Jan Paap: Difference between revisions

| era = {{hlist|[[Vader Era]]|[[Middenvader Era]]|[[Vriend Era]]}}

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* [[Antonie Ronald Paap]] (cousin)

'''Jan Paap''' (21 January 1919 – between 1999 and 2005) was a German-born dictator and former [[Heer]] soldier who founded the [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]]. He served as the first [[Führer of Tanoa]] from 1944 until his retirement in January 1980. Paap deserted from the [[Eastern Front]] in 1944, reached [[Argentina]] and formed the [[Argentine Einsatz]] in [[Rada Tilly]] on 13 May. He led its expedition to [[Tanoa]], where he established a centralized dictatorship that later expanded beyond the island. His son [[Eef Paap]] succeeded him as Führer.<ref name="argentine-history"/><ref name="government-leadership"/>

Jan Paap was born in [[Warendorf]], Germany, on 21 January 1919. He was the younger son of [[Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap]] and [[Elsbeth Kranz]], and his older brother was [[Martin Paap I]]. Martinus intended Jan to succeed him as [[Great Paap]] and inherit responsibility for the [[Book of Paap]].<ref name="martinus-personal"/><ref name="great-paap-rejection"/> Jan grew up in Warendorf and began attending the ''Volksschule der Alten Pfarre'' in 1925. He completed the normal eight-year course in 1933.

 

 

Paap entered 2./[[Infanterie-Regiment 39]] at [[Münster]] in March 1936, aged 17. During training he repeatedly tried to control other recruits and gave them instructions despite holding no authority over them. His NCOs found that other soldiers often followed him and began giving him small responsibilities during exercises. He remained a ''Schütze''. When the regiment was reorganized on 6 October 1936, Paap continued with his battalion as a member of 2./[[Infanterie-Regiment 78]] at [[Aachen]]. He was promoted to ''Oberschütze'' on 1 March 1937.

On 19 June 1937, Paap was arrested in Aachen after being caught having sexual intercourse in public while off duty. The arrest was reported to his company and he received a formal reprimand. Other soldiers began calling him "the Street Pervert". Paap resented the nickname and reacted aggressively when it was used. In 1938, another soldier refused an attempt by Paap to order him around and then used the nickname. Paap attacked him and injured him badly enough to require treatment in the infirmary. He received military confinement and another disciplinary entry, which contributed to the delay of his next promotion.

 

 

In June 1941, Paap moved east with the [[26. Infanterie-Division]] for [[Operation Barbarossa]]. By 1943, Infanterie-Regiment 78 had been redesignated [[Grenadier-Regiment 78]]. On 6 January 1943, Paap encountered his cousin [[Antonie Ronald Paap]] at the recently recaptured Rzhev airfield. Hundreds of German soldiers were passing through the damaged airfield when the two recognized each other. Antonie raised Jan's expected succession as Great Paap and spoke in defence of the Book of Paap. Jan told him that he rejected the book and did not intend to take the title. Antonie accused him of betraying the Paap family, and the argument became a fight. Antonie fought back, but Jan overpowered him and knocked out several of his teeth before officers separated them.<ref name="antonie-military"/>

 

 

Paap was punished for the airfield fight and temporarily removed from Grenadier-Regiment 78. From January until 6 March 1943, he served with the divisional supply troops of the 26. Infanterie-Division. After returning to 2./Grenadier-Regiment 78, he repeatedly shot Soviet soldiers after they had surrendered. Some officers were aware of the killings and did not punish him. Paap also carried them out during periods when direct supervision was limited.

 

 

In August 1943, Paap joined 1./[[Infanterie-Bataillon z.b.V. 500]] in the Kuban. He reacted to the transfer by becoming increasingly reckless in combat and repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire. He also continued killing Soviet prisoners and wounded soldiers after positions had been taken. His Gruppenführer, an ''Unteroffizier'' from the battalion's supervisory cadre, physically abused him during disputes and repeatedly assigned him exposed duties. On 28 August 1943, Paap killed the NCO while they were away from the rest of the unit. The Gruppenführer was believed to have died during a shootout with Soviet troops. Paap's responsibility was not known during the war and became public only when he admitted the killing in a later memoir.

 

 

On 17 January 1944, Paap decided to desert. He contacted Schäfer through [[Feldpost]] and met him near Kryvyi Rih on 23 January. Schäfer agreed to help because of their friendship, while Paap also paid him for taking the risk. Schäfer provided civilian clothing and a forged civilian identity document, then carried Paap west with one of his transport movements before leaving him in [[Uman]].<ref name="tanoa-history-1940s"/>

 

Paap founded the [[Argentine Einsatz]] in Rada Tilly on the day of his arrival, 13 May 1944.<ref name="argentine-formation"/> He began recruitment through small cells in Patagonia and learned Spanish while preparing the expedition. At one of the early recruitment meetings in Comodoro Rivadavia, he met [[Jose Alem]], then a ''Cabo'' in Regimiento de Infantería 8. Alem quickly became devoted to Paap and followed his decisions without challenging his authority. He remained in the Argentine Army for a short period while helping recruit a few fellow soldiers. Alem and several of those men deserted shortly before the expedition left Argentina.

 

Paap retained direct control over the Argentine Einsatz. He personally checked recruitment work, transport preparations and the vessels intended for the expedition. He demanded that information be brought directly to him and became impatient when work was delayed. By August, the organization had approximately 3,400 members.<ref name="argentine-recruitment"/> The expedition departed from the port of Comodoro Rivadavia on 28 July 1944 using both chartered merchant vessels and ships seized for the voyage. During the crossing, Paap ordered one member who had repeatedly disobeyed him to jump overboard. Paap refused to stop the expedition to recover him, and the man drowned.

 

 

 

Paap continued west and personally ordered [[Savu]] burned during its occupation. The destruction and killings became known as the [[1944 Savu massacre]]. He then advanced toward [[Saint-Paul]], where local resistance was suppressed and the surviving inhabitants were enslaved. His forces initially passed [[Petit Nicolet]] without occupying it. They later returned to impose the new administration. Most inhabitants who resisted during the return were shot, while the survivors were enslaved. Forced labour remained central to construction and resource extraction as Paap's control expanded across Tanoa.<ref name="tanoa-history-1940s"/>

Paap founded the [[NSTAP]] in 1944 as the ruling political organization of the new state. On 8 May 1945, following the German surrender, he personally authorized [[Operation Sternzug]] to obtain German rocket personnel and technical records. The first copied V-2 archive reached Tanoan custody in June.<ref name="weltraum-origins"/> During 1945, he also established the [[Paapjugend]] and the [[Reichsschatzamt von Tanoa]].<ref name="tanoa-history-1940s"/>

On 10 October 1945, Paap founded [[Georgetown]]. He personally selected the site because he preferred the location and named the city after Georg Schäfer.<ref name="georgetown-history"/> Georgetown became the main administrative centre of the regime. In 1949, Paap named the [[1st Allgemeine SS Division "Siege Chiche"]] after the birth of [[Chiche Alem]].<ref name="tanoa-history-1940s"/>

Paap held supreme authority over the state throughout his rule. Major political decisions remained subordinate to him, and no independent legislature or judiciary limited the office of Führer.<ref name="government-leadership"/> He routinely demanded direct reports from subordinate officials and intervened personally in matters that could otherwise have been delegated. Forced labour was expanded for construction and resource extraction. Security forces confiscated property, punished resistance and carried out killings without judicial proceedings.<ref name="tanoa-history-1940s"/>

In 1950, Paap established the [[Oberkommando der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]] as the central command authority of the state. The same year, he proposed the [[Reichsvilla]] project. Construction planning began, but the project was later abandoned after resistance activity disrupted the work. Paap also continued expanding the administrative offices placed under his authority. The [[Reichsschatzamt von Tanoa]] introduced the [[Tanoanische Reichsmark]], whose coins carried Paap's portrait.<ref name="tanoa-history-1950s"/>

In 1952, Paap authorized a biological reconstruction programme intended to revive extinct species for military use. The first successful prototype was produced in 1956 and the programme developed into the [[Dinosaurier-Truppen]].<ref name="tanoa-history-1950s"/> In 1953, Patagonia came under de facto Tanoan control. Paap continued to intervene directly in government during the following decade, while additional administrative offices remained subordinate to the Führer. Argentina was formally annexed in 1965 and brought under the regime's financial and population-control systems.<ref name="tanoa-history-1960s"/>

During the 1970s, Paap oversaw the [[Tanoa Einsatz Expansionist Campaign]]. [[Liberia]] was placed under the puppet administration of [[Großliberia]] in 1974. [[Fiji]] was annexed in 1975 and placed under direct military rule. In 1976, Paap's government introduced the [[Neger Buch]] as a compulsory registration document for native inhabitants of Tanoa. [[Rwanda]] became a Tanoan puppet state in 1979.<ref name="tanoa-history-1970s"/>

During the late 1970s, Paap selected his son [[Eef Paap]] as his successor. He formally retired in January 1980 after thirty-six years as Führer. Eef was formally promoted during a state ceremony in Georgetown on 6 November 1980. Because Eef was still a child, Jan continued advising him until 1987.<ref name="tanoa-history-1980s"/><ref name="eef-succession"/>

Paap remained in Tanoa after withdrawing from government. The date of his death was not documented and has been estimated as occurring between 1999 and 2005. Old age was generally given as the cause. After the collapse of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen, members of the [[Fish Collective]] claimed that fragmented records recovered from the [[Führerhaus]] indicated that Eef may have killed Jan in 2005 to secure undisputed control of the regime. The surviving records did not establish the claim conclusively.

<ref name="argentine-formation">"[[Argentine Einsatz#History|History]]". ''Argentine Einsatz''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="great-paap-rejection">"[[Great Paap#Jan Paap's rejection|Jan Paap's rejection]]". ''Great Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="martinus-personal">"[[Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap#Personal life|Personal life]]". ''Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>