Rudolf Degkwitz

Rudolf Degkwitz (born 19 January 1889 in Ronneburg, died 21 May 1973 in Emmendingen) was a German physician, an early member of the Nazi Party and a participant in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch.

Rudolf Degkwitz
Born	19 January 1889
Died	21 May 1973
Nationality	German
Occupation	Physician
Political party	Nazi Party

He was acquainted with Rudolf Hess and became involved with the Nazi Party in the early 1920s. He took part in Nazi political discussions in Munich and befriended Adolf Hitler. In 1923 he became a member of the Nazi Party, and he took part in the Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. He eventually left the Nazi Party, but unsuccessfully applied in 1933 and 1937 to become a member again. He signed the Loyalty Oath of German Professors to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist State in 1933.[1]

Degkwitz was a professor at the University of Greifswald from 1925, and at the University of Hamburg from 1932. He eventually became critical of some aspects of Nazism, especially child euthanasia in Nazi Germany. In 1944 he was convicted by the People's Court of subversion of national defense and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. The court however lauded his medical work, and therefore did not sentence him to death.[2]

After the war he briefly resumed his medical work in Germany, but after a conflict with his employer he emigrated to the United States and worked in the private sector. He moved back to Germany shortly before his death in 1973.

References

1. Ernst Klee: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. 2nd ed. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt, 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8.
2. Sentence cited in Ursel Hochmuth, Gertrud Meyer: Streiflichter aus dem Hamburger Widerstand; 1933–1945, p. 300