Flossenbürg main trial

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cleric Lelere, a former Flossenbürg prisoner, testified on June 21, 1946 in the main Flossenbürg trial. To the right is the interpreter, Fred Stecker.

The Flossenburg main process was a war crimes trial of the United States Army in the American occupation zone in military court in Dachau . This process took place from June 12, 1946 to January 22, 1947 in the Dachau internment camp , where the Dachau concentration camp was located until the end of April 1945 . In this trial, 52 people were charged with war crimes in connection with the Flossenbürg concentration camp and its subcamps . The trial ended with 40 convictions. Officially, the case was named United States of America vs. Friedrich Becker et al. - Case labeled 000-50-46 . The Flossenbürg main trial was followed by 18 secondary trials with 42 defendants, which also took place as part of the Dachau trials .

Legal basis and indictment

The legal basis of the procedure was formed by the "Rules of Military Government Courts" based on the decrees of the Military Government .

The content of the indictment was the "violation of the customs and laws of war" committed against non-German civilians and prisoners of war during the period from January 1, 1942 to May 8, 1945 in Flossenbürg and the satellite camps. Crimes committed by German perpetrators against German victims went unpunished for a long time and were usually only tried in German courts later. The defendants were also accused of unlawfully and deliberately participating in the ill-treatment and killing of non-German civilians and prisoners of war as part of a common design .

The trial opened in the Military Tribunal on June 12, 1946. The prosecution under Chief Prosecutor William D. Denson consisted of several American officers and relied on the results of investigations by American investigators who had documented crimes in connection with the Flossenbürg concentration camp as part of the War Crimes Program . Legal counsel was provided to the defendants. Since the language of the court was English, interpreters had to translate into English and German between the court and the defendants. After reading out the indictment, the defendants all plead “not guilty”.

The charges against one accused were withdrawn. With six other accused on December 17, 1946 the continuation of the criminal proceedings were waived (among them the namesake of the trial Friedrich Becker); of them, however, four, including the camp doctor Heinrich Schmitz , had to answer in the following ancillary processes. The majority of the remaining 45 defendants, most of whom were German, were accused of neglecting, mistreating and killing prisoners, especially on the death marches . Most of the accused were members of the SS and Waffen SS . In addition, over 15 prison functionaries or former inmates were accused. These mostly "criminal" Kapos filled important functions within the camp in Flossenbürg, which in other concentration camps were occupied by so-called "political" prison functionaries.

On January 22, 1947, the judges were pronounced by the chairman of the military tribunal . In addition to 15 death sentences , eleven life sentences and 14 temporary prison sentences were imposed. Five of the defendants were acquitted. Following review procedures, three death sentences were reduced to life imprisonment and the other sentences were upheld. The convicts were transferred to the Landsberg war crimes prison . The death sentences were carried out on October 3 and 15, 1947 by the strand in Landsberg.

The 45 judgments in detail

Defendant rank function judgment
Konrad Blomberg SS-Obersturmführer and Chief Criminal Secretary Head of the Political Department Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Christian Mohr SS-Unterscharführer Command leader Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Ludwig Schwarz SS-Hauptsturmführer Head of the Hersbruck subcamp Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Bruno Skierka SS-Untersturmführer Head of a guard company Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Albert Roller SS Sturmscharführer Head of the Lengenfeld subcamp Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Erhard Wolf SS rank unknown Block leader and commando leader, head of the camp prison Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Josef Wurst SS Rottenführer Security team outside camp Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Cornelius Schwanner SS-Hauptscharführer Command leader of the subcamps Johanngeorgenstadt and Obertraubling Death sentence, executed October 15, 1947
Josef Hauser Function prisoner Kapo Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Christian Eisbusch Function prisoner Kapo Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
Willi Olschewski Function prisoner Kapo Death sentence, executed October 3, 1947
August Ginschel Function prisoner Block elder Death sentence, executed October 15, 1947
Wilhelm Brusch SS-Oberscharführer Head of the Wolkenburg subcamp Death sentence reduced to life imprisonment
Karl Keiling SS Sturmscharführer Guards Death sentence reduced to life imprisonment
Alois Schubert SS-Obersturmführer Director of the Messerschmitt factory Death sentence reduced to life imprisonment
Ludwig Buddensieg SS-Hauptsturmführer Commander of the Guard Battalion lifelong prison sentence
Johann Geisberger SS-Hauptscharführer Block leader lifelong prison sentence
Michael Gelhard SS Rottenführer Block, command and dog handlers lifelong prison sentence
Erich Mußfeldt SS-Oberscharführer Report leader lifelong prison sentence
Hermann Pachen SS-Obersturmführer Leader of an evacuation march lifelong prison sentence
Otto Pawliczek SS-Oberscharführer Block and command leaders lifelong prison sentence
Erich Penz SS storm man Guards, dog handlers lifelong prison sentence
Josef Pinter SS Rottenführer Guards, dog handlers lifelong prison sentence
Alois Jakubith Function prisoner Kapo lifelong prison sentence
Karl Mathoi Function prisoner Camp elder and Kapo lifelong prison sentence
Georg Weilbach Function prisoner second camp elder and Kapo lifelong prison sentence
Raymond Mason Function prisoner Kapo 30 years imprisonment
Gerhard Haubold SS-Oberscharführer Security guard in the camp prison 20 years imprisonment
Eduard Losch SS rank unknown Command leader 20 years imprisonment
Walter Reupsch SS-Unterscharführer Warehouse pharmacist 20 years imprisonment
Kurt Erich Schreiber SS-Hauptscharführer Command leader, trainer of the recruits 20 years imprisonment
Hermann Sommerfeld SS-Obersturmführer Leader of an evacuation march 15 years imprisonment
August Fahrnbauer SS-Oberscharführer Labor service leader and deputy camp manager of the Plattling subcamp 15 years imprisonment
Peter Bongartz Function prisoner Oberkapo in the Hersbruck subcamp 15 years imprisonment
Walter Paul Adolf Neye Function prisoner Block elder 15 years imprisonment
Hans Johann Lipinski Function prisoner Kapo 10 years imprisonment
Gustav Matzke Function prisoner Kapo Messerschmitt factory 10 years imprisonment
Karl graves SS-Oberscharführer Guards 10 years imprisonment
Franz Berger SS-Sturmbannführer Commander of the Guard Battalion 3.5 years imprisonment
Joseph Becker SS rank unknown Security team at the subcamp in Wolkenburg 1 year imprisonment
Karl Buttner Flossenbürg prisoner Block elder acquittal
Karl Friedrich Alois Gieselmann Flossenbürg prisoner unknown acquittal
Georg Hoinisch Flossenbürg prisoner unknown acquittal
Theodor Retzlaff Flossenbürg prisoner unknown acquittal
Peter's heart unknown unknown acquittal

Side processes

A further 18 secondary trials were based on the Flossenbürg main trial in which 42 suspects, including at least eleven prisoner functionaries, had to answer for war crimes in the Flossenbürg concentration camp and its subcamps. These secondary trials, in which up to seven suspects were tried, also took place in the Dachau internment camp from June 1947 to December 1947. In addition to 24 prison sentences, including eight life sentences, and seven acquittals, eleven death sentences were pronounced, six of which were carried out.

literature

  • Robert Sigel: In the interests of justice. The Dachau war crimes trials 1945–1948. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-593-34641-9 .
  • Ute Stiepani: The Dachau Trials and their significance in the context of the Allied prosecution of Nazi crimes. In: Gerd R. Ueberschär : The allied trials against war criminals and soldiers 1943–1952. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-596-13589-3 .
  • Review and Recommendations of the Deputy Judge Advocate for War Crimes: United States of America v. Friedrich Becker et al. - Case 000-50-46 original document Flossenbürg main trial May 21, 1947 (English, PDF file; 9.71 MB)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Robert Sigel: In the interest of justice. The Dachau war crimes trials 1945–1948. Frankfurt am Main 1992, p. 107f.
    Flossenbürg Main Trial: Review and Recommendations of the Deputy Judge Advocate for War Crimes: United States of America v. Friedrich Becker et al. - Case 000-50-46, May 21, 1947.
  2. ↑ Cf. Robert Sigel: In the interest of justice. The Dachau war crimes trials 1945–1948. Frankfurt am Main 1992, p. 36.
  3. ↑ See Flossenbürg main process: Review and Recommendations of the Deputy Judge Advocate for War Crimes: United States of America v. Friedrich Becker et al. - Case 000-50-46, May 21, 1947.
  4. ↑ See Flossenbürg main process: Review and Recommendations of the Deputy Judge Advocate for War Crimes: United States of America v. Friedrich Becker et al. - Case 000-50-46, May 21, 1947, pp. 2f.
  5. ↑ Cf. Robert Sigel: In the interest of justice. The Dachau war crimes trials 1945–1948. Frankfurt am Main 1992, p. 108.
  6. ↑ Flossenbürg main trial / judgments on jewishvirtuallibrary.org
  7. ↑ Cf. Flossenbürg main process and secondary processes
    Robert Sigel: In the interest of justice. The Dachau war crimes trials 1945–1948. Frankfurt am Main 1992, p. 109.