Date of birth:

November 6th, 1899 (Bad Schwartau/Prussia, German Empire)

Date of death:

October 18th, 1942 (LübeckSchleswig-Holstein, Germany)

Service number:

2.805.153 (NSDAP)

Nationality:

German

Hans Böhmcker, son of a lawyer from Bad Schwartau, served in World War I before earning a doctorate in law. He became a judge in Lübeck and joined the NSDAP in 1933. That year, he was appointed Senator for Justice, promoting the Nazi policy of Gleichschaltung. As Senate Commissioner for Church Affairs, he restructured the Evangelical Lutheran Church in line with Nazi ideology, installing Erwin Balzer as bishop and suppressing dissent—deploying the Gestapo to silence opposition from the Confessing Church.

Böhmcker also chaired the Possehl Foundation, reshaping its governance to eliminate electoral processes. In 1937, he oversaw implementation of the Greater Hamburg Act as Transition Commissioner and held a supervisory role at the Lübeck Handelsbank until 1942.

From 1940 to 1942, Hans Böhmcker represented the German Reich in Amsterdam, overseeing anti-Jewish policies, including mass registration and the creation of a Jewish Council to enforce Nazi directives. His work laid groundwork for the later deportations.

Recalled to Lübeck in mid-1942, Böhmcker became mayor following a destructive air raid. Amidst food aid efforts, widespread corruption emerged—led by Böhmcker and fellow officials. Though he escaped prosecution, a subordinate was executed to quell public outrage. Facing scrutiny himself, Böhmcker died by suicide in October 1942.

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• Photo 1: GaHetNa (Nationaal Archief NL) (Public Domain)
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