I was there myself, Excellency. He was sentenced to death on 08-04-1948 and spent three years in detention before being hanged at the Landsberg Prison in Bavaria on 07-06-1951, age 44, and he buried on the Spottinger prison cemetery. We were all so trained to obey orders without even thinking that the thought of disobeying an order would simply never have occurred to anybody, and somebody else would have done just as well if I hadnt. He talks about his law practice in Alabama, tells me how he once saved a man from the gallows. [11] Routine public opinion surveyswhich were under the purview of Ohlendorf and SS-Major Reinhard Hhnconstituted some of these reports. His pipe throws off a delicious fragrance. [16] Transfers from the RSHA to the Einsatzgruppen were in part due to personnel shortages but also to keep the initial killing operations confined to those who already knew the details, such as Ohlendorf, Arthur Nebe, and Paul Blobel. I look at him with astonishment. Martin Holler has argued convincingly that Otto Ohlendorf became to a certain degree the trailblazer for the complete solution of the Gypsy question on Soviet soil. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011. Graham nods. I ask him if he will pronounce the men dead. For Germanys most famous Nazi hunter, the behavior of those relatively few mass murderers who were ever held to account for their crimes was exasperating for another reason. There was one case in which the criminal admitted to having killed 60,000. Himmler, Ohlendorf said, was anxious about the answer. Defense attorneys of people accused of war crimes have looked hard for such a case because it would support the claim that their clients had no choice. It is cold up here in the loft of the prison workshop which has now been temporarily outfitted for this unusual purpose. Ohlendorf Name Meaning & Ohlendorf Family History at - Ancestry [44] Sometime in November 1944, he was promoted to Gruppenfhrer. They were to be the last death sentences on the soil of the Federal Republic. Reichsfhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler once characterized Ohlendorf as "an unbearable Prussian" who was "without humour". Otto Ohlendorf is born February 4, 1907 in Hoheneggelsen, Province of Hanover, Prussia, German Empire. The rope doesnt fit correctly. As Waitman Wade Beorn has argued, the, Holocaust by Bullets does not dominate our consciousness the same way as Auschwitz. [20][b] Ohlendorf's Einsatzgruppe in particular was responsible for the 13 December 1941 massacre at Simferopol, where at least 14,300 people, mostly Jews, were killed. The four-week tradition invoked by Dr. Strauss obviously applied to ordinary criminal cases, and the cases at Landsberg were not ordinary criminal cases: they had been heard in courts designed to meet an extraordinary spasm of criminality. Moreover, the Landsberg murderers had committed their crimes on non-German soil against non-German victims; that the prison happened to be situated in Germany was only a geographical accident. 0001: Two soldiers wearing neatly pressed olive drab uniforms are first to arrive in the loft. Death 7 Jun 1951 - Unavailable. The sergeant aide is looking into the pit where architect Blobel is hanging. Otto Ohlendorf, Einsatzgruppe D, and the 'Holocaust by Bullets' The official cameramen photograph the prisoner after one of the GI assistants places the nameplate across the condemned mans chest. Otto Ohlendorf (German pronunciation: [to olndf]; 4 February 1907 7 June 1951) was a German SS functionary and Holocaust perpetrator during the Nazi era. Counted together, the four units numbered some 3,000 men. Marking the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, The National WWII Museum connects two instances of remorse for Nazi criminality by leading German politicians. The Testimony of SS General Otto Ohlendorf, Einsatzgruppe D Graham shakes his head. I light a cigarette. Each one was charged with committing all three counts between June 1941 and July 1943. Otto Ohlendorf, one of the most notorious SS officials in Nazi Germany, was captured and interrogated extensively after the war. Twenty-two of the defendants were tried. I have a sinking feeling as I realize that in all probability seven men will be hanged in a little while, and that I am to witness the spectacle. Otto Ohlendorf in MyHeritage family trees (Family site (Family Tree Legends)) view all Immediate Family Conrad Christoph Carl Ohlendorf father Ernestine Wilhelmine called Minn. mother Emilie Emmie von Roeder sister Carl Ohlendorf brother Julius Ohlendorf brother Albert Ohlendorf brother Herman Ohlendorf brother Ida Emilie Caroline Thoene sister There is a report from Bonn that the Ministry of Justice is working frantically for a last minute reprieve. He has executed scores of criminals and has been flown from Texas to perform his job again. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2009. Otto Ohlendorf was convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during World War II. (Case No. I refuse to accept the suggestion made by the delegation that humanity breeds inhumanity. Seven Nazis Were Hanged: The Diary of a Witness CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. GI alert units are much in evidence, tommy guns at the ready. He is talking in his friendly Alabama drawl, but I scarcely know what he is saying. He is a small, slight man with soft, kindly eyes. . But it is almost unprecedented for those who have been charged with carrying out the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes since the end of World War Two. Found guilty for the mass murder of 90,000 men, women, and children, mostly Jews, Ohlendorf was sentenced to death in April 1948. He believes that the executions will do no harm politically and will prove that we meant to carry out our war aims, regardless of the fact that we now want the Germans to oppose Communism. The 11th Army of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedts Army Group South, to which Ohlendorfs unit was attached, bore responsibility for providing EinsatzgruppeD with food, lodging, gasoline, and taking care of maintenance and repair of its motor vehicles. Schmidt had been in charge of Buchenwald for three years. They came from every state in West Germany, and even from the United States. There is a slight crackle. . Articles describing the fine personal qualities of the war criminals were published by their wives, and a few mass-circulation magazines took to printing similar pieces by the families or former associates of top-rung Nazi leaders who had been executed long before. What kind of tasks did Heydrich have in mind for this group? Christopher Browning and Jrgen Matthus have contended that the turning point from mass murder to genocide was reached with the liquidation of the Jewish community in Nikolayev in mid-September 1941. Receiving support from the 11th Army, Ohlendorfs men murdered 5,000 Jews there, including women and children. We may be seated and smoke after each drop. The queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach comes back. American officials finally executed Otto Ohlendorf in June 1951. There had been three last-minute reprieves prior to June 7the most recent on May 24, ninety minutes before the actual hangings were due to take place. Ehlers declared that while they held no brief for many individual war criminals, yet at a time when West Germany was being called upon to make a military contribution to Western defense, they felt bound to call for modification of the death sentence on the ground of political and psychological factors. June 6, 1951 I am listening half-heartedly, reply in the negative. Otto Rasch: Rasch led Einsatzgruppe C. This unit perpetrated mass murder in Ukraine, including the shooting of more than 33,000 Jews of Kiev at. Right from the beginning, most Nazi war criminals never apologized for anything. I return to Grahams office. Born in Hoheneggelsen (today part of Shlde; then in the Kingdom of Prussia), Otto Ohlendorf came into the world as part of "a farming family". . Thats enough. The footsteps have a hollow sound on the wooden stairway leading up into the loft. It just seemed a necessity. His murderous activity certainly influenced the decision-making process of the other Einsatzgruppenleaders, insofar as Ohlendorfs formal transgressions were obviously in no way restricted, neither by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt[RSHA] nor by the relevant military commander. In September 1941, the earliest known murder of Soviet Roma by EinsatzgruppeD occurred at Nikolayev. [6], Ohlendorf joined the SD in 1936 and became an economic consultant of the organisation. It was, he argued, almost inhuman to keep men, regardless of the crimes they might have committed, in a state of terrible uncertainty as to whether they were going to live or die. I took a cup of coffee and a couple of the doughnuts being handed out by the mess sergeant, and sat down to listen to the game. Extermination of all Roma did not happen with the other Special Task Forces until the spring of 1942. My eyes are fixed on the rope. It is a report from Denmark, of all places, to the effect that the men have already been executed. After a talk by Hans Joachim Von Merkatz, a functionary of an influential right-wing political group, Ehlers introduced Bundestag Deputy Jakob Altmeier, a Socialist party member. It is three times as difficult for me as it is for my colleagues, he continued, to plead with you for commutation of the death sentences. The Bundestag adopted a unanimous resolution condemning the execution of any of the prisoners. Writer was one Frederick Wiehl, Pohls counsel in Germany: There will be no execution on Tuesday. 2200: CIC2 agents come in from the town of Landsberg-on-the-Lech. A former Newsweek foreign correspondent and editor, Andrew Nagorski is the author of The Nazi Hunters, which will be released on May 10. Doubts begin to stir in us again. You will receive a link to create a new password via email. Dehler indicated that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court would be based on these alleged mistakes. Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings, Case #9, The Einsatzgruppen Case Seven times I have listened as they swore, in their dying words, that they had merely carried out orders; that they had been fighting for their country; that the Americans were their enemies. He says there is to be a conference on the subject in the near future, urges me to attend. They are brought in on huge trays by a young prisoner whose face could be that of a friendly, smiling Kansas farmer. Four of the defendants who were charged had commanded Einsatzgruppen units sent into the Soviet Union and Soviet-controlled territory as part of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Ohlendorf was married with Kthe Wolpers on 10-06-1934 and they had five children, two boys and three girls, Henning, born 11-02-1938, Behrend, born 18-09-1943, Irmtraut, born March 25-03-1936, Meinhard, born 30-10-1940 and Ulrike, born 11-05-1945. . [24] To ensure the group killing mentality, Ohlendorf forbade any commando from taking individual actions and explicitly instructed his men not to take any of the victim's valuables. [43], Ohlendorf devoted only four years (19391943) of full-time activity to the RSHA, for in 1943, in addition to his other jobs, he became a deputy director general in the Reich Ministry of economic affairs. Ohlendorf went on to study law at two fine institutions, the Universities of Leipzig and Gttingen, as well as the University of Pavia in northern Italy. He says, whatever I have done, I did as a soldier who obeyed orders. Many historians have written about the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division, who fought with distinction during World War II. Ninety-nine out of one hundred of these communications showed as much understanding of the cases as your dog, Professor Schmid.. Create a FREE Account. 'A treasure of humanity': 102-year-old Nazi prosecutor is still pushing The tradition dated back to the 19th century. Wives have been asked to say their final goodbyesfor the fourth time. I seat myself next to Lieutenant Colonel Borom. Educated at a humanistic Gymnasium in Hildesheim, he later studied law at the . Berlin: Edition Heinrich, 1997. Heinrich Hoefler, a founder of the Christian Democratic party, based his appeal on humanitarian grounds. He wears black shirt, black trousers, leather belt and sandals. The GI interpreter asks: Have you any last words? The prisoner replies: Jawohl!. New York: Macmillan, 1982. Fighting the Allies during the North African campaign of 1942-1943, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommels Afrika Korps (DAK) was resupplied by a concerted air and sea lift effort. He expressed no remorse for his actions, telling prosecutor Benjamin B Ferenz, a Hungarian-born American lawyer that the Jews of America would suffer for what the prosecutor had done, and seemed to have been more concerned about the moral strain on those carrying out the murders than those being murdered. Army officers and GIs, with enormous keys on their belts, are moving in and out of the office. After his sentencing, Ohlendorf told him: The Jews in America will suffer for this.. Ohlendorf said that Himmler showed the letter to him and that he altered Himmler's text because "it had been unfortunately worded." I have lost my parents, my relatives and friends in the concentration camps. . In 19411943, Einsatzgruppen conducted mass shootings of hundreds of thousands of Jews, Communists, and others during Nazi Germanys campaign against the Soviet Union. 2151: There is a lot of bustle in Grahams office now, as uniformed officers and men come and go. What other motivations might have contributed to their participation in mass murder? If the Justices agree, there will be another two month delay, since the Court goes into summer recess. The town is tense with excitement but no real trouble is expected. The 24 defendants in Case #9 were all leading members of Einsatzgruppen that operated on the Eastern Front during World War II. Otto Ohlendorf Einsatzgruppen www.HolocaustResearchProject.org I think: Hadnt I better stay in Grahams office rather than witness this thing? . Then the members of the Special Task Force marched them off, ostensibly to a place of transportation. [28] The number of persons killed under the leadership of Einsatzgruppen commanders such as Ohlendorf are "staggering" despite the use of varying murder techniques. Will I be able to perform this simple act? He closes with a soft amen. Britt throws the black hood over Blobels head. The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942. was the ninth of the twelve trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity that the US authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. Twenty Einsatzgruppen leaders were found guilty by the court, and four, including Ohlendorf, were eventually executed. The slaughter perpetrated by Ohlendorf and his fellow commanders was face-to-face, and the murdered usually perished relatively close to their homes. Otto Ohlendorf was a German SS-Gruppenfhrer and head of the interior division of the SD. Theres no backing out now. After him are Konstantinos Karamanlis, Giovanna of Italy, Compay Segundo, Erich Mielke, Daniel Bovet, and Barbara Stanwyck. "[26][d], Many of the killing operations were personally overseen by Ohlendorf, who wanted to ensure they were "military in character and humane under the circumstances". Two cameramen, both GI noncoms, are fooling with their apparatus. He studied at the University of Pavia, where he gained his doctors degree in jurisprudence; and by 1933 he obtained the position of a research directorship in the Kiel Institute for the World Economy(at that timeInstitut fr Weltwirtschaft und Seeverkehr Institute for World Economy and Maritime Transport). Now not only Jewish men, whether in the Communist Party or deemed of fighting age, were targeted. The High Commissioner listened intently, eyes fixed on his scratch pad. Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 4 - Twenty-Sixth Day - Avalon Project Within the RSHA, he directed Office III, which, tellingly, undertook surveillance on the German population, monitoring attitudes towards the Hitler dictatorship and producing reports about what it discovered. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, 1981. Altmeiers opening words came as a shock to the High Commissioner who, for the first time in the meeting, kept his eyes glued to the speaker. Third mistake: Pohl was a man of many titles . Behind him is Paul Blobel whose Sonderkommando SS unit was involved in sixteen instances of mass murder, including the killing of 33,000 Jews in the Kiev massacre alone. And Ive never ordered anyone to kill a Jew. That gave him a certain peace of mind, he added, although he was under no illusions about his ultimate fate. The Tribunal rendered its judgment on April 89, 1948. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. They acted on their own. They argued that they had acted legally and in obedience to superior orders. . This unit perpetrated mass murder in the northernmost sector of the Eastern Front, primarily the Baltic countries and the area around Leningrad (today: St. Petersburg). In an office across the corridor from Colonel Grahams a few GIs are listening to a shortwave broadcast of a big league baseball game in New York. Reinhold Hanning, a 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard who will go down in history as one of the last of Hitlers perpetrators to be charged for his role in the Third Reich, offered an apology. . He studied at the University of Pavia, where he gained his doctor's degree in jurisprudence; and by 1933 he obtained the position of a research directorship in the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Otto Friedrich Ohlendorf (1893-1976) FamilySearch Ten of the fifteen death cases under McCloys jurisdiction were commuted, five confirmed; two of the eleven death cases under General Handys jurisdiction were confirmed, nine commuted. These, in turn, were handed over to Himmler and Hitler. Such actions continued right through December 1941. The appearance of the Einsatzgruppenwas a death sentence for entire Jewish communities. An economist by education, he was head of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) Inland, responsible for intelligence and security within Germany. St. John's Scholar | St. John's University Research For the Nazi hunters -- the government investigators and prosecutors along with the freelance operatives who have tracked and exposed the perpetrators -- this magnifies the role of these remaining court cases. OHLENDORF: Heydrich was wounded at the end of May 1942, and died on 4 June 1942. There was one ordained minister who renounced the cloth to become a Sonderkommando leader. 2100: Graham is excited over report from Munich newspaper to the effect that there has been another stay of execution. . According to Dehler, Pohl did not select them personally; he had delegated this authority to someone else. Otto. Otto Ohlendorf was born on the 4th of February 1907. In Germany he was serving his country not only as supreme representative of the United States government, but as the exponent of certain international agreements to which the U. S. government was a signatory. 2235: Graham is discussing the business of last rites. Have you ever done this before? [10] It was Ohlendorf's responsibility as head of the SD-Inland to collect data and scientifically examine social, cultural, and economic issues, assembling reports to his superiors in the Nazi government. General William H. Simpson, commander of Ninth Army, has received little attention in the historiography of World War II. Fritz Bauer, a German prosecutor from a secular Jewish family who had spent most of the Nazi era in exile, returned after the war determined to make his countrymen face up to the horrors committed in their name. The remainder of the trial, which lasted more than three months, was devoted to the defendants arguments. June 7, 1951 Graham says the men have eaten their last supper. Klein, Peter, ed. Himmler, these men hoped, would lead this government and Hitler would be pushed aside if necessary.
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