Party Badge. By his acceptance, Gürtner officially joined the Nazi Party. During World War II, the feeble protestation of the Ministry of Justice was weakened still further, as alleged criminals were increasingly handled by the Gestapo and SS, without recourse to any court of law. Gürtner provided official sanction and legal grounds for a series of repressive actions, beginning with the institution of Ständegerichte (drumhead courts-martial) that tried Poles and Jews in the occupied eastern territories, and later for decrees that opened the way for implementing the Final Solution. A district judge and member of the Confessing Church, Lothar Kreyssig, wrote to Gürtner protesting (correctly) that the T4 program was illegal (since no law or formal decree from Hitler had authorised it); Gürtner promptly dismissed Kreyssig from his post, telling him, "If you cannot recognise the will of the Führer as a source of law, then you cannot remain a judge." Gürtner died on 29 January 1941 in Berlin. See also Aktion T4 Lothar Kreyssig Citations References External links Franz Gürtner in the files of the Reichskanzlei Franz Gürtner in the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte Biographie des Deutschen Historischen Museums 1881 births 1941 deaths German National People's Party politicians German Roman Catholics Government ministers of Germany Holocaust perpetrators Members of the Academy for German Law Military personnel of Bavaria Nazi Germany ministers Nazi Party politicians People from the Kingdom of Bavaria People from Regensburg Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class