Roland Freisler

Roland Freisler
Freisler in 1942
Judge President of the People's Court
In office 20 August 1942 – 3 February 1945
Chancellor	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Otto Thierack
Succeeded by	Wilhelm Crohne (acting) Harry Haffner
State Secretary Reich Ministry of Justice
In office 1 April 1935 – 20 August 1942
Minister	Franz Gürtner
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Curt Rothenberger
Additional positions
1933–1935	State Secretary, Prussian Justice Ministry
1933–1945	Prussian State Council
1933–1945	Reichstag
Personal details
Born	(1893-10-30)30 October 1893 Celle, Hanover Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	3 February 1945(1945-02-03) (aged 51) Berlin, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany
Resting place	Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Berlin, Germany
Political party	Nazi Party
Other political affiliations	Völkisch-Social Bloc
Spouse	Marion Russegger ​ (m. 1928)​
Relations	Oswald Freisler (brother)
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Jena
Profession	Judge, lawyer
Civilian awards	Golden Party Badge
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire
Branch/service	Prussian Army
Years of service	1914–1918
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	167th Infantry Regiment (1st Upper Alsatian) 22nd Division
Battles/wars	World War I
Military awards	Iron Cross, 2nd class

Karl Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945) was a German jurist, judge and politician who served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945. As a prominent ideologist of Nazism, he influenced as a jurist the Nazification of Germany's legal system. He attended the 1942 Wannsee Conference, the event which set the Holocaust in motion. He was appointed President of the People's Court in 1942, overseeing the prosecution of political crimes as a judge, and became known for his aggressive personality, his humiliation of defendants, and frequent use of the death penalty in sentencing.

Although the death penalty was abolished with the creation of the Federal Republic in 1949, Freisler's 1941 definition of murder in German law, as opposed to the less severe crime of manslaughter, survives in the Strafgesetzbuch § 211.