"Das Deutsche Führerlexikon"

[R.J.K.O.]

Greetings everyone,

with regard to a research project I am working on I'd be interested to learn whether anyone around here has access to a biographical encyclopedia on the higher echelons of the NSDAP, SS etc. entitled "Das Deutsche Führerlexikon". This work was originally published in May 1934. Shortly thereafter it was retracted, cleansed of some entries on people killed or dismissed during the Röhm Purge events and republished in July/August 1934.

Unfortunately the two editions of this book have identical page count and there is no "first edition"/"second edition" entry in the books which would enable one to search for the original edition of that book including some of the purged entries in online library catalogues.

The issues in all the libraries that I have access to are all part of the re-edited release of the Führerlexkion, i.e. they are cleansed of some entries that I'd like to check out.

I know that an issue of the original version of this book exists in the library of Regensburg since an acquitance sent me scans of two entries that are missing in the issues that I have access to.

E.g. in the original issue page 404 includes the entries "Saure", "Savigny, Friedrich Carl" and "Schacht, Hjalmar". In all the issues I have access to oage 404 includes the entries "Saure" and then "Schacht, Hjalmar", while the entry on "Savigny, Friedrich Carl" has been dropped.

Since I do no want to bother my acquintance again - it was rather difficult for him to gain access to the issue of the Führerlexikon in the Regensburg library - I wanted to ask, whether anyone around here has easier access to (or is in possession of) an original - i.e. un-reedited - issue of the Führerlexikon and would be willing to check whether some people that I am interested in and who are not included in the re-release of that book have entries in the original issue?

Specifially I would like to know whether

* Bose, Herbert von
* Detten, Georg von
* Falkenhausen, Hans-Joachim
* Hayn, Hans
* Heydebreck, Peter/Adam
* Kageneck, Hans von
* Krausser, Fritz von
* Koch, Hans Karl
* Ramshorn, Hans
* Schmid, Wilhelm
* Schneidhuber, August
* Sembach, Emil
* Spreti, Hans Erwin
* Tschirschky, Fritz Günther von

have entries. And if so I'd bee over the moon if someone could copy them by hand or by means of a copying machine
and write down/upload the text here.

Thanks a lot!

[Oberhessin]

The library of the University of Giessen has an edition, were the killed SA-Leader are wiped out with a piece of white paper put over their names.

[R.J.K.O.]

The version that contains a number of white stripes glued over the names of various SA-leaders in the "survey sections" is the the re-release. In the biographical section of the book the biographies on the folks who were ostracized after June 30th have been dropped altogether.

The easiest way to check whether you have the original version in front of you or the re-release is to go right to page 404 and check if there is a bio on Savigny: If there is a bio on Savigny to be found on page 404 you are looking on a book of the original release. If there is a bio on Saure and the immediate next bio is on Schacht (i.e. there is no bio on Savigny in between those two) your book is one of those distributed as part of the re-release.

[Michael Miller]

I would give up a lung, maybe even a lung and a kidney, to have either edition. For a photocopy or CD-Rom, I'd be willing to part with an eyebrow or two.

~ Mike

[Oberhessin]

Since it is an unversitarian library, would there be no possebility to start an digatilization project with the German universities?
Unlike the digitalization of all the jewish newspapiers and periodicals ("Compact Memory")?

[jeffhan373]

I've just gotten a copy of this much sought after work. I have the post-June 30 1934 printing, with the troublesome biographies replaced with blank white spaces, and names taped over in Part II. The book is done in two separate sections: Part 1, pp. 17 - 552, has biographies and photos of individuals; Part II, paginated separately with 156 pp total, does not have illustrations, and is a huge look at organizations and office holders.

The book is puzzling. Some signatures have clearly been reprinted: there is a new introduction dated August 2, 1934, mention of Hindenburg's death is made, and in Part I Lutze is identified as Stabschef (in Part II he's listed as Obergruppenführer). Plus there are the white blank spaces mentioned above. So some parts of the book are new, in which case why have the blank spaces at all? I suspect the books were recalled after the Purge, disbound, problematic biographies were removed, and signatures only were reprinted - not the whole book. Then the books were rebound. If you inserted new biographies you'd have to reflow the whole book and apparently this was not the way they opted to go.

No reprinting in Section 2 - offending names are taped over, sometimes with individuals replacing them on the tape, sometimes just with blank tape. Though this section is huge, there is almost nothing on the SA, SS or NSKK. On the other hand, almost every professional or trade group you could imagine is included.

While this book is very collectible, as a historical resource tool it has some puzzling omissions. In Part I, high rankers like Martin Bormann, Adolf Hühnlein and Wilhelm Weiss are missing. Many Gauleiters are included, but many are not (Florian and Grohé are in, for example, but Hellmuth and Terboven are not). Under "Mutschmann" we find Hugo M., but not Martin M. (Hugo was a Saxon, was Martin his brother?) This section is extremely weak on leaders of the Party organizations with very few SS biographies and even fewer SA ones. Virtually none of the early NS stalwarts are included (Maurice, Graf, Christian Weber, etc.). I wonder if individuals had to supply a biography and photo, and some of them simply didn't bother to do this?

Still, there are 1700 biographies, and it can be a very useful tool for the second and third stringers. I wonder how many Röhm copies actually made it to consumers? I don't think I've ever seen this edition for sale...

[smetanin albert]

Hello,

This book (E-Book) can be bought in the store:
https://www.deutsches-wehrkundearchiv.d ... vbestände/

[Hans1906]

"Das Deutsche Führerlexikon" (1934/35)

Wiki (G) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Deuts ... rerlexikon

Digitized http://www.ub.uni-koeln.de/cdm/ref/coll ... /id/236503

ZVAB https://www.zvab.com/buch-suchen/titel/ ... erlexikon/

archive.org https://archive.org/details/DasDeutsche ... R/mode/2up


Hans

P.S. Is it known in what number of prints the edition was published, unfortunately I could not fathom...?