17 Facts About Erhard Heiden

Erhard Heiden was an early member of the Nazi Party and the third commander of the Schutzstaffel, the paramilitary wing of the Sturmabteilung.

Erhard Heiden was appointed head of the SS, an elite subsection of the SA in 1927.

At that time the SS numbered fewer than a thousand men and Heiden found it difficult to cope under the much larger SA.

Erhard Heiden was not a success in the post, and SS membership dropped significantly under his leadership.

Erhard Heiden was dismissed from his post in 1929, officially for "family reasons".

Erhard Heiden was arrested after the Nazis came to national power in 1933 and executed that same year.

Erhard Heiden was born on 23 February 1901 in Weiler-Simmerberg, a city in Bavaria.

Erhard Heiden became an early member of the Nazi Party and the SA.

Erhard Heiden, described by William Shirer as "a former police stool-pigeon of unsavory reputation", joined the SS in 1925 and was an early advocate of separating the unit from the SA, its parent organization.

On 1 March 1927, Joseph Berchtold transferred leadership of the SS to Erhard Heiden, who was his acting deputy.

Erhard Heiden further demanded that the men under his command were not to be involved in party matters which were none of their concern.

Erhard Heiden's intention was to create a small elite unit and obtain higher quality recruits.

Further, it was alleged that Erhard Heiden had been making large profits on the clothing sales to the SS for uniforms.

In March 1933, after a visit to his friend Emil Maurice, Erhard Heiden was arrested by members of the Sicherheitsdienst while he was having dinner in the Orlando coffee house in Munich.

Erhard Heiden was murdered sometime later, presumably by members of the SD.

Erhard Heiden was officially listed as missing on 18 March 1933.

Erhard Heiden's body was discovered months later, on 13 August 1933, in the Neufinsing works canal near Erding and buried on 15 September.