Alfred Meyer

Alfred Meyer
Portrait of Alfred Meyer (1941).
Wannsee Conference representative for the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
In office 20 January – 6 March 1942 (two meetings)
Oberpräsident of the Province of Westphalia
In office 1938 – May 1945
Preceded by	Ferdinand Freiherr von Lüninck
Succeeded by	Rudolf Amelunxen
Minister-President of the Free State of Lippe
In office 1933–1945
Preceded by	Hans-Joachim Riecke
Succeeded by	Heinrich Hermann Drake
Reichsstatthalter of the Free State of Lippe
In office 1933–1945
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	None
Reichsstatthalter of the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe
In office 1933–1945
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	None
Gauleiter of the Gau of North Westphalia
In office 1931–1945
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	None
Personal details
Born	5 October 1891 Göttingen
Died	Hessisch Oldendorf

Alfred Meyer (5 October 1891 in Göttingen – 11 April 1945 in Hessisch Oldendorf) was a Nazi official. By the time of his death at the end of World War II in Europe, he was Staatssekretär and Deputy Reichsminister in the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (Reichministerium für die Besetzten Ostgebiete or Ostministerium).

Early life

Meyer was born in Göttingen, the son of a government official. He was educated at the Gymnasium in Soest, graduating in 1911. In 1912 he became a Fahnenjunker (cadet officer) with Infanterieregiment 68 (Koblenz), passing his officer exam in 1913. During World War I he fought with Infanterieregiment 363 on the Western Front, winning the Iron Cross twice. In 1917 he was injured and captured by the French. Released in March 1920, he left the army with the rank of Oberleutnant.

After the war, Meyer worked for Deutsche Erdöl AG before studying political science at the Universities of Bonn and then Würzburg. He graduated with a Ph.D. in 1922 and joined the legal department of a Gelsenkirchen mining firm. He married Anna Dorothee Schenker in 1920.

Third Reich

In April 1928, Meyer joined the Nazi Party and became a local group leader in October 1929. In September 1930 he became a member of the Reichstag and in January 1931 NSDAP Gauleiter in north Westphalia. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Alfred Meyer was appointed Reichsstatthalter (deputy governor) of Lippe und Schaumburg-Lippe in May 1933 and he was made Staatsminister (governor) of the federal government for Lippe und Schaumburg-Lippe in August 1936.

In 1939, Meyer was made Chef der Zivilverwaltung and in 1941 he became deputy to Alfred Rosenberg in the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories. Meyer was responsible for the departments of politics, administration and economics. In this role he directed the exploitation of the occupied Soviet areas, the suppression and murder of its inhabitants, particularly Jews and the organisation of slave labour.

Meyer attended the Wannsee Conference in January 1942 as a representative for Rosenberg. In November that year, he was also made Reichsverteidigungskommissar (Reich Defence Commissioner) of Defence District VI (northern Westphalia).

Death

Meyer was found dead on 11 April 1945, by the River Weser. The cause of death was suicide, most likely prompted by Germany's impending defeat in the war.

Fictional portrayals

In the 2001 HBO film Conspiracy, Meyer was played by Brian Pettifer.