Epp, Franz Ritter von

(1868-1947)

   Freikorps* leader; chiefly known for his role in suppressing leftist actions in Munich, the Ruhr, and Hamburg. Born in Munich, he attended both cadet and military academies in his home city. In 1900 he volunteered for the East Asian Expeditionary Corps; in 1904-1906 he fought against the Hottentots in Southwest Africa. He served from December 1914 to January 1919 in France, Italy, Serbia, and Rumania, advanc-ing to the rank of colonel and commanding an infantry division. In February 1919 he went to Thuringia,* where, with support from Defense Minister Gustav Noske,* he recruited Bavarians and established Freikorps Epp. His brigade, which was soon among Germany s strongest units, participated in Munich s brutal liberation (May 1919) and was thereafter attached to the Reichswehr* as the Bavarian Riflemen's Brigade. Although he was linked with those responsible for the March 1920 Kapp* Putsch, he did not participate in the event, but was involved soon after in crushing leftist revolts in Hamburg and the Ruhr. Pro-moted to major-general and assigned command of the army s Seventh Division (a Bavarian division) in 1923, he resigned his commission on 31 October 1923 when his radical politics brought a threat of transfer.

   Epp soon joined the BVP and was recruited by the Bavarian government in December 1923 to lead a re-created Einwohnerwehr (the short-lived Deutscher Notbann), intended to avert putsches such as that attempted by Hitler* in No-vember. Although he acceded, Epp sympathized with the Nazis; having provided the Party financial support since 1920, he became an SA Gruppenfuhrer in 1924. He officially joined the NSDAP in 1928 and was elected the same year to the Reichstag.* In September 1932 he became Hitler's Reichsleiter for political defense. Hitler then sent him to Bavaria* in March 1933, first as Reichskom-missar, then as Prime Minister, and finally as Reichsstatthalter (state governor).

   However, he was overshadowed by the local Gauleiter, Adolf Wagner. His status became negligible after he weakly protested various Nazi excesses.

   REFERENCES:Benz and Graml, Biographisches Lexikon; Garnett, Lion, Eagle, andSwas-tika; NDB, vol. 4; Waite, Vanguard ofNazism.