	Lange was born in Weißwasser, Prussian Silesia, a town in present-day Saxony. His father was a railway construction supervisor. Lange finished high school in Staßfurt in 1928 and studied law in the University of Jena. He received a doctorate in law in 1933, and was recruited by the Gestapo office of Halle. He joined the "Sturmabteilung" (SA) in November 1933, but soon felt that this had been a bad career move. Thus, in 1936 Lange joined the "Schutzstaffel" (SS) (member number 290,308).