View source for Wilhelm Schepmann

{{Short description|SA general and politician (1894–1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Wilhelm Schepmann
|image        = Wilhelm Schepmann.jpg
|image_size   =
|caption      = Schepmann, {{circa|1938}}
|office       = SA-''[[Stabschef]]''
|term_start   = 18 August 1943
|term_end     = 8 May 1945
|office2      = ''[[Regierungspräsident (Germany)|Regierungspräsident]]''<br />''[[Regierungsbezirk]]'' [[Dresden-Bautzen]]<br /><small>(As ''Kreishauptmann'' until January 1939)</small>
|term_start2  = 30 March 1936
|term_end2    = 18 August 1943
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1894|6|17|df=y}} 
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1970|7|26|1894|6|17|df=y}}
|birth_place  = [[Hattingen]], [[Province of Westphalia]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]], [[German Empire]]
|death_place  = [[Gifhorn]], [[Lower Saxony]], [[West Germany]]
|party        = [[Nazi Party]]
|profession   = Schoolteacher
|awards       = [[Golden Party  Badge]]<br />[[Nuremberg Party Day Badge]]
<!--Military service-->
|allegiance   = [[German Empire]]<br />[[Nazi Germany]]
|serviceyears = 1914–1918<br />1939–1940
|branch       = [[Imperial German Army]]<br />[[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]]
|rank         = ''[[Leutnant]]''<br />''[[Hauptmann]]''
|commands     = 
|unit         = Westphalian Jägerbattalion No.7<br />Infantry Regiment 56
|battles      = [[World War I]]<br />[[World War II]]
|mawards      = [[Iron Cross]], 1st class<br />[[Clasp to the Iron Cross]], 2nd class<br />[[War Merit Cross]]<br />[[Wound Badge]]
|laterwork    =
}}

'''Wilhelm Schepmann''' (17 June 1894 – 26 July 1970) was a German school teacher who became a [[Nazi Party]] official and the last SA-''[[Stabschef]]'' (chief of staff) of the original Nazi [[paramilitary]] organization, the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA). Schepmann was an SA-''[[Obergruppenführer]]'' when he was appointed by [[Adolf Hitler]] to succeed [[Viktor Lutze]] as SA-''Stabschef'' in 1943. Schepmann lived under an assumed name from Germany's surrender until 1949 when he was discovered and arrested. After [[denazification]] proceedings, he was initially convicted of criminal behavior but was acquitted on appeal. He resumed local political activity with a right-wing party and was elected deputy mayor of [[Gifhorn]], but was forced to resign in 1961 following a public outcry.

== Early life ==
Wilhelm Schepmann was born in June 1894 in the German city of [[Hattingen]]. After attending the local ''[[Volksschule]]'' and ''[[Gymnasium (Germany)|Gymnasium]]'', Schepmann attended a teacher's college from 1912 to 1914. He served in the [[First World War]] from 1914 to 1918 as a soldier of the {{ill|Westfälisches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 7|de}} and Infantry Regiment 56, and was deployed on both the [[Western Front (World War I)|western]] and [[Eastern Front (World War I)|eastern]] fronts. During the war, he served as the battalion [[adjutant]], a court officer, a platoon leader and a company commander.  He was discharged at the end of the war with the rank of ''[[Leutnant]]'' of [[military reserve force|reserves]], having received the [[Iron Cross]] 2nd class and the [[Wound Badge]] in black.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=229, 234–235}}

== Peacetime political and SA career ==
Returning to civilian life, he became a ''Volksschule'' teacher in Hattingen from 1920 to 1929 and joined the [[antisemitic]] [[Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund]] from 1920 to 1922. That year, he joined the [[Nazi Party]] (NSDAP) and worked as the propaganda leader of the Hattingen ''Ortsgruppe'' (local group). As an early Party member, he later would be awarded the [[Golden Party Badge]]. He also joined the Party's [[paramilitary]] group, the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA), serving as the leader of the Hattingen SA contingent from 1923 to 1927. Together with [[Viktor Lutze]], he organized the formation of the SA in the [[Ruhr]] area but was arrested by French authorities in May 1924 for his activities in opposition to the [[occupation of the Ruhr]]. After the ban on the Nazi Party was lifted, he rejoined it on 28 December 1925 (membership number 26,762) and by 1928 he was the leader of the SA-''[[Standarte]]'' "Ruhr", a ''Parteiredner'' (Party orator) and the chairman of the [[Uschla/Supreme Party Court|Uschla]] (Party court) in ''[[Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany|Gau]]'' Ruhr.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=229}}

Schepmann was unsuccessful in his bid to be elected to the [[Landtag of Prussia]] in May 1928. In August 1929, he attended the [[Nuremberg rallies|Nurnberg Party Rally]] for which he was awarded the [[Nuremberg Party Day Badge]]. He was elected to the Hattingen city council in November 1929, served as chairman of the Nazi faction from 1930 to 1933 and contributed significantly to making the city one of the strongholds of the Nazis in the Ruhr area. He became the commander of the SA-''[[Gausturm]]'' "Essen" in [[Bochum]] in 1930. From 1930 to 1931, he held the posts of ''Gau'' organization leader, ''Gau'' propaganda leader and special advisor on local political issues in [[Gau Westphalia-South]]. In 1931, Schepmann was dismissed from his teaching position with loss of pension rights due to his Nazi activities, and he became a full-time SA functionary as the commander of SA-''Untergruppe'' "Westphalen-Süd". In April 1932, he was elected to the Prussian ''[[Landtag]]'' and served until its [[dissolution of parliament|dissolution]] by the Nazis in October 1933. In November 1932, he was promoted to SA-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' and took command of SA-''Gruppe'' "Westfalen" with headquarters in [[Dortmund]].{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=229–230}} 

Following the [[Nazi seizure of power]], Scheppmann was appointed police president of Dortmund in February 1933. At the parliamentary election of November 1933, he became a ''[[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Reichstag]]'' deputy from electoral constituency 18 ([[Westphalia South (electoral district)|Westphalia South]]). He remained in the ''Reichstag'' until the fall of the Nazi regime, switching to constituency 28 ([[Dresden–Bautzen]]) at the March 1936 election.<ref>[https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?name=Wilhelm+Schepmann&geschlecht=&ort=&beruforg=&BERUF=&BERUFSFELDER%5B%5D=&KONFESSION%5B%5D=&WP%5B%5D=&PARTEI%5B%5D=&schlu=reichstag24&recherche=ja Wilhelm Schepmann entry] in the [https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/ ''Reichstag'' Members Database]</ref> In October 1933, he was named the special [[plenipotentiary]] of the SA Supreme Leadership to the [[Province of Westphalia]]. In December, he also received a parallel appointment to the states of [[Free State of Lippe|Lippe]] and [[Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe|Schaumberg Lippe]]. On 15 March 1934, he became the commander of SA-''Obergruppe'' X, in charge of the two SA-''Gruppen'' "Niederrhein" and "Westphalia".{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=230}}

Schepmann survived the SA purge known as the [[Night of the Long Knives]] (30 June to 2 July 1934) when many of the senior SA commanders were killed. When the SA ''Obergruppen'' were disbanded, he was transferred to the command of SA-''Gruppe'' "Sachsen" on 10 July 1934 to succeed SA-''Gruppenführer'' [[Hans Hayn]] who had been murdered during the purge. The ''[[Gauleiter]]'' of Gau Westphalia-South, [[Josef Wagner (Gauleiter)|Josef Wagner]], brought Schepmann up on charges before the Supreme Party Court. He was charged with involvement in planning the purported SA coup that served as the pretense for the purge, but was exonerated on 10 April 1935 and retained his SA command in [[Saxony]] until August of 1943. On 30 March 1936, Schepmann was given the additional government position of acting ''Kreishauptmann'' (district captain) of the ''[[Kreishauptmannschaft]]'' Dresden-Bautzen and received the permanent appointment  on 1 June. On 1 January 1939, his title was changed to ''[[Regierungspräsident (Germany)|Regierungspräsident]]'' and he continued to lead the district government until August 1943. On 9 November 1936, he was promoted to SA-''[[Obergruppenführer]]''.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=229–230}}

== Wartime military service ==
With the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] in September 1939, Schepmann was activated for military service as an ''[[Hauptmann]]'' with the [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] in 1939–1940. He served as a company commander, an orderly officer and a regimental adjutant. He was awarded the [[Clasp to the Iron Cross]], 2nd class, and the Iron Cross, 1st class, for his part in the breakthrough on the [[Maginot Line]] during the [[Battle of France]].{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=230, 234}}

== SA-''Stabschef'' ==
[[File:Wilhelm Schepmann SA.jpg|thumb|Schepmann as Stabschef, {{circa|1943}}]]
After SA-''[[Stabschef]]'' Viktor Lutze died from injuries sustained in a car crash on 2 May 1943, [[Max Jüttner]] took over in an interim capacity. On 18 August 1943, Schepmann was entrusted with the leadership of the SA, although his promotion was not supported by all Party leaders.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9a9MRnxtdJgC&q=wilhelm+schepmann&pg=PA500 |title=The Nazi Party 1919-1945: A Complete History|isbn=9780982491195|last1=Orlow|first1 =Dietrich|date=2010-06-23}}</ref> His formal appointment as SA-''Stabschef'' was confirmed on 9 November 1943.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=229}} However, by then the SA had been thoroughly marginalized as far as political power in [[Nazi Germany]] was concerned. Schepmann began working to restore the morale and the prestige of the SA. Since January 1939, the role of the SA was officially mandated as a training school for the German armed forces with the establishment of the SA ''Wehrmannschaften'' (SA defense units). During the war, the SA lost most of its remaining members to military service in the ''[[Wehrmacht]]''.{{sfn|McNab|2013|pp=20–22}}

Schepmann planned to establish a "Waffen-SA" unit composed exclusively of SA men to complement [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s [[Waffen-SS]]. This projected SA combat unit never became a reality, likely due to Himmler's opposition.{{sfn|Siemens|2017|p=272}} Schepmann did manage to have units in the army (''[[Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle]]''), ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'', and [[Luftwaffe]] ([[Jagdgeschwader 6 Horst Wessel]]), and even a [[Waffen-SS]] division ([[18. SS Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Horst Wessel]]), given SA honour titles. On 26 September 1944, Schepmann was appointed inspector for ''[[Volkssturm]]'' Marksmanship Training (''Inspekteur der Schießausbildung im Deutschen Volkssturm''). As the war situation became more dire and the enemy forces penetrated the Reich, the remaining stormtroopers were mobilized to coordinate national defense from within, and the SA rank and file provided the nucleus for many ''Volksturm'' units.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=234}} Schepmann maintained his positions until the end of the war in Europe, when Nazi Germany was defeated and surrendered.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=14}}

== Post-war life ==
After the end of the war in Europe, Schepmann lived under an assumed name ("Schuhmacher") in [[Gifhorn]] and worked as a material manager in the district hospital. In April 1949, he was recognized and arrested by the British [[Secret Intelligence Service]].{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=234}} Turned over to the German authorities, he was tried before a Dortmund jury for his actions as the police president during the violent Nazi takeover in that city. He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment but this was overturned on appeal in 1954. A subsequent [[denazification]] process in [[Lüneburg]] classified him as exonerated (category V) in April 1952.{{sfn|Siemens|2017|pp=316–317}}

Schepmann wanted to pursue his previous work as a teacher, but this was refused by the [[Lower Saxony]] Ministry of Education. He became involved with the  [[All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights]] (BHE), a right-wing political party.<ref>Kurt P. Tauber, ''[[Beyond Eagle and Swastika: German Nationalism Since 1945, Volume 1]]'', Wesleyan University Press, 1967, p. 806</ref> In 1952, Schepmann was elected to the municipal council and to the district council via the BHE [[electoral list]] in the [[Gifhorn (district)|Gifhorn district]] of [[West Germany]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930082706/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,817361,00.html GERMANY: A Much-Perplexed People] from ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', Monday, Nov. 24, 1952</ref> In 1956, he became deputy mayor of Gifhorn. However, his re-election in 1961 resulted in a public outcry and he resigned from office on 17 May. Schepmman died on 26 July 1970 in Gifhorn.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lokalkompass.de/hattingen/leute/wir-sind-hattinger-wilhelm-schepmann-d747511.html |title=Wir sind Hattinger: Wilhelm Schepmann |date=23 March 2017}}</ref>

He was the father of Richard Schepmann, head of the [[neo-Nazi]] publishing house Teut-Verlag, who was jailed in 1983 for [[incitement to ethnic or racial hatred|inciting racial hatred]].<ref>[[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]], ''[[Black Sun (Goodrick-Clarke book)|Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity]]'', NYU Press, 2003, p. 163</ref>

== SA ranks ==
{| class="wikitable float-right"
|-
! colspan="2"|SA ranks{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=229}}
|-
! Date
! Rank
|-
| 1931
| SA-''[[Oberführer]]''
|-
| 1 November 1932
| SA-''[[Gruppenführer]]''
|-
| 9 November 1936
| SA-''[[Obergruppenführer]]''
|-
| 18 August 1943
| SA-''[[Stabschef]]''
|}

== Decorations and awards ==
*1914 [[Iron Cross]] 2nd class{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=234}}
*''Kreuz für treue Dienste'' ([[Schaumburg-Lippe]]), 1917{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=234}}
*1918 [[Wound Badge]] in Black, 1918{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=235}}
*[[Nuremberg Party Day Badge]], 1929{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=235}}
*[[Honour Chevron for the Old Guard]], February 1934{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=234}}
*[[The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918]] with Swords, 1934{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=235}}
*[[Anschluss Medal]], 1938{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=235}}
*[[Sudetenland Medal]], 1939{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=235}}
*1939 [[Clasp to the Iron Cross]] 2nd Class, 1940{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=235}}
*1939 Iron Cross 1st Class, 1940{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=234}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book|last=McNab |first=Chris |title=Hitler's Elite: The SS 1939–45 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-472-80644-4}}
* {{cite book|last=McNab |first=Chris |title=The SS: 1923–1945 |publisher=Amber Books Ltd. |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-906626-49-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Miller |first=Michael |title=Leaders of The Storm Troops Volume 1 |publisher=Helion & Company |location=England|year=2015 |isbn=978-1-909982-87-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Siemens |first=Daniel |title=Stormtroopers: A New History of Hitler's Brownshirts |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-300-19681-8}}
* [https://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=1388&url_tabelle=tab_person Wilhelm Schepmann entry] in the [https://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/haupt.php?urlNeu= Internet Portal ''Westfälische Geschichte'']

== External links ==
* {{ReichstagDB|129440566}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/026445}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schepmann, Wilhelm}}
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:German Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:German Army officers of World War II]]
[[Category:German police chiefs]]
[[Category:German schoolteachers]]
[[Category:Members of the Landtag of Prussia]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945]]
[[Category:Nazi Party officials]]
[[Category:People from Hattingen]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Germany]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the British military]]
[[Category:Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 2nd class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class]]
[[Category:SA-Stabschef]]
[[Category:Volkssturm personnel]]