Karl August Hanke (24 August 1903 – 8 June 1945) was an official of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) during its rule over Germany and served as the fifth and last Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS). He also served as Gauleiter of Gau Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945 and as Oberpräsident of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia. Captured on 6 May 1945, he was shot and wounded during an escape attempt and then beaten to death by Czech communists on 8 June, after the war had ended. Life Hanke was born in Lauban (present-day Lubań) in Silesia, on 24 August 1903. His older brother was killed in World War I. Hanke was too young for service in the war and attended Gymnasium through Obersekunda. He served in the Reichswehr as a Zeitfreiwilliger (temporary volunteer) in the 19th Infantry Regiment (von Courbiere) at Frankfurt/Oder from 1920 to 1921. Hanke obtained an education as a milling engineer by attending the German Millers' School at Dippoldiswalde. He then decided to obtain a year's practical experience as a railway workshop apprentice before returning to milling. From 1921 to around 1926, Hanke mainly worked in the milling industry, serving as a business manager for mills in the vicinity of Silesia, Bavaria, and Tyrol. He later attended the Berufspädagogische Institut in Berlin, receiving a degree that qualified him to teach milling at vocational schools. Later in 1928, he worked in Berlin-Steglitz as a master miller. After this he became a vocational instructor at a technical school in Berlin. Nazi Party Hanke joined the Nazi Party on 1 November 1928, with membership number 102606. Hanke began his career at the somewhat low level of Amtswalter, a low ranking speaker and factory cell organizer in Berlin. He joined the Sturmabteilung (SA) Reserve in 1929; that same year he became a deputy street cell leader. In 1930 he was promoted to street cell leader (Strassenzellenleiter) and then a section leader (Sektionsführer) in Berlin. Hanke was fired from his teaching position at the vocational school in April 1931 for his political agitation for the Nazi Party. He went to work full-time for the party. By late 1931, he was Kreisleiter (ward leader) of Westend in Berlin, working under Berlin's Gauleiter Joseph Goebbels. In 1932, Hanke was made chief Gau organizational director and on 1 April 1932, personal adjutant and Referent (advisor) to Goebbels in his capacity as propaganda director