Otto Georg Thierack

Otto Georg Thierack (April 19, 1889-October 26, 1946) was the Reich minister of justice during Adolf Hitler's rule.

Thierack was born in Wurzen in 19 April 1889. His law school studies were interrupted by World War I, during which he was scarred for life while fighting as a lieutenant. In 1920 he graduated law school as a lawyer and in 1932 he joined the Nazi Party, as well as heading the national socialist jurist organisation known as Rechtswahrerbund.

In 1933, the Nazi Party took over, and Thierack was appointed president of the people's court. He was then ordered to "Nazify" justice in Saxony, which he achieved by having all courts swear that they would uphold the law as it benefited the Nazis and developing it to discriminate against Jews and other "undesirables". In 1942, Thierack was promoted to justice minister, and Roland Freisler became president of the people's court.

As justice minister, Thierack had all courts decide how cases should be judged before they came to court, meaning whether or not criminals were convicted was already decided before they came to court. Thierack also shortened the appeals process in order to make it harder for those sentenced to death to be pardoned, and ordered that all prisoners who were Jews, Gypsies, Poles serving any sentence over three years, Czechs or Germans serving any sentence over eight years should be sent for extermination, thus contributing to The Holocaust.

After World War II, Thierack went on the run, but was captured in 1946 and committed suicide by swallowing poison on the 26th of October.