Hermann Fegelein

Background
Fegelein was born in Ansbach, Bavaria, to the retired Catholic Oberlieutenant Hans Fegelein. As a young boy, he worked at his father's horse riding school in Munich. When it closed due to the worldwide economic depression of the 1920s, he worked as a stable boy for Christian Weber, who was one of the original members of the Nazi Party.

In 1925, after studying for two terms at Munich University,[3] Fegelein joined the Reiterregiment 17 and on 27 April 1927, he joined the Bavarian State Police in Munich as an officer cadet. Whilst in Munich, he came into early contact with National Socialism, joining the Party (membership number 1,200,158) and the SA in 1930. By 1931, Fegelein had transferred to the SS.

Antics
Fegelein was noted for being a class-clown during his early tenure in the SS, much to the chagrin of his superior officers. This was fueled by his disdain for the socially macabre atmosphere of the SS. As a result, Fegelein decided to "lighten up the place." He began to commit antics on his superior officers, normally to comply with a dare posed by his friends, but often to impress and entertain them. One of Fegelein's commanding officers became so tormented by his antics that it drove him to commit suicide. While many would consider this to be a tragedy, Fegelein considered this to be a badge of honor. However, news of the officers suicide caught the attention of the division commander, who then demanded that Fegelein be arrested and jailed. This was considered by Fegelein to be the lowest point of his antics career. Fegelein was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in the local concentration camp. Incredibly, the sentence was commuted to one month probation. The order was issued by the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, who summoned Fegelein to SS headquarters.