Kurt Daluege was born in Kreuzburg on September 15,
1897. He joined the German Army and during the First World War he was
decorated for bravery.
After the war, Daluege worked as an engineer. He was
also active in the Freikorps before joining the National
Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) in 1922. He formed the first
Sturm Abteilung (SA) unit in Berlin before transferring to the Schutzstaffel
(SS) in 1928 where he worked closely with Heinrich
Himmler.
In 1933,
Daluege was elected to the Reichstag and soon afterwards Hermann
Goering moved him to the Prussian Ministry of the Interior where
he took over the police force. Goering now took control of all the police
forces in Germany and placed Daluege in charge of what now became known
as the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo).
Deluege also established the Kameradschaftsbund Deutscher
Polizebeamten, an organization of police officials responsible for the
suppression of internal revolt. During the Second World War Daluege
became second in command to Reinhard
Heydrich in the Schutzstaffel
(SS).
When Hans
Frank failed to take sufficient action after the assassination of
Heydrich in May, 1942, Adolf
Hitler and Heinrich Himmler sent Daluege to Prague and appointed
him as Protector of Czechoslovakia. Daluege's reprisals included the
destruction of Lidice. The village was razed to the ground and its 173
male inhabitants were murdered and the 198 women were sent to Ravensbueck.
Altogether, 256 Czechs were condemned to death for aiding the assassination
plot.
At the end of the Second
World War, Daluege was arrested and tried for war
crimes. Convicted by a Czech court, Kurt Daluege was hanged in Prague
on October 24, 1946.
