Karl Hanke - Government Service

Government Service

Adolf Hitler took an early liking to outspoken and handsome young Hanke, and in April 1932, Hanke became a NSDAP delegate to Prussian State Parliament (Landtag). Later in 1932, Hanke was elected to the German Parliament (Reichstag) on the slate of the NSDAP, representing Potsdam, he would hold this seat until the end of the war.

Hanke again secured a task for Albert Speer in July 1932, having him build a headquarters for the Berlin NSDAP in the centre of the city (at Voßstraße 11). Following the Nazi takeover of power and the parliamentary elections of March 1933, Goebbels established the Propaganda Ministry (Propagandaministerium). Hanke followed his boss there as personal aide. In 1938, he was promoted to State Secretary (Deputy Minister) in the Propaganda Ministry.

Skillfully solidifying his position within the party and with Hitler, Hanke joined the "General SS" (Allgemeine-SS) in early 1934, attached to the 6th SS-Standarte. He later performed a temporary duty assignment as a special duties officer on the staff of the Reichsfuhrer-SS (1935–36), and became second vice president of the Reichskulturkammer (Reich Chamber of Culture) in 1937.

Hanke's seemingly unstoppable ascent on the coattails of Goebbels came to a sudden, albeit temporary, halt when he was drawn into the marital affairs of Joseph Goebbels and his wife, Magda. Goebbels had many extramarital affairs, notably with actresses. In 1938, Magda appeared ready to abandon her marriage when Goebbels had a liaison with a young Czech actress - Lída Baarová. Hanke sided with Magda, to whom he was attracted and who apparently seemed willing to leave Goebbels for him. Both affairs were finally stopped by an order from Hitler.

In 1939, Hanke volunteered for military service, having previously obtained a reserve officer's commission. From September to October 1939, he served with the 3rd Panzer Division in Poland. In May and June 1940, Hanke served under General Erwin Rommel with the 7th Panzer Division in France, receiving the Iron Cross in Second and First Class, and being recommended for, but not receiving, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was discharged from the German Army in 1941 with the rank of 1st Lieutenant (Oberleutnant).

In Breslau, Hitler appointed Hanke to the position of (Gauleiter) of Lower Silesia. One year later, SS (Schutzstaffel) Chief Heinrich Himmler promoted him to the rank of SS General (SS-Gruppenführer). Hanke was a fanatical enforcer of Nazi policy: during his rule in Breslau more than 1000 people were executed on his orders, earning him the moniker "Hangman of Breslau".

Hanke also had a long affair with Baroness Freda von Fircks in Breslau, the daughter of a wealthy landowner and University of Berlin lecturer. They were finally married on 25 November 1944, after she bore him his only child, a daughter, in December 1943.