Robert Ley
|
|
Robert_Ley_in_Uniform.gif
Robert Ley (February 15, 1890 - October 25, 1945) was a prominent Nazi figure in the Third Reich.
Born in Niederbreidenbach, Germany, to poor parents he studied at the Universities of Jena and Bonn before receiving a PhD in chemistry. During WW I he was a pilot, and shot down in 1917, he spent two years as a French POW. He worked for IG Farbenindustrie after the war, but was dismissed in 1928 due to excessive drinking.
He joined the NSDAP in 1925 and quickly became a Gauleiter. In 1932 he was elected to the Reichstag and also succeeded Gregor Strasser as head of the Reichsorganisation der NSDAP. In April 1933 Hitler ordered the suppression of the German trade unions and appointed Ley to head the operations.
In early May troops occupied trade union buildings, union funds were confiscated, and union leaders were arrested. The unions were replaced with a single organisation, the German Labor Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF)), which Ley headed from May 10, 1933. The Christian trade unions were not reduced in the initial efforts but lasted little more than a month longer.
At the end of WW II, Reichsleiter Ley fled to Berchtesgaden but was captured on May 16, 1945, and sent to trial at Nuremberg.
He committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell before the trial proper could begin;
- "Robert Ley, the field marshal of the battle against labor, answered our indictment with suicide. Apparently he knew no better answer".
He had stated that he could not bear the accusation of being a war criminal.de:Robert Ley he:רוברט ליי nl:Robert Ley pt:Robert Ley fi:Robert Ley sv:Robert Ley