Eugene Bird

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Eugene K. Bird (born March 11, 1926 in Lambert, Richland County (Montana) , United States , † October 28, 2005 in Berlin ) was an American officer (most recently Lieutenant Colonel) and director of the Spandau War Crimes Prison from 1964 to 1972 . After the American military leadership officially became aware of Bird's close collaboration with Rudolf Hess through the manuscripts for the 1974 book Loneliest Man in the World , Bird was placed under house arrest and released as the prison commandant.

Military background

Bird was born in the American hamlet of Lambert , part of Fox Lake in Richland County , Montana. He served in the United States Army from 1944 and took part in the battles against the National Socialist German Reich in Europe.

In 1947 he was the highest-ranking American guard in the Spandau War Crimes Prison. From 1964 to 1972 he was in command of the prison in Spandau, where the seven leading National Socialists who were sentenced to prison terms during the Nuremberg trial of the main war criminals were incarcerated. His military career ended in 1972 when he was forced to retire from military service.

Headquarters in Spandau

Over the years as the prison commandant, he developed a close relationship with the former Hitler deputy, Rudolf Hess. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Nuremberg trial of major war criminals and was the only inmate of the prison after Albert Speer and Baldur von Schirach were released in 1966.

During his time as the prison director, the book Rudolf Hess: Stellvertreter des Führers , published in 1974, was created , which has been translated into twelve languages, appeared in over 35 countries and became a bestseller . Bird openly admitted to visiting Hess, who was being held in strict solitary confinement, in his cell. In the epilogue of his book he describes the conversations with Hess and claims in it that both his superiors and his colleagues knew about these interviews and even supported them in some cases. In addition to processing various documents, Bird made a film with Hess that was shown on television years later. For Bird, the focus of interest was on the background to the "England flight" that Hess had undertaken in 1941. According to Bird, Hess had never regretted his involvement in the Nazi crimes .

These events led to the dismissal of Birds as commandant in Spandau, as his behavior, according to the Allied authorities, meant a breach of prison regulations. He was placed under house arrest, interrogated intensively and pressured to leave the US Army.

Life after 1972

Bird finally immigrated to Germany with his family and settled in Berlin, where he lived in the Zehlendorf district and ran a small business.

When Rudolf Hess died in 1987, Bird became, in line with the Hess family and various conspiracy ideologues , for example the right-wing extremist Olaf Rose , one of the spokesmen for those who doubt the official version of suicide. In his opinion, Hess was murdered by the British because the Soviet Union under Gorbachev had shown a willingness to release Hess. The British did not want to see Hess in freedom. He also expressed doubts that Hess, who was 93 at the time of his death, would have been physically capable of committing suicide. These views are highly controversial.

Bird was a member of the Christian Publicists Working Group and the June 17, 1953 Association .

Bird was married and had two daughters. He died on October 28, 2005 and was buried in the forest cemetery in Zehlendorf .

Publications

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Original English edition: The Loneliest Man in The World: The Inside Story of the 30-year Imprisonment of Rudolf Hess ; Secker & Warburg, London, 1974; ISBN 0-436-04290-8
  2. ↑ Karl-Heinz Janßen : The prisoner number seven. In: Die Zeit, April 19, 1974, no.17
  3. ↑ Documentation by Ulrike Bremer: Hitler's deputy: The case of Rudolf Hess ; First broadcast on HR television on August 11, 2005
  4. ^ Sources of IDGR: Anton Maegerle: Jubiläum für Christian Publizisten ; Volume number 20/96 p. 11, volume number 4/98 p. 15, volume number 2/01 p. 14 and anti-fascist news: "ACP" and "AFF" cooperate ; Mecklenburg, 8/1999
  5. ^ Press release of the association June 17, 1953 of November 13, 2005: Former U.S. commander dead . Under the name of Eugen K. Bird, Bird is referred to as the association's “loyal friend and advisor”.
personal data
SURNAME Bird, Eugene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bird, Eugene K.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer
DATE OF BIRTH March 11, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Lambert , Montana, United States
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 2005
Place of death Berlin