Who Is Hans Frank? Age, Biography and Wiki
Hans Frank was born on May 23, 1900, in Karlsruhe, Germany. He grew to prominence as a significant figure within National Socialism, notably serving as the Governor-General of occupied Poland during World War II. He was instrumental in various war crimes and atrocities committed against the Jewish population and other groups during the Holocaust. Frank's life ended when he was executed for his wartime actions in 1946, making him a historically significant yet controversial figure.
| Occupation | Politician |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | May 23, 1900 |
| Age | 46 Years |
| Birth Place | Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, German Empire |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | Germany |
| Date of death | 16 October, 1946 |
| Died Place | Nuremberg Prison, Nuremberg, Bavaria, Allied-occupied Germany |
Popularity
Hans Frank's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Hans Frank stood at approximately 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) with a weight that fluctuated during his life due to various factors including his role and lifestyle during the war. While specific body measurements are not publicly detailed, he was noted for his distinctive appearance and presence during his political career.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Hans Frank was married to his wife, Brigitte Frank, with whom he had four children. His family life, like his political career, was impacted by the tumultuous events of the war. The details surrounding his relationships are often overshadowed by his political actions and the legal repercussions that followed. While Frank's actions deeply affected many, information regarding any significant romantic relationships outside of his marriage is not well documented.
While awaiting execution, he wrote his memoirs, Im Angesicht des Galgens (In the Face of the Gallows), later published by his widow. In the capacity as his attorney, Frank was privy to personal details of Hitler's life.
In his memoirs, Frank made the sensational claim that Hitler had commissioned him to investigate Hitler's family in 1930 after a "blackmail letter" had been received from Hitler's nephew, William Patrick Hitler, who allegedly threatened to reveal embarrassing facts about his uncle's ancestry.
Frank said that the investigation uncovered evidence that Maria Schicklgruber, Hitler's paternal grandmother, had been working as a cook in the household of a Jewish man named Leopold Frankenberger before she gave birth to Hitler's father, Alois, out of wedlock.
Frank claimed that he had obtained from a relative of Hitler's by marriage a collection of letters between Maria Schicklgruber and a member of the Frankenberger family that discussed a stipend for her after she left the family's employ.
According to Frank, Hitler told him that the letters did not prove that the Frankenberger son was his father but rather his grandmother had merely extorted money from Frankenberger by threatening to claim his paternity of her illegitimate child.
Net Worth and Salary
At the time of his death, Hans Frank's net worth is not accurately reflected in financial terms due to the nature of his political affiliations and the subsequent loss of fortune following his execution and the confiscation of assets. During his tenure, however, he wielded considerable influence, although specific salary figures remain elusive in historical records.
Given that all Jews had been expelled from the province of Styria (which includes Graz) in the 15th century and were not allowed to return until the 1860s, scholars such as Ian Kershaw and Brigitte Hamann dismiss as baseless the "Frankenberger hypothesis", which before had only Frank's speculation to support it.
More recent scholarship by Leonard Sax points out that many Jews lived in places without official sanction and demonstrated the existence of a settled Jewish community in Graz before the law formally permitted their residence.
Nevertheless, there is no evidence outside of Frank's statements for the existence of a "Leopold Frankenberger" living in Graz in the 1830s, and Frank's story is inaccurate on several points such as the claim that Maria Schicklgruber came from "Leonding near Linz", when in fact she came from the hamlet of Strones near the village of Döllersheim.
Some suggest that Frank (who turned against Nazism in his defence after 1945 but remained an anti-Semitic fanatic) made the claim that Hitler had Jewish ancestry as a way of proving that Hitler was really a "Jew" and not an "Aryan", and in this way "proved" that the Third Reich's crimes were the work of the "Jewish" Hitler.
The full anti-Semitic implications of Frank's story were borne out in a letter entitled "Was Hitler a Jew?", written to the editor of a Saudi newspaper in 1982 by a German man living in Saudi Arabia.
The writer accepted Frank's story as the truth, and added since Hitler was a Jew, "the Jews should pay Germans reparations for the War, because one of theirs caused the destruction of Germany".
Career, Business and Investments
Hans Frank's career was deeply intertwined with the Nazi regime. He ascended through various political ranks which included roles as a lawyer and politician before eventually becoming the Governor-General of occupied Poland. His administration is marked by the enforcement of Nazi policies, leading to immense human suffering. Post-World War II, he was tried at the Nuremberg Trials where he was held accountable for war crimes. His investments were primarily in ideology and party loyalty rather than traditional financial investments.
Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). He took part in the failed Beer Hall Putsch, and later became Adolf Hitler's personal legal adviser as well as the lawyer of the NSDAP. In June 1933, he was named as a Reichsleiter (Reich Leader) of the party.
In December 1934, Frank joined the Hitler Cabinet as a Reichsminister without portfolio.
Social Network
Throughout his political career, Hans Frank was closely linked with high-ranking Nazi officials including Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. These connections shaped his career and decisions during the war. However, the legacy of his actions isolated him from any social network post-war as he was condemned globally for his roles in the atrocities committed.
When this was read to him at the Nuremberg trials he said:"One has to take the diary as a whole. You cannot go through 43 volumes and pick out single sentences and separate them from their context. I would like to say here that I do not want to argue or quibble about individual phrases.
It was a wild and stormy period filled with terrible passions, and when a whole country is on fire and a life and death struggle is going on, such words may easily be used... Some of the words are terrible. I myself must admit that I was shocked at many of the words which I had used...
A thousand years will pass and still this guilt of Germany will not have been erased." An assassination attempt by the Polish Secret State on 29/30 January 1944 (the night preceding the 11th anniversary of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany) in Szarów near Kraków failed.
A special train with Frank travelling to Lemberg/Lvov/Lviv was derailed after an explosive device discharged but no one was killed. Around 100 Polish hostages from Montelupich prison were executed as a punishment for the act.
Education
Hans Frank received a law degree from the University of Munich and was active in student politics, aligning with the nationalist and anti-Semitic sentiments prevalent at the time. His education provided a foundation for his legal career; however, it was ultimately used to justify and facilitate his involvement in the Nazi legal machinery which contributed to the horrors of the Holocaust.
He graduated from high school at Maximilians gymnasium in Munich. At seventeen he joined the German Army fighting in World War I, but did not serve time at the front.
