Otto-Heinrich Drechsler

Otto-Heinrich Drechsler (1 April 1895 – 5 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who served as the General Commissioner of Generalbezirk Lettland (German for "General District Latvia") for the Nazi Germany's occupation regime Reichskommissariat Ostland during World War II. In this capacity, he played a role in setting up the Riga Ghetto and was implicated in the extermination of Latvian Jews. He committed suicide on 5 May 1945, after being captured by British forces.

Early life Drechsler became an officer cadet (Fahnenjunker) in the Lübeck infantry regiment of the German Army in 1914. He was severely wounded and lost a leg. He was mustered out of the Reichswehr in 1920. During the Weimar Republic, Drechsler began the study of dentistry at the University of Rostock, and obtained the degree of Doctor of Dental Arts. In this period, he became a member of the Nordic Union.

Between 1933 and 1937, Drechsler was Mayor of Lübeck and President of the Senate of Lübeck. Following the Greater Hamburg Act on 1 April 1937, he became the first "High Mayor of the Prussian Metropolitan Area of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck" (Oberbürgermeister des preußischen Stadtkreises Hansestadt Lübeck) and entered the Prussian State Council. He held these posts until the fall of the Nazi regime.

Actions during World War II Otto Heinrich Drechsler (extreme left) at Riga railway station, with other Nazi officials, including Hinrich Lohse and Friedrich Jeckeln. Nazi propaganda photograph of Otto-Heinrich Drechsler, as published in a Latvian newspaper (with original captions). From 17 July 1941 through 1944, he was Commissioner General (Generalkommissar) for occupied Latvia in the Reichskommissariat Ostland, where he was responsible for the concentration camps in Latvia. As territorial commissioner for Latvia, Drechsler took up quarters in Riga at the beginning of August 1941. At that point in time the military administration had not yet handed over authority to the civil administration. A leading co-worker in the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (Reichsministerium für die besetzen Ostegebiete or RMfdbO), Otto Bräutigam, noted in his diary of having had a conflict with the military authorities. These disputes, particularly those involving Drechsler's administrative superior, Hinrich Lohse, were never fully resolved. Based on a settlement with RMfdbO, formal assignment of authority over the administration of Latvian territory, including Riga, was effected on 1 September 1941. In addition to his other positions, Drechsler was a member of the board of overseers of an industrial firm called Hochofenwerkes Lübeck AG.

Involvement in the Holocaust Throughout the time that Drechsler was in Latvia, large numbers of massacres, particularly of Jews, were carried out by the Germans, together with substantial assistance from Latvian collaborators. In addition, the Jews of Latvia were confined to ghettos, which facilitated their enslavement and murder. As early as July 1941, Drechsler was informed, by his subordinate Gebietskommissar Alnor, of the massacres of the Jews in Ventspils. The great majority of the victims at Rumbula were from the Riga ghetto.

Capture and suicide Drechsler was captured by the British Army after the occupation of Lübeck. Shortly thereafter, on 5 May 1945, he committed suicide.