Roland Freisler

Roland Freisler, born on October 30, 1893, was a prominent German jurist and politician who played a significant role in the Nazi legal system. He served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1935 to 1942 and later became the president of the People's Court from 1942 until the end of World War II in 1945. Freisler was known for his aggressive demeanor and his notorious practice of humiliating defendants in court, often resulting in the imposition of the death penalty.

A law student at Kiel University, Freisler's military service began with the outbreak of the First World War, during which he fought on the Eastern Front and was captured by the Imperial Russian Army. After returning to Germany, he completed his law studies at the University of Jena, earning a Doctorate of Law in 1922. His political career took off when he joined the Nazi Party in 1925, defending its members in legal matters related to political violence.

Following the Nazi rise to power in 1933, Freisler quickly ascended the ranks, becoming State Secretary of the Prussian Ministry of Justice and later the unified Reich Ministry of Justice. His zealous commitment to Nazi ideology and his legal acumen made him one of the most feared judges in Nazi Germany. In 1942, he represented the Acting Reichsminister of Justice at the Wannsee Conference, which was pivotal in orchestrating the Holocaust.

As president of the People's Court, Freisler presided over high-profile trials, including those of the White Rose resistance group and the conspirators of the July 20 plot against Hitler. During his three-year tenure, he handed down over five thousand death sentences. His life came to a violent end in February 1945 during an American bombing raid on Berlin. Despite the abolition of the death penalty in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, Freisler's 1941 definition of murder remains a part of German law.