The name of the man who stood at the origins of German Nazism is not known to many. He became the best friend of Adolf Hitler and one of the first members of the NSDAP. Who is it? Emil Maurice is a Jewish watchmaker who was born into a wealthy family. His father ran a fertilizer plant, but things went well not so long. The factory eventually went bankrupt, and the young Maurice had to get a profession that could feed him.
Emil Maurice went to study as a watchmaker with one of the good craftsmen. Then the First World War began, but while Emil's peers were dying on the battlefields, he managed to escape the draft. The young man entered the army only at the end of hostilities, and while he was training, the war was already over. Formally, Maurice was listed as part of the German armed forces, but in fact he did not have time to take part in the hostilities.
Troubled times
In 1919, the mobilized Maurice returned to Munich. Germany at that time was shaken by important events: the collapse of the economy, the defeat in the war, the revolution. The problem of the lost generation appeared, because so many soldiers and officers who came from the war could not find a place. All this has caused instability in the country. But Emil Maurice did not lose much after the revolution. His profession remained in demand, but the young man still responded quite vividly to social events.
Party meetings
He became a frequent guest of the meetings held by the German Workers' Party, founded by A. Drexler. In fact, this was not an organized formation, but only a circle of like-minded people who discussed ways to get out of the crisis over a glass of beer and sometimes spoke to proletarians who had rest after work in the same pubs. Around the same time, a military man Adolf Hitler began to visit the gatherings. At first, he went to meetings as an official necessity, but over time, he was inspired by the ideas of the circle.
Hitler's speech at the training camp of the German Workers' Party was always incredibly expressive, which distinguished him from other visitors to the meetings. People began to consciously come to listen to the speeches of Adolf Hitler. In the fall of 1919, the most violent anti-Semite in the history of mankind, as it turns out in the future, joined the party. The leaders of the camps decided to give solidity to their undertaking, so party tickets were issued starting from the 500th number. Adolf Hitler received ticket number 555, that is, he actually became the 55th member of the German Workers' Party. Soon Emil Maurice joined the movement, receiving the 594th ticket.
Stormtrooper Chef
At the beginning of its existence, the party was insignificant, and the number of participants was so small that they knew each other personally. Adolf Hitler and Emil Maurice became close. It turned out that they live almost in the neighborhood, and Maurice was quite active in boxing in his youth. This was an important fact, given that party rallies were often attacked by political opponents.
After several attacks during the meetings, special guard groups were formed. The group was controlled by a Jew, Emil Maurice. Thanks to the support of Rem, who served in the Reichswehr, the activists managed to get uniforms, batons and some weapons from state warehouses. In order not to arouse suspicion on the part of the authorities, the units were renamed gymnastic and sports, but among themselves they called each other attack aircraft. Thus, Emil Maurice became the first chief of the Sturmabteilung assault squads (abbreviated SA).
At the beginning of November 1921, a mass brawl took place in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall, which became an important page in all of Nazi mythology. This event was called the "Battle in the hall." During Hitler’s speech, the Reds broke into the pub and began to beat supporters of the German Workers' Party. A fight ensued. Fifty stormtroopers managed to beat off four hundred communists.
Supporters Suspicion
Soon, Emil Maurice was removed from the post of leader of the assault squads. They were unhappy with the veterans who were drawn into the party. Maurice was not at the front and looked like a Jew. A dark-skinned brunette with curly hair could not be a purebred Aryan. The combination of these factors has caused discontent among the supporters of the ideas of the workers' party. Behind him, it was said that a Jew led people who shed blood for Germany.
Adolf Hitler and Emil Maurice were pretty close by then, but the future Reich Chancellor, being a consistent, ambitious and cautious politician, sacrificed his friendship. Maurice resigned, but received much more in return. Hitler, who trusted him, made the watchmaker his bodyguard and created a headquarters guard. Emil Maurice selected the most reliable people in it. At first there were twenty people in the detachment, but later their number increased to almost a hundred. Maurice was not the immediate supervisor, but did not take the last place.
Beer putsch failure
Hitler's associate took an active part in the Beer putsch. With arms in his hands, he stood next to the future Fuhrer, who proclaimed that the revolution had begun, and after that he seized the local editorial office of one of the red newspapers on behalf of Hitler. After the failure, Maurice was sent to prison, and all party structures were dissolved. The watchmaker was released a month later than Hitler, and the latter came in person to meet an old friend from prison.
Create SS
After the liberation of the activists of the German Workers' Party, they had to start all over again. Hitler had doubts about the loyalty of the assault detachments, which placed themselves above the Führer, so he decided to create a new organization. It was planned to assemble a personal guard, unquestioningly loyally personally Adolf Hitler. People were recruited from the former headquarters guard and shock detachment. Only eight people returned, who became the first members of the guard units. Around the world, these units are better known by the abbreviation SS. Emil Maurice became the second member of the SS.
Moris's betrayal
Adolf Hitler persuaded the old friend to marry, but among the millions of girls Emil Maurice chose the one that was impossible to marry. Geli Raubal is the Fuhrer’s native niece, whom he tyrannically patronized, could not stand it and laid hands on herself. Hitler would approve of any choice of a friend, but not the choice of his niece. Then Maurice left the SS and decided through the court to take everything from the party that he was not paid extra.
When Emil Maurice really filed a lawsuit against the party, it was perceived as a real betrayal. The judge decided the case in his favor, obliging the German Workers' Party to pay the activist the remuneration due to him. Then the Nazis faced serious financial problems, but were forced to pay. With this money, Emil Maurice, whose photo can be viewed below, opened a watch store and returned to the old profession.
Friendship renewal
The old comrades did not communicate for four years after this unpleasant incident. Adolf Hitler quickly moved to power, and Emil Maurice worked as a watchmaker. When the Nazis finally seized power, Maurice met Hitler. He was reinstated and awarded the honorary badge of the party. Some historians believe that during the "night of the long knives" Emil Maurice took part in the arrests of attack aircraft and several executions, but he himself denied this during post-war interrogations.
The biography of Emil Maurice soon replenished with an important event. The watchmaker got married. Hitler promised to come to the wedding, but never did, although he sent the newlyweds a considerable sum of money as a gift. After returning to the party, Emil Maurice no longer held high posts and had virtually no influence on public policy, but remained a close friend of the Fuhrer.
Issue of origin
Known interesting fact - Emil Maurice became the best friend and active ally of Adolf Hitler, being a Jew. Himmler decided to open his eyes to the Führer - a creepy careerist who always envied Hitler's old associates who had known him from the very beginning of the movement. Himmler wrote a letter in which he noted that Maurice did not have documents confirming Aryan origin. Hitler took it quite calmly and explained that he allowed Emil Maurice to remain in the SS.
Last years
In May 1945, Emil Maurice was arrested in his own home by American forces. During interrogations, he did not admit to many years of friendly relations with Hitler, posing as an ordinary watchmaker who was not related to party affairs. The Americans divided all the suspects into five groups according to the degree of guilt in the crimes committed by the Nazis. Maurice was ranked as the second: the accused, who had a certain significance, but not related to the main crimes.
It was known that Maurice was at the beginning of the movement, could not find any evidence of his crimes. The sentence was four years in prison, but Emil Maurice appealed, pointing to his Jewish background. The decision was reviewed, and the former activist of the German Labor Party was released.
After his release Emil Maurice returned to the old profession of watchmaker. He died in Munich in 1972 in the seventy-sixth year of his life. In recent years, he tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. In the house, Emil Maurice hung a portrait of his great-grandfather, a Jew, who was an outstanding theater figure. Nothing indicated that a man lived in this house, once a close friend of Adolf Hitler.