Lei Robert was one of the Fuhrer’s associates, who were also very faithful. Thanks to scientific knowledge and good relations with Hitler, he successfully moved up the career ladder. Lei was able to rise from Reichsleiter to the head of the German Labor Front.
How did his career develop during the years of world wars? What circumstances led him to clinical death? How did the adherent of the Fuhrer pass away? Read about all this in the article.
Youth
Robert Ley was born on 02.15.1890 in Niederbreidenbach in a family of large landowners. His father and mother, Frederick and Emilia, were in great debt by this time.
Young Robert was able to get education at two universities, choosing the chemistry department. He studied in Jena and Bonn.
Participation in the war of 1914-1918
By the start of the fighting, Robert was twenty-four years old. From the first days he went to serve as a volunteer. At first he was an artilleryman, later became a pilot. At the same time, Robert Ley was awarded the Iron Cross.
By the end of the war, the pilot was on the verge of death. It happened on 07/29/1917, when his plane was shot down over the territory of France. He was seriously injured due to an emergency landing, including a concussion. All this led to the clinical death that Lei survived. In the captive hospital, he underwent the necessary operations. They even thought of amputating one leg, but they managed with plaster, which was imposed for ten months.
Robert was able to return to Germany only in 1920. He married his former wife Hesse. At the same time he defended his thesis on the creation of artificial rubber, which was necessary when creating automobile wheels. This gave him the opportunity to get a doctorate and find a job at a chemical plant in Leverkusen.
Relations with the NSDAP
At thirty-three, Robert Ley joined the NSDAP. This happened after the Beer putsch, when Hitler read his speech at the trial that followed the event. Two years later, in 1925, his career began. Ley became a Gauleiter in the Rhineland-South, and later became a member of the Prussian Landtag.
When a conflict arose between Gregor Strasser and Hitler, the future Ph.D. took the side of Adolf. This was followed by a continuation of his career growth. In 1933 he received the post of head of the organizational department of the NSDAP. A year later he was appointed Fuhrer of the Labor Front. What activity did Lei develop in his new position?
Labor front
Starting work in 1933, Robert Ley immediately took up the union heads. With the support of industrialists, he was able to arrest union leaders. As a result, Robert became the sole head of the working population of Germany. The trade unions dissolved, their property was seized. Two years later, Lei announced that there was no longer a class struggle in the state.
The head decided to support the German Labor Front with the help of the organization "Strength through Joy" created by him. She was supposed to organize and spend the rest of the workers, receiving large subsidies from the government. With her assistance, even a folk car was created, designed for the needs of an ordinary worker. So, Ferdinand Porsche created the Volkswagen. But soon social programs had to be curtailed. The reason for this was the militarization of the country.
In order to strengthen the budget of ordinary families, Lei announced the holding of a nationwide company that fought drunkenness.
Relations with Hitler
Lei Robert was faithful to Hitler and retained this loyalty to the very end. However, he was not afraid of him like many. For example, Lei could smoke in the presence of the Fuhrer, blowing smoke into his face, knowing that he was panicky afraid of dying from lung cancer.
Nuremberg trials
After the defeat in World War II, many war criminals were arrested by the Allied forces and sent to Nuremberg to conduct the International Tribunal over them . The following charges were brought against Leah:
- A conspiracy aimed at waging an aggressive war.
- The commission of war crimes.
- The commission of crimes against humanity.
After the accusations were read to him, the Ph.D. did not wait for the process and committed suicide in the cell. He managed to do this with a towel, which he hung from the sewer. Everything happened on 10/25/1945.
There is evidence that shortly before committing suicide, he talked with a prison psychologist and was depressed. Lei did not understand why he was accused of crimes of which he knew nothing. A suicide note was also found in which the accused wrote that he could not bear the feeling of shame that he was experiencing because of what was happening to him.
His associates spoke rather sharply about Robert's act. So, Goering said that he was glad of his death. The former Reichsmarschall stated that he would have been afraid for the behavior of this person, since the Obergruppenführer of the SA was always absent-minded in his eyes and had the habit of delivering fantastic and pompous speeches. He also stated that, under normal conditions, his comrade in arms would have killed himself to death.