Theodore Eike - one of the most famous Nazi criminals during the Third Reich. He played a significant role in the establishment of a dictatorial regime in Germany and other countries.
He was personally acquainted with many prominent figures of the National Socialist Party, took part in the coup, as a result of which Hitler was able to take power into his own hands. Eike was also guilty of many crimes against humanity by running various concentration camps.
Theodore Eike: biography. Youth
Theodore was born on the territory of modern France, in Lorraine. His father was a wealthy landowner and ran a railway station. In 1892, he was born the eleventh child - Theodore Eike. The date of birth is disputed by German historians, however, the generally accepted one is on the seventeenth of October. Theodore studied at the school. However, he was extremely unsuitable for studying and communicating with peers. Due to constant absenteeism and strange behavior, he is expelled from school. Immediately after this, Theodore Eike goes to the army. For two years, he changed several units. He met the beginning of World War II in the Bavarian Infantry Regiment.
First war
Immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, Eike fights on various fronts. Baptism of fire received in Flanders. In the spring of 1915, fierce battles broke out near the city of Ypres. The German army first used chemical weapons. At night, special forces pulled artillery to the front line. The following morning, English positions were bombarded with chlorine. However, the wind blew towards the German fortifications, and many soldiers were poisoned with their own chemical weapons. After Ypres, Theodore Eike leaves for Verdun. It is there that the most difficult battles of that war flare up. In total, about a million people from both sides died in the fields near Verdun. Eike, who received several injuries, is transferred to the reserve corps, where he meets the end of the war.
Post-war life
After the war, Theodore Eike replaced several professions. New German society critically appraises the terrible senseless war. Theodore was unable to adapt to peacetime and was imbued with hatred for the whole of society. He vehemently hates the Weimar Republic formed as a result of the revolution , but at the same time works as a secret informant. In 1928, the National Socialist Party gained popularity. Extreme militarism, revenge and misanthropy fall to Eike's liking, and he joins the Nazis. Three years later, he took the post of platoon commander of the SS - special paramilitary groups that obeyed Himmler.
After a while, Theodore was arrested, but a judge loyal to the Nazis released him. Eike flees to Italy.
There is getting closer to other refugees from Germany. In the thirty-third year, Hitler seizes power. Theoder Eike returns to the country. He was a personal favorite of Himmler, who appoints him to a high position. In spring, the first
concentration camp is created
.Nazi career
Eike becomes the commandant of Dachau. Immediately after taking office, he makes a series of changes. He is in hedgehog gloves holding the entire camp guard. At the same time, it creates terrifying orders in Dachau. For many misconduct, prisoners are executed without trial. Severe exploitation allows you to turn a concentration camp into a profitable enterprise. Himmler appreciated Eike's merits and appointed him to the post of camp inspector. He wants Theodore to personally check other camps and reorganize them following the example of Dachau.
On June thirty-thirty the famous "night of long knives" took place. Theodor Eike and Hitler took a personal part in the elimination of the main opponent Ernts Ryom.
According to some reports, Eike shot Ernst when he came to kill him with his adjutant. After that, he continued to engage in the arrangement of Nazi concentration camps.
Create SS
For tighter control, he creates the paramilitary groups of the Dead Head SS. Immediately after the outbreak of World War II, the Totenkopf units set off east. But the first battle of the Waffen-SS took place in France. All fighters were characterized by fanatical devotion to the ideas of National Socialism. Parts of the SS suffered huge losses, because Theodore Eike did not care much about the personnel. Also, the SS divisions at the beginning of the war became famous for their particular cruelty towards prisoners of war and civilians.
After the outbreak of the war against the Soviet Union, SS units were transferred to the East. There they take part in the occupation of the Baltic states. During this operation, Eike's car is blown up by a mine, and he is injured. At the beginning of 1942, the Dead Head division was fighting in the south of the Eastern Front.
On the eastern front
When Soviet troops begin to counterattack, the Germans go on the defensive. The Eike divisions managed to repel several attacks near Lake Ilmen. However, in the cold winter, the forty-second Red Army managed to carry out an offensive and encircle several German divisions.
During a breakthrough from the environment, "Dead Head" lost most of its personnel.
After that, the German officer Theodor Eike was appointed general of the SS troops, he was also presented for several awards. After that, the Totenkopf was sent again to France, where the division was understaffed. They also participated in the occupation of Vichy France, as Berlin was worried about the loyalty of the Vichy regime. Being on the Western Front, the "Dead Head" continued to organize atrocities, which sharply increased the number of partisan anti-fascist detachments.
Battle for Kharkov
In the winter of forty-third, a new battle broke out for Kharkov.
After the capture of Kursk, Soviet troops advanced rapidly, wishing to free their territory as soon as possible. Already in early February, the first units of the Red Army advanced from Belgorod towards Kharkov. The Dead Head division was transferred to this section of the front. In mid-February, German troops were encircled, and SS divisions, contrary to Hitler's order, retreated. In the course of the subsequent counterattack, the Germans still managed to capture the city.
On February 26, Eike went with an inspection to the Kharkov region. However, his plane managed to bring down machine gun fire from the ground. The leader of the "Dead Head" died on the spot. Initially, he was buried near the village of Artelnoe.
However, on Himmler’s personal order, Eike’s body was sent under Zhitomir so that his grave would be out of the reach of the Red Army. However, in December forty-third, Soviet troops liberated Zhytomyr, and the fate of Eike’s grave is not known. In March, the Völkisher newspaper reported that SS General Theodor Eike had died. Photos and obituaries were posted on the first page.