Hering began his police career in 1919 as a detective (sergeant) in the criminal police (
Kriminalpolizei, or Kripo) in
Göppingen, near
Stuttgart, making officer rank by 1929. In 1920, Hering had joined the
Social Democratic Party of Germany. During the Weimar Republic era he initiated vigorous actions against the
Nazi Party, SA and SS and consequently was called a "Nazi-eater". By the 1933
Nazi Seizure of Power ("Machtergreifung"), Nazi Party members vehemently demanded Hering's dismissal from the police. However, Hering had known Nazi
Christian Wirth from official contexts since 1912, and while working in the Kripo in Stuttgart, the two became acquaintances, so that Hering was able to continue working despite the violent protests of local
SA and
SS men. In May 1933 Hering finally joined the Nazi Party. In 1934 he was appointed head of the Göppingen Kripo and then continued his career in 1939 in Stuttgart-Schwenningen. After the outbreak of
World War II, Hering, along with other senior Kripo officers, was transferred to
Gotenhafen (
Gdynia) in December 1939. He was appointed with the task of resettling
Volksdeutsche to the
General Government.
Action T4 Beginning in late 1940, Hering held various functions within the
Action T4 "euthanasia" program. Having completed the order at Gdynia, he was transferred to work first at
Sonnenstein Euthanasia Centre. Hering served as an assistant supervisor (as did Fritz Tauscher) to a police officer by the name of Schemel. After Sonnenstein, Hering became the office manager at
Hartheim Euthanasia Centre. He also worked in the special registry offices of
Bernburg and
Hadamar euthanasia centres.
Operation Reinhard After
Action T4, Hering was posted briefly to the
Sicherheitsdienst (SD) in
Prague in June 1942, and was then transferred to
Operation Reinhard in
Lublin, Poland. He replaced
Christian Wirth as commandant of
Bełżec extermination camp at the end of August 1942. He served as the camp's commandant until its closure in .
Rudolf Reder, one of only two survivors of Bełżec, wrote of Hering's role in the killing of Jews. Tadeusz Misiewicz, a Pole who lived in the village of
Bełżec and worked at the train station, testified about Hering (file No.: Ds. 1604/45 –
Zamość. Dated 15 October 1945 / Belzec-OKBZ): ==Later career and death==