Friedrich Karl Florian

He entered military service in August, 1914, as a Kriegsfreiwilliger and was assigned to Grenadier-Regiment 1 (Garrison: Königsberg). He served in the unit until 1916, when he volunteered for the Fliegertruppe and was assigned after training to Jagdstaffel (Jasta) 51 in Jagdgeschwader Richthofen. Shot down and captured by British troops in May, 1918, he was released from captivity in November, 1919. In the postwar years, he was active in the resistance to the French occupation of the Ruhr.

He joined the Nazi Party on 18 August 1925, member number 16,699.[1] He was named Gauleiter of Gau Düsseldorf on 1 August 1930. In September 1930 he was elected a member of the Reichstag from electoral district 22, Düsseldorf. In April 1932, he became a member of the Prussian State Council. On 25 September 1933 he became an SA Gruppenführer, and on 30 January 1937 was promoted to an SA Obergruppenführer. On 1 May 1936, he was appointed to the Reichsleitung, the national Nazi Party leadership. On 16 November 1942, he was named Reich Defense Commissioner for his Gau.[2]

During his stay in Düsseldorf, the racialist, right-wing journalist Lothrop Stoddard described Florian thus: "He was a distinctly sinister-looking type; hard-faced, with a cruel eye and a still crueler mouth. A sadist, if I ever saw one. I can imagine how unpopular he must be among the good-natured, kindly Duesseldorfers.'"[3]

Captured by US forces on 17 April 1945, he made two unsuccessful suicide attempts while in custody.[4] He remained a convinced Nazi after the war and maintained contact to former associates from the Nazi era.[5] He was charged with ordering the execution of five Düsseldorf citizens who had attempted to surrender the city to the US Army in April 1945 but was acquitted.[6] Shortly afterward in June 1949, Florian was convicted by the anti-Nazification court and was sentenced to six years in prison because of his leadership role in the Nazi Party. He was released in 1951.[4]

• 1914 Iron Cross Second Class[7]
• Golden Party Badge, c.1933[8]
• Honour Chevron for the Old Guard, February 1934[8]
• The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords, 1934[8]
• Anschluss Medal, c.1938[8]
• Sudetenland Medal, c.1939[7]

• Miller, Michael; Schulz, Andreas (2012). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945, Vol. 1. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 1932970215.
• Miller, Michael (2015). Leaders Of The Storm Troops Volume 1. England: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-909982-87-1.

• Picture of Friedrich Karl Florian
• Newspaper clippings about Friedrich Karl Florian in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW