About Karl Hanke
Karl August Hanke (24 August 1903 – 8 June 1945) was a German Nazi official and politician who served as the fifth and final Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS). He also served as Gauleiter of Gau Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945 and as Oberpräsident of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia. Captured on 6 May 1945, he was shot and wounded during an escape attempt and then beaten to death by Czech guards on 8 June, after the war had ended. == Early life == Hanke was born in Lauban (present-day Lubań) in Silesia, on 24 August 1903. His older brother was killed in World War I. Hanke was too young for service in the war and attended Gymnasium through Obersekunda. He served in the Reichswehr as a Zeitfreiwilliger (temporary volunteer) in the 19th Infantry Regiment (von Courbiere) at Frankfurt/Oder from 1920 to 1921. Hanke obtained an education as a milling engineer by attending the German Millers' School at Dippoldiswalde. He then decided to obtain a year's practical experience as a railway workshop apprentice before returning to milling. From 1921 to around 1926, Hanke mainly worked in the milling industry, serving as a business manager for mills in the vicinity of Silesia, Bavaria, and Tyrol. He later attended the Berufspädagogische Institut in Berlin, receiving a degree that qualified him to teach milling at vocational schools.
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