Hermann Behrends

Hermann Behrends (11 May 1907 in Rüstingen, Oldenburg - 4 December 1948 in Belgrade) was a Nazi Party and SS official, obtaining the rank of Brigadefuehrer in the latter organisation.

Born the son of a provincial innkeeper, he was educated to doctorate level in law at Marburg University but struggled to find employment in an economically depressed Weimar Germany. He joined the Nazi Party in January 1932 and the SS the following month. With no military experience he initially floundered but soon attracted the attentions of Reinhard Heydrich, who valued academic expertise, and he was transferred to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD).

Becoming a close friend of Heydrich, Behrends was the first chief of the SD in Berlin. He also served as Chief of Staff to Werner Lorenz in his capacity as head of the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle (VOMI). During the Second World War he was sent to Yugoslavia to lead the regional arm of the VOMI. His star had fallen somewhat after Heydrich's death as Heinrich Himmler was unimpressed by him, sensing that he was too ambitious.

He was hanged in Belgrade in 4 December 1948.