he was born in cottbus in 1908 and studied law at the universities of breslau and berlin, but did not complete his "abschluss" - degree -; he failed final exams twice and failed to complete his studies. in april 1932 he joined the nazi party (member number 1,106,851). shortly after the nazi rise to power, in 1933 winzer joined the "schutzstaffel" (ss). then he joined the "kriminalpolizei" in 1934.