Newborn child welcomed into the Frank family

Identifier
irn1005019
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2016.519
  • RG-60.1744
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Silent
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Hans Frank (1900-1946) was Governor-General of Poland and Hitler's personal attorney. Frank joined a Freikorps unit to fight the Communists, after serving just one year in World War I. In 1919 Frank joined the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, which was later absorbed into the NSDAP. In 1923 he participated in the Beer Hall Putsch as a stormtrooper. In 1926 he passed the bar exam and soon became a star lawyer for the NSDAP, successfully defending Hitler on more than one hundred occasions. He was rewarded with high positions such as Reich Minister of Justice, President of the Academy of German Law, and President of the International Chamber of Law. Frank also became head of the NSDAP legal office and took charge of the research to prove Hitler was not a Jew. In October 1939, soon after the outbreak of World War II, he was named Governor-General of occupied Poland. He was responsible for the exploitation of the civilian population, both Jews and non-Jews; the plundering of Polish cultural treasures for his personal benefit; and the deportation and execution of Jews. He was never included in Hitler's inner circle because Hitler mistrusted lawyers and rejected his middle-class background. In 1942, in a lecture to university students, Frank called for a return to constitutional law, a statement which led to his demise. He was stripped of all party honors and legal positions, except for Governor-General of Poland, because Hitler considered it the worst possible job. After the war Frank converted to Catholicism and confessed his guilt before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. He accused Hitler of deceiving the German people, but he was not spared from a death sentence on three counts of war crimes and four counts of crimes against humanity. He was executed on October 16, 1946. On April 2, 1925, Hans Frank married Brigitte Herbst (December 25, 1895-March 9, 1959). They had five children: Sigrid Frank (March 13, 1927-1973 by suicide); Norman Frank (June 3, 1928- 2010); Brigitte Frank (January 13,1935-1981); Michael Frank (February 15, 1937-1990); and Niklas Frank (March 9, 1939- ).

Scope and Content

EXTs hospital in Munich (where Brigitte Frank gave birth to each of her 5 children), snow on ground. Hans Frank steps out of a car with license plate reading: "IIA - 23818." INTs, CUs of newborn child, possibly Brigitte (Gitty) born in January 1935. Family members pose with mother Brigitte and baby - Lily (Hans Frank's sister) on left. Nurses. Flowers in the room. On the sidewalk with a tram behind, the children - Sigrid and Norman - push the baby in a pram, with mother Brigitte and a nanny. Sigrid mimics the cameraman. INT shots of woman holding newborn child.

Subjects

Places

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.