Julius Schaub (20 August 1898 – 27 December 1967) was an aide and adjutant to German dictator Adolf Hitler from the 1920s until the dictator's suicide on 30 April 1945.
Born in 1898 in Munich, Bavaria, Schaub served as a field medic during World War I, during which he injured both of his feet. During the hard times which followed the war, Schaub joined the Nazi Party. After losing his job because of his membership, Hitler hired him as his personal aide, a position he held for over 20 years.
Schaub took care of Hitler's personal belongings, papers and travel journeys, making him a trusted figure in Hitler's inner circle. In 1924, he was imprisoned with Hitler for his involvement in the coup d'état attempt of November 1923 in Munich. In time he closely befriended Hitler. He was promoted to the position of chief aide and adjutant to Hitler in October 1940. Later in July 1944, Schaub was not present during the military briefing in a Wolfsschanze barrack in which a bomb exploded in an attempt on Hitler's life, killing four people and injuring twenty others. Schaub was in another building in the complex.
Schaub was ordered to leave the Führerbunker in late April 1945 and destroy all of Hitler's personal belongings and papers. He was arrested by the Americans on 8 May 1945. Schaub died on 27 December 1967 in Munich.
Early life
Julius Schaub was born on 20 August 1898 in Munich, a largely Catholic city in southern Bavaria. On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated by a group of Serbian and Bosnian rebels. This triggered the outbreak of World War I in Europe. On 17 January 1917, Schaub was drafted to serve as a field medic in the German Army. According to Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's private secretaries, both of Schaub's feet had been injured in the war, making him semi-handicapped. By the end of the war, Schaub found work as a contract worker at the Munich Central Supply Office.
Association with Hitler
After defeat in World War I, Germany was plunged into bankruptcy, social injustice, poverty, crime and mass unemployment. During these depressing years, Germany saw the creation of a number of extremist political and paramilitary associations, representing both the far-left and the far-right. Amidst this crisis, Schaub decided to join the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, later commonly known as the Nazi Party; he became member #81. The political program of the party was essentially a rejection of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and an embrace of antisemitism and anti-Bolshevism, driven by Adolf Hitler and his world view.
After getting involved with the Nazi Party, Schaub lost his job at the Munich Central Supply Office. Upon hearing the news, Hitler hired him as his personal aide-de-camp. Thereafter, Schaub looked after his confidential papers, carried money for Hitler's use and provided both secretary and security duties. He was part of Hitler's small circle of trusted bodyguards.
In 1923, the Nazis felt strong enough to try to seize power in Munich. They decided to march on the city, inspired by Benito Mussolini's successful march on Rome. Known as the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler and his paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA) troops failed to take control of Munich. In the aftermath, Schaub and other Nazis were arrested and imprisoned with Hitler at Landsberg Prison. Schaub was sentenced to years in prison and released on 31 December 1924. Eleven days after Hitler had been released from prison. After Hitler's release, there was an official reformation of the Nazi Party in early 1925. That same year, Hitler ordered the formation of a small new bodyguard unit dedicated to his personal service. It was tasked with providing personal protection for Hitler at party functions and events. Schaub became founding member number seven of the unit, which became known as the Schutzstaffel (SS) and made its first appearance in April.