Franz Xaver Schwarz: The Ultimate Guide to Hidden Stories
Franz Xaver Schwarz (November 27, 1875 — December 2, 1947) held a prominent position within the German Nazi Party, serving as the National Treasurer (Reichsschatzmeister) for the majority of its existence. Additionally, he held a prominent role within the Schutzstaffel (SS) and was among its highest-ranking members.
Early life
Schwarz was born in Günzburg, the seventh of eight children to a master baker and his wife. He received his education up to high school level at the Günzburger vocational training school. On August 26, 1899, Schwarz married Berta Breher. From 1900 to 1924, with the exception of the war years from 1914 to 1918, he worked as an “administrative official” in the municipal government of Munich.
During World War I, Schwarz served as a warrant officer (Feldwebelleutnant) in the Imperial German Army. Initially a platoon leader, he was spared field duty from January 1916 onward due to persistent gastric troubles that affected him throughout his life. Following the war, he was discharged with a 30 percent war disability pension, placed in the reserves, and commissioned as a Leutnant in 1920. Schwarz then took on an administrative role in the Munich City Council.
In 1919, Schwarz became a member of the Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund, the largest and most influential antisemitic organization in the Weimar Republic.
Nazi Party career
In 1922, Schwarz became a member of the Nazi Party and took part in the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. Following the government’s ban on the Party, Schwarz joined the Greater German People’s Community, a Nazi front organization in Munich. He served as the Treasurer of its governing board from July 9, 1924, until its dissolution.
Upon the re-establishment of the Nazi Party on February 27, 1925, Schwarz promptly rejoined as the sixth party member. Leaving his position as an accountant at Munich City Hall, he assumed the role of the full-time Treasurer of the Nazi Party on March 21, 1925. Schwarz played a crucial role in rebuilding the party’s financial and administrative functions, including raising funds for the publication of Adolf Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf. In April–May 1930, Schwarz negotiated the acquisition of the party headquarters, the Brown House at 45 Brienner Straße in Munich.
From December 1929 to October 1934, Schwarz served as a City Councilor in Munich. Starting on September 16, 1931, Hitler granted Schwarz plenipotentiary powers over all financial matters of the Nazi Party.
After the Nazis seized power, Schwarz was elected to the Reichstag in March 1933, representing electoral constituency 26, Franconia, and remained in office until the fall of the Nazi regime. On June 2, 1933, he was appointed a Reichsleiter (Reich Leader), the second-highest political rank in the Nazi Party. Additionally, on October 2, 1933, Schwarz became a member of the Academy for German Law.
Hitler attended Schwarz’s 60th birthday celebration on November 27, 1935. In Hitler’s will dated May 2, 1938, which left his entire fortune to the party, there was a provision for it to be opened in Schwarz’s presence.
In addition to overseeing the party treasury, primarily funded by membership dues, Schwarz was responsible for the allocation of unique membership numbers within the NSDAP. The numbers were not reused if members died or ceased payment, resulting in the assignment of new numbers for rejoining members. Schwarz, recognized as a proficient administrator, generally stayed out of party politics.
SA and SS membership
On December 18, 1931, Schwarz was appointed as a Gruppenführer in the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. In June 1932, he joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) with the rank of Gruppenführer and was assigned SS member number 38,500. On July 1, 1933, he was promoted to the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer. Subsequently, on November 9, 1933, his SA rank was elevated to Obergruppenführer. Finally, on April 20, 1942, he achieved the newly established rank of SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer, a distinction held by only four individuals in history.
On June 5, 1944, Schwarz was honored with the War Merit Cross, 1st class with Swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse mit Schwertern) by Hitler for his contributions during the Munich air raids on April 24–25 of that year. Additionally, Schwarz led a Volkssturm battalion in Grünwald towards the end of the war. Following the war, he was apprehended by the Americans and interned at Camp Ashcan.
Death
Schwarz passed away in a different Allied internment camp near Regensburg on December 2, 1947, at the age of 72, succumbing to persistent gastric troubles. In September 1948, the Munich denazification court posthumously categorized Schwarz as a “major offender,” leading to the confiscation of all his assets.
