Erich Koch
Gauleiter of East Prussia Reichskomissar in Ukraine

Erich Koch (June 19, 1896, Elberfeld - November 12, 1986, Barczewo) was a Gauleiter of the NSDAP in East Prussia from 1928 until 1945, and Reichskomissar in Ukraine from 1941 until 1944. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 151 × 190 pixelsFull resolution (151 × 190 pixel, file size: 4 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)German government photograph, fair use as it serves to illustrate the subject in question and is a lower resolution than found on other websites This work... A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Elberfeld is a district of the German town Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barczewo (German: Wartenburg/Ostpreussen) is a place in the Powiat Olsztyn, Warmia i Mazury voivodship, Poland. ... A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau. ... The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ...

Early life and First World War

Erich Koch was born on June 18 1896 in Elberfeld, today part of Wuppertal, as son of foreman. As skilled trader Koch joined railway service as aspirant for the middle grade of the civil service. In First World War he was soldier from 1915 till 1918 and later fought as member of Freikorps in Upper Silesia. Wuppertal university Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... A foreman is the leader of a group of workers, often in a construction industry. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The designation of Freikorps (German for Free Corps, i. ... Map of Upper Silesia, 1746 Upper Silesia (Polish: Górny Śląsk, German: Oberschlesien, Czech: Horní Slezsko) is the south-eastern part of Silesia, a historical and geographical region of Poland (Opole Voivodship and Silesian Voivodship) and of the Czech Republic (Silesian-Moravian Region). ...

Rise in NSDAP

Erich Koch joined the NSDAP in 1922. During Occupation of the Ruhr he was member of Albert Leo Schlageter group and was imprisoned several times by the French authorities. In 1927 he became Bezirksführer of NSDAP in Essen and later deputy Gauleiter of NSDAP-Gau Ruhr. The Occupation of the Varun Balan in 1923 and 1924, by troops from France and Belgium was a response to the failure of German Weimar Republic under Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I. Initiated by French Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré, the invasion took place on... Portuguese tall ship, a sister of the Gorch Fock. ... Essen is a city in the center of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

Gauleiter of East Prussia

In 1928 he became Gauleiter of East Prussia province, and from September 1930 a member of Reichstag. After Machtergreifung he became Oberpräsident of East Prussia. In 1938 Koch was appointed SA-Obergruppenführer. The Reichstag (German for Imperial Diet) was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945. ... Machtergreifung is a German word meaning seizure of power. ...

Second World War

At the beginning of World War II Koch was appointed Reichsverteidigungskommissar for East Prussia. After the end of the Polish September Campaign he had to cede the West Prussian district, on October 26, 1939 to the new Reichsgau Westpreußen, later renamed to Danzig-West Prussia, and was instead added to Regierungsbezirk Zichenau. These new areas approximately covered the area between the rivers Vistula and Narew. Soon after the invasion of the Soviet Union, Koch was appointed Zivilkommissar on August 1, 1941, and later as Chief of Civil Administration in the Białystok district. On September 1, Koch became Reichskomissar of Reichskommissariat Ukraine. His domain was extended from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea; it comprised German, Polish and Ukrainian areas. Combatants Poland Germany, Soviet Union, Slovakia Commanders Edward Rydz-ÅšmigÅ‚y Fedor von Bock (Army Group North), Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group South), Mikhail Kovalov (Belorussian Front), Semyon Timoshenko (Ukrainian Front), Ferdinand ÄŒatloÅ¡ (Field Army Bernolak) Strength 39 divisions, 16 brigades, 4,300 guns, 880 tanks, 400 aircraft Total: 950... The Vistula (Polish: ) is with 1,047 kilometers (678 miles) the longest river in Poland. ... Narew (Belarusian: На́раў) is a river in western Belarus and north-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river. ... Combatants Germany, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler, Ion Antonescu, C.G.E. Mannerheim, Benito Mussolini, Miklós Horthy, Jozef Tiso Joseph Stalin Strength ~3. ... BiaÅ‚ystok (pronounced: , Belarusian: , Lithuanian: , Yiddish ביאַליסטאָק) is the largest city (pop. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

As the Russian forces advanced into his area during 1945, Koch escaped through the Baltic Sea between April 23, 1945 and May 7, 1945 on the icebreaker Ostpreußen. From Pillau through Hel Peninsula, Rügen and Copenhagen he arrived at Flensburg, where he hid himself. He was captured by British forces in Hamburg in May 1949. Icebreaker Polarstern Track of research vessel Polarstern while breaking ice in the Southern Ocean An icebreaker is a special purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. ... Hel Peninsula as seen from Landsat satellite in 2000 Kitesurfing, Hel Peninsula Hel Peninsula (Polish Mierzeja Helska, Kashubian Hélskô Sztremlëzna, German Halbinsel Hela) is a 35-km-long sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Rügen Rügen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ... Flensburg (Danish: Flensborg, Low Saxon: Flensborg, North Frisian: Flansborj) is an independent town in the North of the German state Schleswig-Holstein. ... Hamburg from above Hamburgs motto: May the posterity endeavour with dignity to conserve the freedom, which the forefathers acquired. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Trial and imprisonment

The Soviet Union demanded Koch's extradition, but the British government decided to pass him on to the Polish government instead. Extradited to Poland, he was sentenced to death on March 9, 1959 for war crimes against the Poles, but was never put on trial for crimes committed in Ukraine. His death sentence was never carried out, and many people believed that he traded his life for information about art looted by the Nazis during the war, including parts of the famous Amber Room. There is no proof of this story. He died of natural causes in prison at Barczewo (Wartenburg), near Olsztyn (Allenstein), in the heart of (former) East Prussia. Extradition is the official process by which one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926). ... Looting (which derives via the Hindi lut from Sanskrit lunt, to rob), sacking, or plundering is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war [1], natural disaster [2], rioting [3], or terrorist attack... The original Amber Room (Russian Янтарная комната, German: ) in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoe Selo near Saint Petersburg was a complete chamber decoration of amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors. ... Barczewo (German: Wartenburg/Ostpreussen) is a place in the Powiat Olsztyn, Warmia i Mazury voivodship, Poland. ... Olsztyn ( ; German: ; Old Prussian: Alnāsteini) is a city in northeast Poland, on the Łyna river. ...