The latest historical studies based on declassified NSDAP membership files shed new light on people associated with pre-war Bunzlau and nearby towns. The documents reveal specific names, positions and career paths of people who helped create the local structures of the Nazi state.

One of the more important figures was Lehmann, born in 1899 in Berlin. A forester by profession, he became associated with the region through towns located near present-day Bolesławiec. He joined the NSDAP at the beginning of 1930 and eventually rose through the party structures. During the war, his activities extended beyond Lower Silesia – he also worked in occupied territories, indicating his significant position within the party apparatus.

Another important figure in the local structures was Eugen Boehme, born in 1897 in Jelenia Góra. Initially involved in education, he eventually took a managerial position in an office dealing with racial policy at the district level. This was one of the key functions in the Third Reich system, as it was responsible for implementing Nazi ideology in administrative practice.

Another figure was Fritz Bruske, born in 1908 in Kamienna Góra. He became active in Nowogrodziec, where he headed the local party structure and was also responsible for municipal affairs. His career shows how NSDAP activists simultaneously assumed political and administrative positions, enabling the party to exercise direct control over the lives of local communities.

Separate party units operated in Bunzlau itself, led by local activists. One of them was Alfred Ehrenberg, born in 1897 in Lubań. Associated with the region through several towns, he eventually worked in Bolesławiec as one of the leaders of the NSDAP structures. His activity took place during a period when the party already had full control over the state.

Women were also among those associated with the local NSDAP. One example is Gerda Jenkner, a specialist in poultry breeding. Although her professional activity was civilian in nature, she was a party member and lived for some time in the centre of Bolesławiec. Her biography shows that NSDAP structures included very diverse social groups, not only officials or politicians.

The revealed archival materials do not make it possible to assess the motivations of all NSDAP members unequivocally. In many cases, it is difficult to determine to what extent this was an ideological decision and to what extent it resulted from social or professional pressure. At the same time, the documents clearly show the scale of the connections between the party and public life in the region.

Historians stress that such sources are important not only for academic research, but also for understanding the history of local communities. They make it possible to reconstruct specific biographies and the mechanisms of a system that affected the daily lives of the inhabitants of these areas.

The German newspaper “Die Zeit” has compiled data on NSDAP members. Its tool enables users to browse millions of documents. Search by surname: https://www.zeit.de/wissen/2026-04/nsdap-mitgliederkartei-karteikarten-familienmitglieder-suche