Franz Stiessel (Franz Stießel)
Franz Stiessel (June 5, 1897 - c. 1947) was a Czech-born, ethnically German civil servant and Sturmführer (SA officer) active in the mid-20th century. Stiessel was born in Krupka (Graupen), Czech, then under the Austrian Empire. He served in the Austrian military during World War I (1914 - 1918), being decorated for service on the Italian front. He emigrated to Germany in 1925, settling in Duisburg. From 1932, he was a member of the Nazi Party and a unbe-Sturmfürer (an unpaid Storm Leader or officer). According to his own account, he was appointed to and acted in this position within the Sturmabteilung (SA, Brownshirts), a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), but the posting was never confirmed, so he did not receive pay. Following the war, Stiessel went through the Denazification, an Allied program initiated after World War II (1939 - 1945) aimed at removing Nazi influence from German and Austrian society. Though the Denazification file reveals no damning details, it was not uncommon for former Nazi officers and political activists to diminish their role and position to avoid prosecution and stigmatization, so the Denazification records need to be read 'between the lines'. His cartographic contributions include a single known propaganda map issued to celebrate the 1933 German Federal Election.
AKA: Franz Stießel
When Germany chose Fascism.
Es wehen Hitler-Fahnen über alle... / [Hitler Flags are Waving Above Everything ... ]
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A 1933 German propaganda map capturing one of the most pivotal moments in 20th-century history - the popular election of the Nazi Party into power in Germany and continental Europe's sharp turn towards fascism. Within months of the March 1933 election, the Nazi Party and its allies dismantled the Weimar Republic's federalist check-and-balance system and centralized political power into the hands of Adolf Hitler. From this moment, World War II (1939 - 1945) and the Holocaust were inevitable. This is the only known surviving example. (more details)