Date of birth:

April 29th, 1888 (Nürnberg, German Empire)

Date of death:

July 2nd, 1934 (Berlin-Lichterfelde, Germany)

Service number:

SS-Nr.: // NSDAP-Nr.: 104.846

Nationality:

German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

SA-Obergruppenführer Friedrich Wilhelm 'Fritz' von Kraußer
In his youth Fritz von Krausser attended the Progymnasium in Rothenburg ob der Tauber before joining the cadet corps in Munich. In July 1908 he was transferred as an ensign to the 4th Infantry Regiment "King Wilhelm von Württemberg" of the Bavarian Army in Metz. After successfully completing the war school, he was promoted to lieutenant on October 23, 1910.

Krausser took part with his regiment at the beginning of the First World War in the Battle of Lorraine and the fighting near Étain. As early as August 24, 1914, just three weeks after the start of the war, he was seriously wounded as a platoon leader in the MG company. In January 1915 he switched to the air force as an aircraft observer.
In March 1915 he returned to the field with the Bayerischen Feld-Flieger-Abteilung 7b. He later became Führer der Bayerischen Schutzstaffel, the later Schlachtstaffel 23b. Krausser was with the squadron from August to November 1917 in the battle in Flanders. For his leadership in supporting the German infantry and 55 air missions during these battles, he was on September 20, 1917 by König Ludwig III. entrusted with the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order. Associated with this was the elevation to the personal nobility and he was allowed to call himself Ritter von Kraußer after his entry in the nobility register.

On November 4, 1917, Krausser was seriously wounded for the second time in Flanders. After his recovery he was appointed Führer der Bayerischen Fliegerabteilung 45 and in September 1918 he was assigned to the Schlachtstaffel Gruppe 2, which he remained with until the end of the war.
rausser worked as a businessman in civilian life and was at the same time a member of other military associations: from August 1924 to 1925 he was a member of the staff of the High Command of the Frontbann; a reception organization of the SA, which was banned after the Hitler putsch, and commanded the front banning command in Munich. In September 1924, Krausser was arrested on the orders of the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Stützel, and charged with violating the Republic Protection Act, but released after just six weeks in custody. From 1924 to 1928 Krausser headed the Munich department of the national military association "Altreichsflagge". This association had split off from the "Reichsflagge" in 1923 and was headed by Willy Liebel. Due to his affiliation with the Old Reich flag, Krausser was refused admission to the NSDAP by Hitler around 1926, as the NSDAP claimed that people who belonged to the party were not allowed to be members of other associations at the same time. In addition, Krausser was a member of the German-Völkisch Officers' Association and the Tannenberg Association.

Krausser joined the NSDAP in 1928, the SA in 1931 with the rank of Oberführer.
From November 3, 1931 to April 14, 1932 he led the SA group "Hochland" in Munich. Promoted to SA group leader on March 15, 1932, Krausser was from July 1, 1932 head of Department I (Organization) of the Supreme SA Leadership (OSAF) ​​and at the same time deputy to the SA Chief of Staff, Ernst Röhm. On September 30, 1932 Krausser became "Chief of Aviation of the SA and SS" and was thus responsible for the air storms of these party organizations, which became part of the German Air Sports Association in 1933.
After the "seizure of power" by the National Socialists, Kraußer served from May 1 to December 31, 1933 as the representative of the commander of the auxiliary security police in Bavaria, which was also formed from SA members. He gave up his responsibility for aviation on May 15, 1933 with the formation of the German Air Sports Association (DLV). Promoted to SA-Obergruppenführer on June 27, 1933, he received a seat in the Reichstag in November 1933.

On June 30, 1934 Krausser was arrested in the course of the Röhm affair and taken to the Stadelheim prison. According to Erich Kempka, Hitler should first have declared that he had pardoned Krausser because of his medals and, unlike other SA leaders, did not intend to have him shot. In fact, Krausser was briefly released from prison on July 1, but then arrested again.

On July 1, 1934, Krausser was transferred from Munich to Berlin in a special aircraft on the orders of Hermann Göring, together with Georg von Detten, Hans-Joachim von Falkenhausen and Karl Schreyer. There he was briefly detained with the other three men in the Columbiahaus on Tempelhofer Feld and finally transferred to the barracks of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler in Berlin-Lichterfelde on the night of July 2, 1934, and shot there by SS commandos.

Krausser's mandate in the Reichstag was continued from July 1934 by SS officer Ludwig Oldach.

Promotions:
15 November 1931: SA-Oberführer
01 July 1932: SA-Gruppenführer
01 July 1933: SA-Obergruppenführer

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• Photo 1:
• - Joachim Lilla, Martin Döring, Andreas Schulz: Statisten in Uniform: Die Mitglieder des Reichstags 1933–1945. Ein biographisches Handbuch. Unter Einbeziehung der völkischen und nationalsozialistischen Reichstagsabgeordneten ab Mai 1924. Droste, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-7700-5254-4, S. 338 f.