Hans Frank: Lebensraum and the Holocaust

Hans Frank was hanged at Nuremberg in 1946. He was guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. As Governor General in southern Poland during the Second World War, he was an accomplice to the Holocaust, the attempted genocide of the Polish nation and the implementation of economic policies uniquely devoid of moral insight. His central involvement in Hitler's criminal project to create a Lebensraum empire in Eastern Europe marked the culmination of a long political career characterised by a singular devotion to the Fuhrer. As Adolf Hitler's personal lawyer, he had defended Nazis in high-profile court cases during the Weimar years. Between the 'seizure of power' and the outbreak of war, he led the Nazification of Germany's lawyers. But in Poland, Hans Frank got his hands bloody. This study examines the beliefs, motives and management practices of Hitler's most complicated paladin.