Unmasking Ernst Wilhelm Bohle: What They Don’t Tell You!
Formative Years.
Originating in Bradford, England, Bohle emerged as the progeny of Hermann Bohle (1876–1943), an erudite educator and engineer who had transplanted himself to England. In 1906, the Bohle clan resettled in Cape Town, where Hermann Bohle undertook a professorial role in electrical engineering. Bohle underwent scholastic pursuits in Cape Town before embarking on studies in political sciences and business administration in Cologne and Berlin. His triumph culminated with the attainment of a business management degree at the Handelshochschule, Berlin, in December 1923. On November 14, 1925, he entered into matrimony with Gertrud Bachmann. Commencing his occupational journey as a branch overseer and agent in the import-export sphere in the Rheinland from 1924 to 1930, Bohle proceeded to establish and oversee a consequential automotive enterprise in Hamburg from 1930 until June 1933.
Ascension in the Nazi Ranks
Ernst Bohle formalized his allegiance to the Nazi Party on March 1, 1932, securing membership number 999,185. Notably, on September 13, 1936, he embraced SS affiliation, obtaining membership number 276,915, and ascending to the position of SS-Brigadeführer. His trajectory within the SS unfolded, resulting in successive promotions to SS-Gruppenführer on April 20, 1937, and to SS-Obergruppenführer on June 21, 1943.
In the early months of 1932, Bohle assumed the pivotal role of adjutant to Hans Nieland, overseeing the Foreign Organisation of the NSDAP (NSDAP Auslands-Organisation; NSDAP/AO). Initially tasked with South and South-West Africa, and subsequently entrusted with North America, Nieland stepped down in May 1933. Bohle then assumed leadership of the NSDAP Department for Germans Abroad, under the purview of Deputy-Führer Rudolf Hess. On February 17, 1934, the office underwent reconfiguration as Auslands-Organisation der NSDAP, and Bohle ascended to the position of Gauleiter.
Hermann Bohle, the father of Ernst Bohle, served as NSDAP/AO Landesgruppenleiter in the Union of South Africa from 1932 to 1934, later assuming the presidency of the German South-African Society in Berlin in 1938.
From November 12, 1933, until the demise of Nazi Germany in 1945, Bohle served as a Reichstag member for electoral constituency 31 (Württemberg). Furthermore, from December 1937 to May 1945, he held the role of State Secretary in the Reichsministry of Foreign Affairs. Owing to his British lineage, speculations arose regarding Bohle’s potential appointment by Hitler as the future Gauleiter of Britain. Although mentioned as a prospective successor to Reichsminister Joachim von Ribbentrop in the international press, Bohle’s impact at the Foreign Office was somewhat embellished. He also played a pivotal role as a confidant and aide to Rudolf Hess, the Deputy Führer, particularly during Hess’ ill-fated peace mission to Great Britain in May 1941.
Legal Proceedings and Verdict
Ernst Bohle yielded to US forces on May 23, 1945, in Falkenau, subsequently finding himself interned in Camp Ashcan alongside fellow high-ranking Nazi figures. His role as a defense witness during the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg on March 25, 1946, constituted a momentous occurrence. Later, Bohle encountered trial as a defendant in the “Ministries Trial,” a consequential chapter in the post-Nuremberg legal proceedings.
Although absolved of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the tribunal deemed Bohle and his department culpable for influencing German business entities to dismiss Jewish employees engaged in foreign occupations. The tribunal characterized these actions as morally reprehensible but outside the explicit charges delineated in the indictment or prescribed by the London Charter and Control Council Law №10.
In an unprecedented move, Bohle stood as the solitary defendant in the Subsequent Nuremberg trials to enter a plea of guilt. Acknowledging his affiliation with the SS, he collaborated with the prosecution against other defendants. Prior to his guilty plea, Bohle delivered a formal declaration recognizing the imperative of honesty in acknowledging the atrocities committed during the National Socialist regime, pledging to restore Germany’s national honor.
On April 11, 1949, Bohle received a five-year prison sentence. Despite facing animosity from fellow SS members at Landsberg Prison due to his cooperation and guilty plea, leading to his solitary confinement, he gained a modicum of freedom later, albeit assigned to laborious tasks. Granted release on December 21, 1949, before completing his full sentence, Bohle returned to his life as a merchant in Hamburg.
Post-release, Bohle observed the lingering influence of Nazi ideologies among West German youth, finding them receptive to his insights due to his close association with Hitler. He asserted that Hitler had descended into madness in the war’s final months, possibly as early as 1943, suggesting the leader’s mental instability predating the conflict.
Advocating for the resurgence of an organization fostering German-South African interstate commerce, Bohle passed away in Düsseldorf. Robert Kempner, who encountered Bohle at Landsberg Prison, remembered him as one of the few inmates genuinely remorseful and seeking forgiveness for his involvement in the Nazi regime.
