Jan Paap

Jan Paap
Born	(1919-01-21)21 January 1919 Warendorf, Germany
Died	1999–2005 Tanoa
Era	Vader Era Middenvader Era Vriend Era
Known for	Founder of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Title	Führer of Tanoa
Term	13 May 1944 – January 1980
Predecessor	Office established
Successor	Eef Paap
Political party	NSTAP
Children	Eef Paap Daniel Paap Richard Nicolaas Paap
Parents	Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap (father) Elsbeth Kranz (mother)
Relatives	Martin Paap I (brother) Antonie Ronald Paap (cousin)
Family	Paap family
Military career
Allegiance	Template:Country data Nazi Germany
Branch	Heer
Service years	1936–1944
Rank	Gefreiter
Unit	2./Infanterie-Regiment 39 (March–October 1936) 2./Infanterie-Regiment 78 (1936–1942) 2./Grenadier-Regiment 78 (1942–January 1943, March–July 1943) Divisions-Nachschubtruppen 26 (January–March 1943) 1./Infanterie-Bataillon z.b.V. 500 (August 1943–January 1944)
Conflicts	Second World War Battle of France Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa Battle of Rzhev Battle of Kursk Battle of the Caucasus Melitopol offensive

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.

Early life

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. Jan grew up in Warendorf and began attending the Volksschule der Alten Pfarre in 1925. He completed the normal eight-year course in 1933.

In 1934, Paap began breaking into bakeries in Warendorf at night. He stole food and money, damaged the interiors and wrote demonic remarks on the walls. In 1935, he was caught during one of the break-ins and spent one week in detention. Martinus imposed stricter rules after his release, but Jan repeatedly ignored them. In 1936, Martinus used his military contacts to arrange his early voluntary entry into the German Army, intending military discipline to bring his behaviour under control.

Military service

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.

During 1938, Paap also became more committed to Glöbbery. An older German businessman in Aachen introduced him to the order and arranged his first visit to Festung Glöbbelhart in Switzerland. Paap became a Glöbberist that year. His military conduct continued to deteriorate during 1939. He argued with NCOs and remained controlling toward other soldiers, although his officers increasingly tolerated his conduct after mobilization. Paap was promoted to Gefreiter on 3 April 1940.

Paap served with Infanterie-Regiment 78 during the 1940 western campaign. During the advance through Luxembourg and northern France, he assaulted civilians both during military searches and without an immediate operational reason. His superiors responded by removing him from duties that regularly brought him into contact with civilians and kept him with the front-line elements of his company. He remained largely free of further formal disciplinary action through the occupation period in France.

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.

The confrontation marked Jan's formal rejection of the Great Paap succession. He severed ties with Martinus and rejected the religious responsibilities associated with the title. Martinus remained Great Paap until his conviction for war crimes on 28 October 1948, when Martin Paap I succeeded him. Martinus later tried repeatedly to restore contact through letters and relatives, but Jan refused.

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.

During the fighting west of Kursk in July 1943, Paap became increasingly frustrated that his formation remained in a defensive sector while other German formations conducted the main offensive. He led a small group out of its position in an unauthorized attack. Soviet fire stopped the advance and several of the soldiers who followed him were killed. Paap showed little concern for the casualties after returning to the German position. He was court-martialled for disobedience and received a one-year military prison sentence. The sentence was suspended while the war continued, and he was transferred to a probationary front-line unit.

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.

Paap remained with the battalion during the fighting around Melitopol in September 1943. In late October, while the battalion was operating near Kryvyi Rih, he met Georg Schäfer, an SS-Untersturmführer commanding a motor-transport platoon in the divisional supply troops of the 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf. The two became friends.

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.

Paap continued alone. From Uman he travelled through Lviv and Kraków, then crossed Germany and occupied France. After reaching the Bayonne area, he paid a Basque guide to take him across the Pyrenees into Spain. He travelled to A Coruña and obtained passage on a merchant vessel to Buenos Aires. From there he travelled south by coastal shipping to Comodoro Rivadavia and reached nearby Rada Tilly overland on 13 May 1944.

Founding of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen

Paap founded the Argentine Einsatz in Rada Tilly on the day of his arrival, 13 May 1944. 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. 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.

The expedition reached Tanoa on 9 August 1944 and landed first on Ravi-Ta. Paap personally directed the landing and ordered native inhabitants to begin forced construction of the first barracks and command facilities. He remained on Ravi-Ta during the first days and closely supervised the establishment of the base. The Argentine Einsatz was reorganized as the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen, with Paap as Führer. Jose Alem entered the senior leadership after the landing and became the first Reichsführer-SS when the Allgemeine SS was formed.

On 15 August, Paap crossed to the main Tanoan landmass and ordered the occupation of Nasua. Its inhabitants resisted, the resistance was suppressed and the surviving population was enslaved. Paap remained there for several days before continuing the advance. On 18 August, he ordered the occupation of Momea and then moved rapidly toward La Rochelle. At La Rochelle, Paap issued a written order imposing reproductive coercion on adult native captives throughout territory under his control. The policy was intended to increase the future enslaved population.

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.

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. During 1945, he also established the Paapjugend and the Reichsschatzamt von Tanoa.

On 10 October 1945, Paap founded Georgetown. He personally selected the site because he preferred the location and named the city after Georg Schäfer. 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.

Rule as Führer

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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Retirement and death

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.

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.

See also

• Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
• History of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
• Argentine Einsatz
• Führer of Tanoa
• Eef Paap
• Great Paap
• Book of Paap
• Glöbbery
• Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap
• Martin Paap I