Karl Hanke

Karl Hanke
Hanke in February 1945
5th Reichsführer-SS
In office
29 April 1945 – 8 May 1945
PresidentAdolf Hitler
Karl Dönitz
ChancellorAdolf Hitler
Joseph Goebbels
Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Preceded byHeinrich Himmler
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Chief of the German Police
In office
29 April 1945 – 8 May 1945
Preceded byHeinrich Himmler
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Gauleiter of Gau Lower Silesia
In office
27 January 1941 – 8 May 1945
Appointed byAdolf Hitler
Preceded byNew Gau created
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Oberpräsident of the Province of Lower Silesia
In office
1 February 1941 – 8 May 1945
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byOffice abolished
State Secretary for the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
In office
26 November 1937 – 27 January 1941
Appointed byAdolf Hitler
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byLeopold Gutterer
Personal details
Born
Karl August Hanke

(1903-08-24)24 August 1903
Lauban, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died8 June 1945(1945-06-08) (aged 41)
Neudorf, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czechoslovakia
Political partyNazi Party
Spouse
Baroness Freda von Fircks
(m. 1944)
Children1
Alma materBerufspädagogisches Institut, Berlin
ProfessionPolitician

Karl August Hanke (24 August 1903 – 8 June 1945) was an official of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) during its rule over Germany who served as the fifth and final Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS). He also served as Gauleiter of Gau Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945 and as Oberpräsident of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia. Captured on 6 May 1945, he was shot and wounded during an escape attempt and then beaten to death by Czech guards on 8 June, after the war had ended.