| Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) speaks at a Nazi Sturm Abteilung (SA) Gruppe Nordmark rally on the Kiel Nordmarksportfeld. Behind him is SA-Oberführer (literally “Senior Leader” equivalent to Colonel) Heinrich Schoene (November 25, 1889 – April 9, 1945), the Führer of SA-Gruppe Nordmark. In the 1st months after January 1933, the SA celebrated its victory with several major events and marches and tried to intimidate political opponents. On May 6-7, 1933, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP (“National Socialist German Workers’ Party”) marched in Kiel. Party dignitaries included Hitler, Schoene, Ministerpräsident of Prussia Hermann Göring (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946, the Gauleiter and President of Schleswig-Holstein Heinrich Lohse (September 2, 1896 – February 25, 1964), Korpsführer (Corps Leader) of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) Adolf Hühnlein September 12, 1881 – June 18, 1942), the chief of staff of the SA Ernst Röhm (November 28, 1887 – July 1, 1934) and SA-Obergruppenführer (literally “Senior Group Leader” equivalent to Lieutenant General) Victor Lutze (December 28, 1890 – May 2, 1943). 2,000 Motor SA men drove by in 1,412 vehicles. The SA called on the citizens of nearby towns like Bad Oldesloe to travel to Kiel in order to “witness the eyes and ears of an event that Schleswig-Holstein has never seen before.” Some 30,000 people turned out for the spectacle. Kiel and neighboring Hamburg, cities dependent on manufacturing, had suffered in the great depression. The formerly unresponsive ground of Hamburg became increasingly fertile territory for political extremists starting in 1929-1930. The Nazis placed 2nd in the city elections in 1931, barely behind the 1st-place Social Democrats. On April 23, 1932, immediately before the next election, Hitler flew into Hamburg to address a cheering crowd of more than 120,000. They did even better, getting 31.2 percent of the vote in the April national elections and finishing 1st in Hamburg. Luise Solmitz (1889 – 1973), a Hamburg schoolteacher, wrote in her diary after attending the 1932 rally: “How many look to him in touching faith as the helper, savior, the redeemer from great distress. To him, who rescues the Prussian prince, the scholar, the clergyman, the peasant, the worker, the unemployed, out of the party into the people.” These rallies cemented Hitler and the Nazis as dictatorial leaders of Germany at a time when their power was not fully developed. Within a year of him taking office, all of Hitler’s enemies would be dead, in prison, or have fled Germany. Heinrich Schoene was appointed Generalkommissar des GeneralbezirksWolhynien-Podolien im Reichskommissariat Ukraine (“General Commissioner for the Volhynia-Podolien General District in the Reich Commissariat of Ukraine”) on September 1, 1941. He oversaw the liquidation of the Jewish population there. He died in action in Königsberg in April 1945. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1759.jpg |
| Image Size | 553.57 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3000 x 2306 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 7, 1933 |
| Location | |
| City | Kiel |
| State or Province | Schleswig-Holstein |
| Country | Germany |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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