Friedrich - Wilhelm Krüger Friedrich - Wilhelm Krüger ( 8 May 1894 – 10 May 1945 ) was a Nazi official and high - ranking member of the SA and SS . Between 1939 and 1943 he was Higher SS and Police Leader . in the General Government in German - occupied Poland and in that capacity he organized and supervised numerous acts of war crimes and had a major responsibility for the Holocaust . Early life . Krüger was born into a military family in Straßburg , Alsace - Lorraine , Germany ( nowadays in France ) in 1894 ; he received elementary school education , but ultimately left school before graduating to begin a military career as a cadet in military schools in Karlsruhe and Gross - Lichterfelde . In June 1914 , Krüger was commissioned a second lieutenant in the German Army when World War I broke out . During the course of the war , he was wounded three times and awarded the 1st and 2nd class Iron Cross es . After the war , Krüger first joined a naval brigade ; in August 1919 , he became a member of the Freikorps von Lützow , which he left again in March 1920 . Returning to civil employment , he worked as a clerk in Berlin until 1923 , then assumed another position as the director of the Berlin ' s refuse company ( Bemag ) in 1924 . He stayed in that position until 1928 , then left the company and began a career as a self - employed entrepreneur . Krüger married in 1922 ; he and his wife had two children , and adopted three foster child ren . Career . While working at the refuse company , he probably also met Kurt Daluege for the first time . Daluege was an engineer at the company at that time who later on became SS commander in Berlin and leader of the Ordnungspolizei ( " order police " ) or Orpo . The two men soon formed a friendship . In November 1929 , Krüger joined the NSDAP ( as member 171199 ) ; in February 1931 , he also joined the SS ( 6123 ) , which he left again abruptly in April to transfer to the SA . With the help of Daluege , Krüger instantly acquired the SA rank and the power necessary to conduct reforms of the SA Formation East . He was promoted to SA - Gruppenführer ( equivalent to major - general ) in 1932 and joined Ernst Röhm ' s personal staff . In June 1933 , Krüger was promoted again to SA - Obergruppenführer and appointed chief of the Ausbildungswesen ( " training " , AW ) . Cooperating closely with the Reichswehr , he used his new position to school the SA ' s best recruits ( an estimated 250 , 000 ) to become officers . Krüger was not caught in the Night of the Long Knives , in which Röhm and many other high - ranking SA members were killed , and it has been speculated that his switch from the SS to the SA was only for pragmatic reasons , especially in the light of Krüger transferring the SA armouries of which he was in charge to the Reichswehr as soon as the purge began . Nevertheless , Krüger was left without a job temporarily , until he re - entered the SS while still keeping his SA rank . In 1935 , Krüger was appointed SS - Oberabschnittsführer . On 21 February 1936 , he was appointed inspector of border guard units as well as Adolf Hitler ' s personal representative at a variety of formal and informal NSDAP events . Krüger enjoyed continued promotions as a result of his loyalty to the Nazi Party as well as his military , police and administration skills . Promotion and war crimes in Poland . On 4 October 1939 , because of his ambition and his loyalty to the party , Heinrich Himmler , appointed him to as Higher SS and Police Leader ( HSSPF East ) ( " Höherer SS - und Polizeiführer " ) in the part of German - occupied Poland called the General Government . Krüger thus became one of the most powerful men in occupied Poland . Among other things he was responsible for : crushing rebellion in the extermination camps , setting up forced labour camps , the employment of police and SS in the evacuations of people from Warsaw ghettos , the execution of Aktion Erntefest , the so - called " anti - partisan " fighting in the General Government , and the driving out of over 1 , 000 , 000 Polish farmers from the area around Zamość . Authority quarrels with governor general Hans Frank led to his dismissal on 9 November 1943 . He was replaced by Wilhelm Koppe . The Polish Secret State ordered his death , but an assassination attempt on 20 April 1943 in Kraków failed when two bombs hurled at his car missed the target . Six months later , he wrote in a letter , " I have lost honour and reputation due to my four year struggle in the GG ( General Government ) ( " Ich habe für meinen vierjährigen Kampf im GG Ehre und Reputation verloren " ) . Later career and death . From November 1943 until April 1944 Krüger served with the 7th SS mountain infantry " Prince Eugen " division in Nazi - occupied Yugoslavia . While ostensibly engaged in anti - partisan actions in Yugoslavia , this unit became notorious for committing atrocities against the civilian population . Later from June to August Krüger took over the command over the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord in northern Finland . From August 1944 until February 1945 Krüger was commanding general of the Fifth SS Mountain Infantry Corps . In February 1945 he was Himmler ' s representative at the German southeast front and in April and May 1945 he was commander of a combat unit of the Ordnungspolizei ( Orpo ) at Army Group South ( known as Army Group Ostmark after 1 May 1945 ) . At the end of the war Krüger committed suicide in upper Austria .