Captured on 6 May 1945, he was shot and wounded during an escape attempt and then beaten to death by Czech guards on 8 June, after the war had ended.

[2][3] Hanke obtained an education as a milling engineer by attending the German Millers' School at Dippoldiswalde.

[3] He later attended the Berufspädagogische Institut in Berlin, receiving a degree that qualified him to teach milling at vocational schools.

[4][5] Hanke was fired from his teaching position at the vocational school in April 1931 for his political agitation for the Nazi Party.

[4][6] In his position as Kreisleiter of Westend in Berlin, Hanke was the first party official to establish contact with the young architect Albert Speer.

Hanke contracted Speer to convert a villa in the western suburbs into an office for the local party organization in 1932.

"[8] Adolf Hitler took an early liking to the outspoken young Hanke, who by April 1932 had become a Nazi Party delegate to the Prussian State Parliament (Landtag).

[4] Later in November 1932, Hanke was elected to the German Parliament (Reichstag) on the slate of the NSDAP, representing Potsdam.

[6] Hanke again secured a task for Albert Speer in July 1932, having him build a headquarters for the Berlin NSDAP in the centre of the city (at Vossstrasse 11).

[9] Following the Nazi takeover of power and the parliamentary elections of March 1933, Goebbels established the Propaganda Ministry (Propagandaministerium).

This led to Hanke serving as a special duties officer on the staff of the Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler from January 1935 through 1 April 1936.

[13] Also in January 1938, he became second vice president of the Reichskulturkammer (Reich Chamber of Culture; RKK) succeeding Walther Funk.

[24] He left active military service and in Breslau, Hitler appointed Hanke to the position of Gauleiter of the newly formed Gau Lower Silesia on 27 January 1941.

Hanke had a long affair with Baroness Freda von Fircks in Breslau, the daughter of a wealthy landowner and University of Berlin lecturer.

[32][33] Eight days beforehand, Hanke had been honored with the Nazi Party's highest decoration, the German Order, a reward for his defence of Breslau against the advancing Soviet Red Army.

Hanke's ascendancy to the rank of Reichsführer-SS was a result of Hitler proclaiming Himmler a traitor for his secretly-attempted surrender negotiations with the Western Allies.

The group attempted to fight its way back to Germany but, after a fierce battle with Czech partisans, surrendered in Nová Ves, southwest of Chomutov, on 6 May.

His true identity was not discovered by his captors, and Hanke was thus placed in a prisoner of war (POW) camp alongside low-ranking SS members.