Editing Josef Terboven (section)

==Nazi Party career==
Terboven joined the [[Nazi Party]] in November 1923 with membership number 25,247 and participated in the abortive [[Beer Hall Putsch]] in [[Munich]]. As an early Party member, he later would be awarded the [[Golden Party Badge]]. When the Party subsequently was outlawed, he continued to work at the bank until after the ban was lifted in February 1925. In August 1925 Terboven went to work full-time for the Party, becoming the head of a small Nazi newspaper and book distributorship in Essen. At this time he also founded the ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) in Essen, becoming its first ''[[Ortsgruppenleiter]]''. He also joined the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA) becoming the SA-''Führer'' in Essen. He formally re-enrolled in the Party on 15 December 1925. By 1927, he had advanced to ''[[Bezirksleiter]]'' (District Leader) of the Essen district in the ''Großgau'' Ruhr. From 1927 to December 1930, Terboven was the editor of the weekly Nazi newspaper ''The New Front: The Weekly Sheet of the Working People.'' In 1929, he was sentenced to three months imprisonment for continuing to publish the proscribed paper. In the 20 May 1928 election, Terboven failed in his attempt to be elected to the [[Prussian Landtag]].{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2021|p=438}}
 
On 1 October 1928 upon the dissolution of the ''Großgau'' Ruhr, the Essen district became an independent unit subordinated to the central Party headquarters in Munich.  However, on 1 August 1930 the Essen district officially was raised to [[Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany|Gau]] status and Terboven was named ''[[Gauleiter]]''. He would retain this post throughout the Nazi regime.{{sfn|Orlow|1969|pp=140, 206}}

In 1930, Terboven also became a City Councilor in Essen and a member of the Provincial ''[[Landtag]]'' of the [[Rhine Province]] until it was [[Dissolution of parliament|dissolved]] in 1933. On 14 September 1930, Terboven was elected to the ''[[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]'' from electoral constituency 23, Dusseldorf-West; he would serve as a ''Reichstag'' deputy until the end of the Nazi regime. From 15 December 1930, Terboven was also the editor of the ''National-Zeiting in Essen''.{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2021|p=439}}

After the [[Nazi seizure of power]], Terboven was promoted to SA-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' on 1 March 1933 and made a member of the [[Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany)|Prussian State Council]] on 10 July 1933. On 28 June 1934, Terboven married Ilse Stahl, [[Joseph Goebbels]]'s former secretary and mistress. [[Adolf Hitler]] was a witness at the wedding, and while in Essen put into play preparations for the [[Night of the Long Knives]]. On 5 February 1935, Terboven was appointed ''[[Oberpräsident]]'' (High President) of Prussia's Rhine Province which included Gau Essen and three other Gaue. He thus united under his control the highest party and governmental offices within his jurisdiction. On 27 April 1935 Terboven received the [[Golden Party Badge]]. He was promoted to the rank of SA-''[[Obergruppenführer]]'' on 9 November 1936. On the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, he was named [[Reich Defense Commissioner]] for ''[[Wehrkreis]]'' (Military District) VI, which included his Gau together with [[Gau Dusseldorf]], [[Gau Cologne-Aachen]], most of [[Gau Westphalia-North]] and [[Gau Westphalia-South]] and part of [[Gau Weser-Ems]]. On 16 November 1942, the jurisdiction of the Reich Defense Commissioners was changed from the ''Wehrkreis'' to the Gau level and Terboven remained Commissioner for only his Gau of Essen.{{sfn|Höffkes|1986|p=346}}