Georg Hangl

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grimm / Hangl monument in Götting
Grimm / Hangl monument (detail)
Grimm / Hangl memorial stone on the district road above Unterleiten

Georg Hangl (born July 28, 1889 in Lengmoos (near Wasserburg am Inn ), † April 28, 1945 in Götting ) was the main teacher in Götting and was murdered there by the SS shortly before the end of the Second World War .

Life

Georg Hangl was married to Louise Hangl and had three children. He was promoted to head teacher in 1930 and came to Götting as headmaster on January 1, 1934. Before that he worked at the school in Pang . In Götting he led the church choir and played the organ in the church.

At first, Hangl was not negative towards the National Socialists and joined the NSDAP in 1933 . He was also a member of the NS Teachers' Association , the NS People's Welfare , the Reich Air Protection Association , the People's League for Germanness Abroad and the NS Reich Warrior Association . According to his ruling chamber file , he did not hold any offices in these organizations. In the course of time he distanced himself more and more from National Socialism and eventually became one of the fiercest opponents.

assassination

Towards the end of the Second World War there were around 40 to 50 soldiers from the SS-Jagdverband Nordwest in Götting. Most of them withdrew on April 27, 1945, leaving a detachment consisting of about five men and a few women. They had set up a writing room in the Gasthaus Eder.

After Hangl heard the calls of the Bavarian Freedom Action (FAB) on the radio on the morning of April 28, 1945 (The FAB had announced that it had won government power the night before and called on the population to join the NSDAP officials remove), around 6:30 a.m. he went to Josef Grimm , the pastor of the village, to tell him about what he had just heard. A short time later they hoisted together the white and blue Bavaria flag on the south side of the church tower. The swastika flag was thrown down and caught in the gutter of the church.

Around 7 a.m., the two went to the landlord Josef Eder (Mayor of Götting until 1933) and told him about the FAB's appeal and about their plan to take action against the National Socialists on site. First, the remaining SS car, which was in the nearby shelter, was supposed to be damaged. However, since SS-Obersturmführer Bachot slept in the car, this was not implemented.

Hangl then went to school to inform the students that classes would be canceled that day. According to police, he used the words "(they) can go home and kill the Nazis".

In the meantime, the captain of a squadron of the Army Horse Hospital, who was also on site, went to the rectory in order to have the white and blue flag drawn in and the swastika flag removed from the gutter in the interests of peace and order. The white and blue flag was removed during morning mass and by 8 a.m. the swastika flag was removed from the church roof.

At around 3 p.m. SS-Obersturmführer Bachot and three other SS men returned to the place. A short time later they brought the second mayor Martin Krattenmacher, the community clerk Karl Braßler as well as the messner Josef Wörndl and his son into the office to question them about hoisting the white and blue flag. However, this questioning was inconclusive because the interviewees did not provide any information on this process.

Subsequently, Pastor Grimm was picked up by the SS from the parsonage and also interrogated in the office. He was then taken by car to the forest above Unterleiten and murdered there.

Soon afterwards the SS men came to the school house and arrested Georg Hangl on the grounds that he had to make a statement about the “pastor”. He was taken towards Gasthaus Eder. The group passed the Gasthaus Wagner. There he was supposed to be confronted with a sergeant of the Army Horse Hospital Squadron, whom he allegedly asked that morning whether the squadron had weapons. The NCO confirmed this, whereupon Hangl - possibly after a push from Bachot - tried to flee. Several witnesses who were in the inn saw Hangl walking past the side of the house and then heard gunshots. The death certificate for Hangl stated that the cause of death was “headshot and other bullets (shot by the SS)”. The SS troops left Götting that same night.

First, Hangl was laid out in the fire station and later transferred to the school building. Apparently by order of the SS he should be denied an honorable burial. Two days after the US Army moved in, Hangl and Pastor Grimm were buried on May 3, 1945, with great sympathy from the Göttingen population.

Criminal law processing

First investigation in 1945

As early as June 1945, the district office initiated an investigation. In August 1945, the first minutes of the interrogations of relatives and eyewitnesses were available. It was possible to identify three people who were presumed to be part of the group of perpetrators: Obersturmführer Josef Bachot, Unterscharführer Gaston Koeken and Unterscharführer Jean Moens. Since all three were Belgians, information was obtained from there. It turned out that Koeken and Moens had already been sentenced to lengthy imprisonment terms by a Belgian court martial and that the untraceable Bachot (in absentia) was even sentenced to death. Because of this, the Traunstein Public Prosecutor's Office closed the investigation at the end of 1950.

Arrest of Bachot in 1961

In May 1961 Josef Bachot, who lived under a false name, was discovered near Hanover . Thereupon the Traunstein public prosecutor arranged for his arrest and resumed the investigation. He always denied his involvement in the Hangl and Grimm murders. Bachot's lawyers tried several times to obtain parole; However, he remained for escape and danger of collusion in remand .

Preliminary investigations 1962

In January 1962 there were three proceedings at the Traunstein Regional Court - against Josef Bachot, Heinz K. and Leonhard L. In the interrogation on January 9, the former Unterscharführer Heinz K. incriminated him with his testimony on the murder of Pastors Grimm Bachot and Moens. He himself participated in a house search during the pick-up of Hangl, but was not involved in the shooting of the teacher.

Leonhard L. was unable to provide any relevant information about the two murders, as he was mainly in the office. However, he had heard that Bachot was involved in the shooting of concentration camp prisoners and foreign workers near Gießen-Marburg.

Thereupon an investigation was made against Bachot and against Leonhard L. and Heinz K. Koeken and Moens were also to be questioned about the matter, but Koeken was meanwhile placed in a mental hospital and could no longer give any relevant information about the events. The statement by Jean Moens about the two murders weighed heavily on Bachot.

The preliminary investigations were completed in May 1962. The main hearing was delayed due to a pending request for legal assistance from the Belgian authorities.

Main hearing in 1963

On February 27, 1963, the main trial against Bachot, who was charged with murder, began at the Traunstein Regional Court. A case against Heinz K. for complicity in murder was not opened for lack of evidence. A charge against Leonhard L. is not recorded in the files.

All of the surviving witnesses repeated their statements. Since Jean Moens was not personally present, the minutes of the interrogation carried out on a provisional basis as well as the statements of the witnesses who had already died were read out. On March 6, 1963, the taking of evidence was completed. The prosecution's application was for life imprisonment for each of the two murders and the deprivation of civil rights .

On March 7, 1963 the verdict was announced: it was "guilty of a crime of manslaughter" against Pastor Grimm and acquittal in the case of Hangl's execution. The sentence was 7 years in prison, taking full account of the pre-trial detention.

Both the defense and the chief prosecutor appealed. The Federal Court of Justice overturned the judgment on October 22, 1963 and referred the proceedings back to the Traunstein Regional Court. In December 1963, Bachot was released from custody.

New main hearing in 1965

On October 14, 1965, the main hearing was opened again. The taking of evidence this time only included the crime against Pastor Grimm, as the acquittal was already final with regard to Hangl's shooting. The relevant witnesses were questioned again.

On the fifth day of the trial the verdict was announced: guilty of manslaughter. This time, the sentence was three years and six months, including pre-trial detention. Josef Bachot had to pay the (partially reduced) costs of the proceedings.

In the grounds of the judgment it was mentioned that Bachot had been brought up to be submissive and obedient from an early age and that his membership in the SS had a negative influence on a normal awareness of injustice. Furthermore, towards the end of the war, human life would have counted little. In addition, Grimm had committed a serious crime according to the case law at the time, for which he was severely punished.

The public prosecutor's office in Traunstein again appealed, but this was rejected by the Federal Court of Justice on June 28, 1966. In September 1966, the remaining one year and one month imprisonment - against the objection of the public prosecutor - was converted into a three-year suspended sentence. On October 13, 1966, the warrant was overturned.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Spruchkammerakte K 4723 Hangl, Georg July 28, 1889
  2. ^ Letter from the Bruckmühl gendarmerie to the chief public prosecutor at the Traunstein regional court on April 29, 1945. Munich State Archives, Public Prosecutor's Office 31245/3
  3. ↑ death certificate no. 41 of April 1945, the District Police Department Aibling, State Archive Munich public prosecutors 31245/3
  4. ^ Letter from the Traunstein Public Prosecutor's Office dated December 23, 1950. Munich State Archives, Public Prosecutor's Office 31245/4
  5. ↑ Minutes of the interrogation of former Unterscharführer Heinz K. from 9./10. January 1962 State Archives Munich, public prosecutor's offices 31245/4
  6. ↑ interrogation transcript former. Hauptsturmfuehrer Leonhard L. February 26, 1962. State Archives in Munich, public prosecutors 31245/5.
  7. ^ Translation of the transcript of the interrogation of the former Unterscharführer Jean Moens on April 7, 1962. Munich State Archives, Public Prosecutor's Office 31245/5
  8. ↑ Various process documents, State Archive Munich, Public Prosecutor's Office 31245/9
  9. ^ Judgment in the criminal case against Josef Bachot of October 21, 1965. Munich State Archives, Public Prosecutor's Office 31245/9
personal data
SURNAME Hangl, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Teacher in Götting, murdered by the SS
DATE OF BIRTH July 28, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Lengmoos (near Wasserburg am Inn)
DATE OF DEATH April 28, 1945
Place of death Götting