He volunteered for military service with the Imperial German Army during the First World War and was promoted to Leutnant in the reserves.

He initially worked as a corporate counsel for a trading company from 1924 to 1926 before being appointed as a magistrate and a district judge in 1926 and 1928, respectively.

[4] Adolf Hitler's price for joining in a coalition government with the conservatives was the ministries of the interior and public education.

The Nazis joined the government and Franzen received the combined office of State Minister of the Interior and Public Education.

[7] In his powerful new position, Franzen began a purge of Social Democratic police officers, professors, school administrators and teachers, dismissing them from public service and filling the posts with Nazi and DNVP members.

Franzen responded on 12 June by issuing over 1,000 two or three days jail sentences for the parents of the striking students.