_poisoning) in the [Leipzig town hall](/source/New_Town_Hall_(Leipzig)) together with his wife and 20-year-old daughter. The City Treasurer, {{interlanguage link|Kurt Lisso|de}}, his wife and adult daughter also poisoned themselves there, as did former ''Oberbürgermeister'' [Walter Dönicke](/source/Walter_D%C3%B6nicke).{{cite news |title=2 Leipzig Leaders, Families End Their Lives at Rathaus |work=New York Times |date=19 April 1945 |page=1}} thumb|Alfred Freyburg, suicided in his Leipzig office with his wife and daughter {| class="wikitable float-right" |- ! colspan="2"|SS ranks[https://www.dws-xip.com/reich/biografie/1937/1937.html SS Seniority List, 1 December 1937, pp.14-15, #92] Retrieved 28 April 2023. |- ! Date ! Rank |- | 22 November 1933 | SS-''[Obersturmbannführer](/source/Obersturmbannf%C3%BChrer)'' |- | 20 April 1934 | SS-''[Standartenführer](/source/Standartenf%C3%BChrer)'' |- | 1 January 1935 | SS-''[Oberführer](/source/Oberf%C3%BChrer)'' |- | 19 November 1936 | SS-''[Brigadeführer](/source/Brigadef%C3%BChrer)'' |- | 12 July 1942 | SS-''[Gruppenführer](/source/Gruppenf%C3%BChrer)'' |- |} == See also == * [List of mayors of Leipzig](/source/List_of_mayors_of_Leipzig) * [List of minister-presidents of Anhalt](/source/List_of_minister-presidents_of_Anhalt) * [List of Nazi suicides](/source/List_of_Nazi_suicides) == References == {{reflist|30em}} == Sources == *{{cite book |last= Klee |first= Ernst |title= Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945 |publisher= Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag |location= Frankfurt-am-Main |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-3-596-16048-8}} *{{cite book |last1= Miller |first1= Michael D. |last2= Schulz |first2= Andreas |title= Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945 |volume= 2 (Georg Joel – Dr. Bernhard Rust) |publisher= R. James Bender Publishing |year= 2017 |isbn= 978-1-932-97032-6}} * Peschel, Andreas: [https://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/Alfred_Freyberg_(1892-1945) Alfred Freyberg] in [https://saebi.isgv.de/ Institute for Saxon History and Folklore: Saxon Biography] *{{cite book |editor-last=Schiffer Publishing Ltd. |title= SS Officers List: SS-Standartenführer to SS-Oberstgruppenführer (As of 30 January 1942) |publisher= Schiffer Military History Publishing |location= |year= 2000 |isbn= 0-7643-1061-5}} == External links == * {{ReichstagDB|126529787}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Freyberg, Alfred}} Category:1892 births Category:1945 deaths Category:1945 suicides Category:German Army personnel of World War I Category:Holocaust perpetrators in Germany Category:Joint suicides by Nazis Category:Lawyers in the Nazi Party Category:LMU Munich alumni Category:Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Category:Mayors of Leipzig Category:Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938 Category:Minister-presidents in Germany Category:Nazi Party officials Category:Nazis who died by suicide in Nazi Germany Category:People from Harz (district) Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Category:Reich Security Main Office personnel Category:SS-Gruppenführer Category:Suicides by cyanide poisoning Category:University of Geneva alumni Category:University of Königsberg alumni Category:Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Category:Male suicides --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alfred Freyberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Freyberg) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Freyberg?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.