Friedrich Karl Florian

Friedrich Karl Florian (4 February 1894 in Essen – 24 October 1975 in Mettmann) was the Gauleiter of Düsseldorf in Nazi Germany. He entered military service in August, 1914, as a Kriegsfreiwilliger and was assigned to Grenadier-Regiment 1 (Garrison: Königsberg). He served in the unit until 1916, when he volunteered for the Fliegertruppe and was assigned after training to Jagdstaffel (Jasta) 51 in Jagdgeschwader Richthofen. Shot down and captured by British troops in May, 1918, he was released from captivity in November, 1919.

He worked as Gauleiter of the Düsseldorf Gau from 1 January 1930 to 8 May 1945 – seven days after Adolf Hitler's death.

During this time, he was also a member of the Reichstag. On 1 May 1936, he was appointed to the Reich leadership. On 25 September 1933 he became an SA Gruppenführer, and on 30 January 1937 an SA Obergruppenführer.

During his stay in Düsseldorf, the racialist, right-wing journalist Lothrop Stoddard described Florian thus: "He was a distinctly sinister-looking type; hard-faced, with a cruel eye and a still crueler mouth. A sadist, if I ever saw one. I can imagine how unpopular he must be among the good-natured, kindly Duesseldorfers.'"

Florian was sentenced to six years in prison after the war because of his rank in the Nazi Party and released in 1951. He remained a convinced Nazi after the war and maintained contact to former associates from the Nazi era. He was charged with ordering the execution of five Düsseldorf citizens who had attempted to surrender the city to the US Army in April 1945 but was acquitted.