Josef Albert Meisinger (14 September 1899 – 7 March 1947), also known as the "Butcher of Warsaw", was an SS functionary in Nazi Germany.

During the early phases of World War II Meisinger served as commander of Einsatzgruppe IV in Poland.

On 18 January 1919 he attained the rank of Vizefeldwebel (senior sergeant), and on 19 April 1919 he entered the Freikorps under Franz Ritter von Epp, with whom he fought against the Soviet Republic of Bavaria.

As leader of the III Platoon of the II Company of the Freikorps Oberland, he took part in the Hitlerputsch on 8–9 November 1923.

Immediately thereafter, Heydrich transferred to its Berlin office and took with him trusted colleagues: Heinrich Müller (Gestapo), Franz Josef Huber and Meisinger, referred to as the Bajuwaren-Brigade (Bavarian Brigade).

[4] After the war, Walter Schellenberg the former head of the foreign intelligence section of the SD in the RHSA, described Meisinger as: One of the most evil creatures among Heydrich's bunch of thugs and he carried out the vilest of his orders...He was a frightening individual, a large, coarse-faced man with a bald head and an incredibly ugly face.

However, like many men of his type, he had drive and energy and an unscrupulous sort of cleverness...As a result of his long police experience he knew a good deal about the workings and methods of the Comintern.

Meisinger's investigation revealed that Blomberg's wife, Erna Gruhn, had been a prostitute with a police record and once posed for pornographic photos.

[2]: 116 In 1936 Meisinger had uncovered allegations of homosexuality made against the Commander-in-Chief of the Army Colonel General Werner von Fritsch.

At one point, Meisinger and Huber interrogated Otto Schmidt, a notorious criminal whose Berlin gang specialized in the blackmail of homosexuals.

On 1 January 1940, after promotion to SS-Standartenführer (colonel), Meisinger was appointed Commander of the State Police in the Warsaw District, replacing Lothar Beutel who had been denounced for corruption.

According to Schellenberg, his atrocities in Warsaw even appalled his superiors: "I had collected a huge file which proved him to be so utterly bestial and corrupt as to be practically inhuman...At this stage...Heydrich intervened: Meisinger knew too much, and Heydrich managed to prevent the trial from taking place.

[14] From 1 April 1941 to May 1945 Meisinger acted as Gestapo liaison connecting leaders and particular agents of the SD at the German Embassy in Tokyo.

[19] His proposals included the creation of a concentration camp on Chongming Island in the delta of the Yangtze,[20] or starvation on freighters off the coast of China.