Daluege, Kurt

Kurt Daluege (15 Sept. 1897 – 24 Oct. 1946) was the chief of the uniformed police in National-Socialist Germany. After Heinrich Himmler issued an order on 23 October 1941 stating “effective immediately, the emigration of Jews has to be prevented,” Daluege issued a directive the next day, according to which “Jews shall be evacuated to the east in the district around Riga and Minsk” (3921-PS; IMT, Vol. 33, p. 535). This was the beginning of what is today called the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” After the assassination of Reinhardt Heydrich in 1942, Daluege became deputy Reich Protector of occupied Czechia (the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia). As such, he was responsible for the retaliatory measures against the civilian population of the town of Lidice, after Heydrich had been assassinated. After the war, he was extradited to Czechoslovakia, tried in Prague during a typical Stalinist show trial, and subsequently executed.