Head of Gestapo - Diels was born in Berghausen in the Taunus, the son of a farmer. He served in the army during World War I and afterwards studied law at the University of Marburg from 1919. While at the university he developed a reputation as a drinker and philanderer. Diels also received a number of dueling scars on his face while participating in fencing. These scars were worn as badges of honor by young upper-class Austrians and Germans in trying to prove their manhood during this time. His scars did not greatly detract from his good looks but in fact, gave him a rugged and striking appearance. Diels joined the Prussian Interior Ministry in 1930 and was promoted to an advisory position in the Prussian police in 1932. He targeted political radicals, both Communists and Nazis. He was not a Nazi sympathizer at this time. He was head of the Prussian Political Police when Adolf Hitler came to power. World War I aviation hero Hermann Göring was made minister for Prussia in 1933 and was impressed with Diels' work and new-found commitment to the Nazi Party. In April 1933 Göring appointed him as chief of the new Prussian State Police department that dealt mainly with political crimes/corruption. Department 1A, as it came to be called, was soon renamed the Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police), or Gestapo. In this capacity, he hob-nobbed with the Nazi party leaders and with foreign dignitaries (See "Note" below). On February 27, 1933 the Reichstag fire occurred in Berlin and Diels was the main interrogator of the principal accused, Marinus van der Lubbe. He also ordered Arthur Nebe to arrange the killing of Gregor Strasser in October 1933. But Strasser survived until July 1934 when he was murdered during the "Night of the Long Knives" in which Diels himself was almost killed by the SS but was spared by Göring. His near murder was due in large to the fact that he was a friend of Göring's and that made him an enemy of Göring's political rivals, including the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler and his deputy, Reinhard Heydrich who was the head of the SS Security Service, the Sicherheitsdienst, or "SD". Himmler may not have been able to exterminate Diels, but he did ruin his reputation. Diels went into hiding and abandoned his position with the Gestapo for about 5 weeks after that night. As a result, he was formally dismissed from his position as Gestapo Chief on 4/1/1934 and control of the Gestapo was given to Himmler on 4/20/1934. Heydrich was named Chief of the Gestapo by Himmler on 4/22/1934 but he continued to also head of the SS Security Service. Due to Göring's influence, Diels was briefly appointed as Deputy Police President of Berlin before being appointed to the local government of Cologne as a Regierungspräsident. He maintained his association with Göring and married one of Göring's cousins, Hilde. Himmler continued to go after Diels though and Göring saved him from prison on at least two occasions, once in 1940 when Diels refused to order the blanket arrest of Jews in Cologne, and more significantly, in 1944 after the 20 July Plot to assassinate Hitler. Diels would testify in the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials for the prosecution. But, ironically, he would also testify for the defense, specifically for his old friend and protector, Hermann Göring. Diel's testimony though did not help Göring as he was found guilty and given the death sentence. But Göring cheated the hangman by taking a cyanide capsule the night before and dying before he mounted the gallows. Diels died in a hunting accident near his home in 1957 when a rifle discharged and killed him. There are unsubstantiated rumors that he was murdered but no one has conducted an official investigation into whether this was true or if it simply was just an accident. Diels was buried in the family plot in Berghausen. His gravestone has since been removed by cemetery officials. NOTE - Diels is said to have had an affair with Martha Dodd, the daughter of the US Ambassador to Germany William Dodd, in the early 1930's. Dodd would become a novelist, anti-Fascist and later, an ardent pro-communist who, along with her then husband, fled the United States to elude being indicted for espionage. Her Find-A-Grave memorial may be found at #77647212.
NOTE -Photo credit Rob and M. Hopman-Peters, www.ww2gravestone.com.