| German Nazi propagandist. Date of Birth: 21.04.1900 Country: Germany |
Hans Fritzsche was a German Nazi propagandist, radio presenter, and high-ranking official in Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. He began his career as a journalist for Gugengerg Corporation in the 1920s and was one of the pioneers of political broadcasting in Germany. In September 1932, Fritzsche became the head of news broadcasting.
On May 1, 1933, Fritzsche joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and went on to head the radio department in the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. He was later promoted to head of the news department. From 1938 to 1942, Fritzsche led the department of domestic press, but Goebbels eventually took it back, and Fritzsche resumed his responsibilities in radio broadcasting.
Fritzsche continued to broadcast until the end of the war, supporting the morale of soldiers and citizens of the Reich. He hosted a weekly program called "Speaking with Hans Fritzsche". During the fall of the Nazi regime, Fritzsche was in Berlin and surrendered to the Red Army along with the city's last defenders on May 2, 1945.
He stood trial at the Nuremberg Trials, where he, along with Julius Streicher (representing Nazi propaganda in Goebbels' absence), faced charges related to Nazi propaganda. Unlike Streicher, who was sentenced to death, Fritzsche was acquitted of all three charges. The court found no evidence that he incited crimes against humanity, participated in war crimes, or conspired to seize power.
However, like the other acquitted individuals in Nuremberg (Hjalmar Schacht and Franz von Papen), Fritzsche was soon after convicted of other crimes by the Denazification Commission. He was sentenced to nine years in prison but was released on health grounds in 1950. Fritzsche passed away three years later due to cancer.