Why was Schirach replaced as Reich Youth Leader (Reichsjugendführer)?

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we all know schirach was hj leader from 1933- 1940 when he was replaced by axmann, what i am interested in is why was he replaced after all what that man done for the hj was incredible , had he fallen out of favour and if so why?? or did hitler have bigger plans for him.
we also know schirach was present at the nuremberg trials and went on to enjoy life after the war but what happened to axmann
stu
 
Stu
From what i understand Schirach was transfered into the army where he was appointed Gauletier of vienna and was responsible for moving jews from vienna to poland,

axmann was arrested in december 1945 at his trial in may 1949 he was sentenced to 3 years 3 months , after his release he became a sales rep in berlin, where he died in october 1996

Axmann details courtesy of wilkipedia....

steve
 
Nice one Stu. Another thread resurrected :)

Von Schirach was given the position of Gauleiter in Vienna in 1940 and as far as I can tell, Hitler sent Von Schirach to Vienna to get the Vienniese back 'onside' after the previous Gauleiter Josef Bürkel had got their backs up.

Axmann was officially the Reichsjugendführer and Jugendführer of the German Reich effective from the 8th of August 1940 (he had actually assumed von Schirach's duties and responsibilities 3 months earlier after being called back early from the fighting in France) but although Axmann now had the top job it wasn't the same position which had been held by von Schirach until 1940 because von Schirach, in addition to his position as Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter in Vienna continued to have overall responsibility for HJ after Hitler made him Inspector of the Hitlerjugend and also Minister for Youth Education.

Axmann never had a problem with this though as it meant that he always had direct access to Hitler through von Schirach which he says was very important at the beginning because unlike von Schirach, Axmann didn't know Hitler privately. Axmann was HJ through and though and had been there since the early beginnings in Berlin. Von Schirach was generally not seen in the same way by the rank and file who often found him too intellectual and aloof.

Von Schirach fell out of favour with Hitler in 1943 when Henrietta, his wife, criticised the treatment of the populations in the east.

There's more on Axmann here:

http://www.hj-research.com/forum/f48/axmann-after-bunker-280/
 
Stu,

The trails and tribulations of von Schirach are numerous.His demise as HJ leader was greatly due to party politics.Always remember that all the inner circle were ploting to stab one another in the back to gain favour from Hitler.In von Schirach's case all(including Hitler) considered him a sissy boy.He was considered "soft" and his feminine voice did not help matters. He was a devoted Nazi and hardcore about The HJ.In 1940 he volunteered to join the army and fought in France where he won the Iron Cross. However, he was recalled to Germany. No longer in charge of Hitler Youth, Schirach was appointed Gauleiter of Vienna. Here he oversaw the deportation of Jews; it is estimated that Schirach oversaw the deportation of 185,000 Austrian Jews, which in 1942 he stated was a contribution to the culture of Europe.Its my opinion that he joined the Heer to prove to Hitler that he was a Mans man. Hitler did show that he had respect for him by "burying" him in Vienna as Gauleiter,Von Shirach was after all an "Alter Kämpfer".Hitler was known to do this for old and loyal comrades----the old out of sight out of mind thinking. Baldur von Shirach's wife Henrietta(daughter of Hoffman Hitlers photographer) did him no services in the eyes of the party nor with Hitler. She was one of the very few who would tell Hitler(or anyone else) like it was.She even had the audacity to complain to Hitler about the treatment of the Danish Jews.


I could write pages and pages about Artur Axmann.He is one of a number of 3rd Reich personalities I have made a great study of.After the war He managed to dodge arrest for a while but was eventually brought to trial and was sentenced to 3 years and 3 months and fined.He did live in the Canary Islands for a time and died in Berlin Oct 24 1996.
 
Have to disagree with you there Wally. Von Schirach was still in overall charge of the HJ despite moving to Vienna. Hitler made him Inspector of the HJ and minister for youth education as part of the deal. Axmann did not have the powers previously enjoyed by Von Schirach. Hitler also stated in the announcement that von Schirach had requested permission to complete his tour at the front which delayed the move to Vienna. Okay, it's an official announcement and may not be the whole truth but I haven't read in the autobiographies (Axmann and Lauterbacher) that there was anything different going on.
 
Garry,from what I have read by 1943 von Shirach power was gone.Titles are one thing but the actual powers of the office are another.I am not by any means saying your wrong,its more a case of what control did he actually have once in Vienna.His fall from grace was gradual so again in my opinion he was being buried away by Hitler.
 
Yes, I would agree with that Wally. I was talking mainly about his transition from Reichsjugendführer to Gauleiter. Lauterbacher would have been a better Reichsjugendführer anyway I think. Von Schirach was very good at delegation though wasn't he and he had the perfect right-hand man in Lauterbacher. 'I'm off to write some poetry Hartmann. Can you just sort out the reorganisation and the new uniforms please?' Byeee!

:crying:
 
Ive got to agree with gary here , between 7-8-1940 and 1-5-1945 he was still the representative of hitler for the inspection of the hitler youth

Dr goebbels viewed schirach with distain and this we assume was passed on to AH ,

on 23-6-1943 Schirach and his wife visited AH at the Berghof for a 2 days and it written that any remnants of faith hitler had in him were destroyed as he was critical in germanys brutal policy in the ukraine, this did not sit at all well with hitler....
 
love to read them all 3 if possible. I know not much of those people, just whats written in most TR subject books.

If you can and will, you could send me a copy trough email: info@hjrp.be
don't mind if it's in english, french, german or dutch.
 
great answers guys, wally would love top read a bit more about axmann if you get the chance to post a bit, i think it would be greta for this forum if more topics covered the history and personalities other than just the collector side of things
stu
 
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