Gustav Noske
|
|
Gustav Noske (July 9, 1868 - November 30, 1946) was a German administrator. He served as the defense minister of Germany between 1919 and 1920. He was the first defense minister of Weimar Republic.
Noske was a Social Democratic politician and a member of the German Parliament during World War I. He had long evinced an interest in military and colonial affairs. Generally speaking, he was on the right wing of the socialists.
Best known for brutally putting down the Communist and left wing risings throughout Germany in early 1919, Noske was a controversial figure. He later had a position in a regional German government, but was dismissed by the Nazis in 1933. In 1944 he was arrested by the Gestapo under suspicion of complicity in anti Hitler plots. Noske was freed by advancing Allied troops and lived in Hanover afterwards. He died while perparing for a lecture tour of the United States.