Martin Bormann | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bormann in 1934. A scar on his forehead[1] has been edited out of this photograph. | |
| Party Minister of the Nazi Party | |
| In office 30 April 1945 – 2 May 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Adolf Hitler (as Führer) |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal Secretary to the Führer | |
| In office 12 April 1943 – 30 April 1945 | |
| Führer | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Private Secretary to the Führer) |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Chief of the Party Chancellery | |
| In office 12 May 1941 – 2 May 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Rudolf Hess (as Deputy Führer) |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Chief of Staff of the Deputy Führer | |
| In office 1 July 1933 – 12 May 1941 | |
| Deputy Führer | Rudolf Hess |
| Additional positions | |
| January–August 1943 | Member of the "Committee of Three" |
| 1941–1945 | Reichsminister without portfolio |
| 1933–1945 | Member of the Greater German Reichstag |
| 1933–1945 | Reichsleiter of the Nazi Party |
| 1933–1945 | Manager of the Adolf Hitler Fund of German Trade and Industry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martin Ludwig Bormann 17 June 1900 Wegeleben, German Empire |
| Died | 2 May 1945 (aged 44) Berlin, Germany |
| Cause of death | Suicide by hydrogen cyanide |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Spouse |
Gerda Buch (m. 1929) |
| Children | 10, including Martin Adolf Bormann |
| Relatives | Walter Buch (father-in-law) Albert Bormann (brother) |
| Cabinet | Hitler cabinet |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | Brown Eminence |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Imperial German Army Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1918–1919 1927–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Obergruppenführer |
| Unit | 55th Field Artillery Regiment |
| Service number | 278,267 (SS) |
| Criminal conviction | |
| Criminal status | Deceased before arraignment |
| Conviction(s) | Conspiracy to commit crimes against peace Crimes of aggression War crimes Crimes against humanity |
| Trial | Nuremberg trials |
| Criminal penalty | Death-in-Absentia |
Martin Ludwig Bormann[2] (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery, private secretary to Adolf Hitler, and a war criminal. Bormann gained immense power by using his position as Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information and access to Hitler. He used his position to create an extensive bureaucracy and involve himself as much as possible in the decision making.
Bormann joined a paramilitary Freikorps organisation in 1922 while working as manager of a large estate. He served nearly a year in prison as an accomplice to his friend Rudolf Höss (later commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp) in the murder of Walther Kadow. Bormann joined the Nazi Party in 1927 and the Schutzstaffel (SS) in 1937. He initially worked in the party's insurance service, and transferred in July 1933 to the office of Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, where he served as chief of staff.
Bormann gained acceptance into Hitler's inner circle and accompanied him everywhere, providing briefings and summaries of events and requests. He was appointed as Hitler's personal secretary on 12 April 1943.[3] After Hess's solo flight to Britain on 10 May 1941 to seek peace negotiations with the British government, Bormann assumed Hess's former duties, with the title of Head of the Parteikanzlei (Party Chancellery). He had final approval over civil service appointments, reviewed and approved legislation, and by 1943 had de facto control over all domestic matters. Bormann was one of the leading proponents of the ongoing persecution of the Christian churches and favoured harsh treatment of Jews and Slavs in the areas conquered by Germany during World War II.
Bormann returned with Hitler to the Führerbunker in Berlin on 16 January 1945 as the Red Army approached the city. After Hitler committed suicide, Bormann and others attempted to flee Berlin on 2 May to avoid capture by the Soviets. Bormann probably committed suicide on a bridge near Lehrter station. His body was buried nearby on 8 May 1945, but was not found and confirmed as Bormann's until 1973; the identification was reaffirmed in 1998 by DNA tests. The missing Bormann was tried in absentia by the International Military Tribunal in the Nuremberg trials of 1945 and 1946. He was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging.