Erich Priebke
Encyclopedia
Erich Priebke is a former Hauptsturmführer
(Captain) in the Waffen SS. In 1996 he was convicted of war crimes in Italy
, for participating in the massacre at the Ardeatine caves
in Rome
, on March 24, 1944. 335 Italian civilians were killed there in retaliation after a partisan
attack had claimed the lives of 33 German soldier
s (an SS military police
battalion from South Tyrol
). Priebke was one of those who was held responsible for this mass execution. After the defeat of Nazi Germany
, he got help to flee to Argentina
where he lived for over 50 years.
In 1991, Priebke's participation in the Rome massacre was denounced in Esteban Buch's book. In 1994, 50 years after the massacre, Priebke felt he could now talk about the incident and was interviewed by an American ABC
News reporter Sam Donaldson
. This caused outrage among people who had not forgotten the incident, and led to his extradition to Italy and a trial which would last more than four years.
Adolf Hitler
is reported, but never confirmed, to have ordered that within 24 hours, ten condemned Italians were to be shot for each dead German. Commander Herbert Kappler
in Rome quickly compiled a list of 320 prisoners to be killed. Kappler voluntarily added ten more names to the list when the 33rd German died after the Partisan attack. The total number of people executed at the Fosse Ardeatine was 335, mostly Italian. The largest cohesive group among those executed were the members of Bandiera Rossa (Red Flag), a non-mainstream Communist (Trotskyist) military Resistance group, along with more than 70 Jews.
On the 24 March, led by SS officers, Erich Priebke and Karl Hass
, the victims were killed inside the Ardeatine caves in groups of five. They were led into the caves with their hands tied behind their back and then shot in the neck. Many were forced to kneel down over the bodies of those who had been killed before them. During the killings, it was found that a mistake had been made and that five additional people who were not on the list had been brought up to the caves.
There were arguments among the Nazi leadership in Rome and between Hitler and his command over whether 50, 30, or 10 Italians should be killed for every German. Priebke is often accused of murder because an additional 5 people were killed who were not on the list of 330 condemned by the "ten to one" rule. As a result Priebke's trial strongly focused on these 5 extra killings. Priebke was responsible for the list and his complicity in those killings ruled out any possible justification for Priebke's behaviour on the basis of "obedience to official orders".
In order to fill the numerical quota; many of the prisoners at via Tasso and Regina Coeli who happened to be available at the time were sent to their deaths by the Nazis at the Fosse Ardeatine. Some of these prisoners had simply been residents of via Rasella who were home at the time of the bombing; others had been arrested and tortured for Resistance- and Communist related activities. Not all of the Partisans who were killed were members of the same Resistance group, however. Members of the GAP, the PA, and Bandiera Rossa, in addition to the Clandestine Military Front were all on the list of those to be executed. Furthermore, the scale and even the occurrence of this retaliation was unprecedented. Since the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 and the subsequent overthrow of Mussolini, Communist anti-Fascists and members of the Italian Resistance had been practicing guerilla warfare against Axis troops.
The cultural and political fallout from the Fosse Ardeatine, and more generally from the Fascist movement after World War II, continues today. Alessandro Portelli
's The Order Has Been Carried Out is an important work on the action in via Rasella and the Fosse Ardeatine.
filmed a report about Priebke for the ABC Television
news magazine Primetime Live. Priebke spoke openly about his role in the massacre. He also justified his actions by saying that he only followed orders from the Gestapo
chief of Rome, Obersturmbannführer (equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel) Herbert Kappler. When testifying after the war, Kappler explained that Priebke had been ordered to make sure that all the victims were brought to the caves and executed, and to check the list of people who were to be killed.
/Vipiteno. During this time he received on 13 September 1948 a second baptism by a local priest.
After his time in South Tyrol he went to Vatican City
in Rome to find protection. Bishop Alois Hudal
, a main participant in the Vatican's Ratlines
, was accustomed to making false travel documents for German officials who had been involved in the war, and he supplied Priebke with a falsified visa to travel to Argentina
(then led by Juan Perón
). Though alleged to have been responsible for war crimes, Priebke lived in Argentina as a free man for 50 years.
Priebke told Donaldson that the victims - from 14 year old boys to 75 year old men - were, in his view at the time, terrorists. He admitted that it was he who compiled the lists of those who were going to be executed.
at his home in Bariloche, where he had lived since 1949.
The extradition
of Priebke had several delays - his lawyers used tactics like demanding all Italian documents be translated to Spanish
, a process which could have taken two years. The Argentine court eventually denied the process, but appeal
s and other delays caused the extradition case to take more than a year. His lawyers made arguments that the case was expired since murder
cases expire after 15 years.
In March 1995, after nine months of delays, the president of the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith
was promised, by among others, the Argentine president Carlos Menem
, that the case would soon be closed, and that Priebke was to be transferred to Italy by the end of the month. In spite of these promises, the Supreme Court of Argentina
decided that the case was to be transferred to the local court in Bariloche where the case was originally brought up. This opened the possibility for years of delays from future appeals, while Priebke could live at his home.
In May 1995, an Argentine federal judge accepted the Italian demand for extradition on the grounds that cases of crimes against humanity could not expire. But there were more appeals and rumours that the court might change the ruling.
In August of the same year, it was judged that Priebke was not to be extradited because the case had expired. To put pressure on the Argentine government, Germany demanded extradition the same day. The Italian military prosecutor, Antonio Intelisano, argued that FN agreements which Argentina was signatory to, expressly state that cases of war criminals
and crimes against humanity do not expire.
After seventeen months of delays, the Argentine supreme court decided that Priebke was to be extradited to Italy. He was put on a direct flight from Bariloche to Ciampino
, a military airport close to the Ardeatine caves, where the executions had been carried out many years earlier.
. He blamed the massacre on whom he branded as "the Italian terrorists" who were behind the attack in which 33 young German soldiers were killed. The order came directly from Hitler, and he thought it was a legitimate punishment.
During the trial it became clear that Priebke had personally shot two Italians. This was also in his testimony from 1946 before he managed to escape.
Around noon on March 24, 1944, 335 men went to the Ardeatine Caves, Rome. All were tied with their hands behind their backs and their names were read out loud. Five and five went into the caves. Priebke went inside together with the second or third group and shot a man with an Italian machine pistol. Towards the end he shot another man with the same machine pistol. The executions ended when it got dark that night. After the shootings, explosives were used to shut the caves.
Priebke was found not guilty, for the reason of acting under orders.
On August 1, 1996, orders were given for the immediate release of Priebke. The Italian minister of justice later told that Priebke might be arrested again, depending on whether or not he was going to be extradited to Germany, where he was charged with murder. The courts were blocked by demonstrators
for over seven hours after Priebke's trial.
The judges voted two against, one for, sentencing the 83 year old Priebke for taking part of the massacres, which he himself had admitted, but he was released because he was following orders.
There were strong reactions from family members of the victims, who claimed that the judges put no value on human lives. Shimon Samuels, the leader of the Simon Wiesenthal Center
said that with this ruling, Italy was permitting crimes against humanity.
Outside the courthouse there were demonstrations, but when it became known that Priebke had been rearrested, these calmed down. Many people later went to visit the Ardeatine Caves to honour the victims.
The Italian supreme court decided that the court that had freed Priebke was incompetent and the appeal went through. Among other things it was questioned why the Nuremberg trials
were not taken up earlier, since it had been concluded that an individual has personal responsibility for his actions. The reason that Priebke had been released was that he followed orders. He claimed that if he had not obeyed, he would have been executed himself, but the appeals would not accept this, as it was a baseless excuse.
The Court of Cassation
voided the decision, ordering a new trial for Priebke. He was sentenced to 15 years. These were reduced to 10 years because of his age and alleged ill health. In March 1998, the Court of Appeal condemned him to life imprisonment, together with Karl Hass
, another former member of the SS. The decision was upheld in November of the same year by the Court of Cassation. Because of his age, Priebke has been put under house arrest
.
Furthermore, in March 1997 it was decided that Priebke could not be extradited to Germany. The reason for this was that he was now going through a trial which was for the same things that Germany wanted him tried for. He was not to be tried for the same crime twice
.
Priebke himself claimed that he was the victim of intense hatred, and that he was blamed for all atrocities done during World War II. "I gave Argentina 50 years of my life, and they don't want me. (...) I fought for Germany during the war, now they want me put to trial for obeying orders."
Priebke appealed the case to the European Court of Human Rights
in Strasbourg
, where he claimed he had no choice but to obey Hitler's orders, a defense not accepted during the Nuremberg Trials
(see Nuremberg Defense and Nuremberg Principle IV
). Moreover, it has been underlined by many that in the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine 335 died, 5 more than required by the order "10 Italians executed for each German killed". These 5 extra victims are a responsibility of Erich Priebke alone, since he was given the duty of checking the list.
On March 20, 2004, 80 people gathered in a room of the Centro Lettarario in Trieste
to show their support for the man. He is currently under house arrest
because of his old age. On June 12, 2007, he received authorization to leave his home for working reasons, to work at his lawyer's office in Rome.
This led to angry protests from Jewish groups and the judge's decision was overturned.
As of 2011, his health has been reported to be fading and he has been basically confined to his apartment.
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
(Captain) in the Waffen SS. In 1996 he was convicted of war crimes in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, for participating in the massacre at the Ardeatine caves
Ardeatine massacre
The Fosse Ardeatine massacre was a mass execution carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War as a reprisal for a partisan attack conducted on the previous day in central Rome....
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, on March 24, 1944. 335 Italian civilians were killed there in retaliation after a partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
attack had claimed the lives of 33 German soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s (an SS military police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
battalion from South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
). Priebke was one of those who was held responsible for this mass execution. After the defeat of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, he got help to flee to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
where he lived for over 50 years.
In 1991, Priebke's participation in the Rome massacre was denounced in Esteban Buch's book. In 1994, 50 years after the massacre, Priebke felt he could now talk about the incident and was interviewed by an American ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
News reporter Sam Donaldson
Sam Donaldson
Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson, Jr. is a reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to the present, best known as the network's White House Correspondent and as a panelist and later co-anchor of the network's Sunday Program "This Week."-Early life and career:Donaldson was born in El...
. This caused outrage among people who had not forgotten the incident, and led to his extradition to Italy and a trial which would last more than four years.
History
The massacre of Fosse Ardeatine took place in Italy during World War II. On 23 March 1944, 33 German soldiers (members of an SS military police battalion from South Tyrol) were killed when members of the Italian Resistance set off a bomb close to their column, and attacked the soldiers with firearms and grenades while they were marching along Via Rasella, in Rome. This attack was led by the GAP Gruppi di Azione Patriottica.Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
is reported, but never confirmed, to have ordered that within 24 hours, ten condemned Italians were to be shot for each dead German. Commander Herbert Kappler
Herbert Kappler
Herbert Kappler , was the head of German police and security services in Rome during World War II...
in Rome quickly compiled a list of 320 prisoners to be killed. Kappler voluntarily added ten more names to the list when the 33rd German died after the Partisan attack. The total number of people executed at the Fosse Ardeatine was 335, mostly Italian. The largest cohesive group among those executed were the members of Bandiera Rossa (Red Flag), a non-mainstream Communist (Trotskyist) military Resistance group, along with more than 70 Jews.
On the 24 March, led by SS officers, Erich Priebke and Karl Hass
Karl Hass
Karl Hass was a German Lieutenant-Colonel in the SS whose involvement in the Ardeatine massacre while serving in Italy led to allegations of war crimes...
, the victims were killed inside the Ardeatine caves in groups of five. They were led into the caves with their hands tied behind their back and then shot in the neck. Many were forced to kneel down over the bodies of those who had been killed before them. During the killings, it was found that a mistake had been made and that five additional people who were not on the list had been brought up to the caves.
In order to fill the numerical quota; many of the prisoners at via Tasso and Regina Coeli who happened to be available at the time were sent to their deaths by the Nazis at the Fosse Ardeatine. Some of these prisoners had simply been residents of via Rasella who were home at the time of the bombing; others had been arrested and tortured for Resistance- and Communist related activities. Not all of the Partisans who were killed were members of the same Resistance group, however. Members of the GAP, the PA, and Bandiera Rossa, in addition to the Clandestine Military Front were all on the list of those to be executed. Furthermore, the scale and even the occurrence of this retaliation was unprecedented. Since the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 and the subsequent overthrow of Mussolini, Communist anti-Fascists and members of the Italian Resistance had been practicing guerilla warfare against Axis troops.
The cultural and political fallout from the Fosse Ardeatine, and more generally from the Fascist movement after World War II, continues today. Alessandro Portelli
Alessandro Portelli
Alessandro Portelli is an Italian scholar of American literature and culture, oral historian, writer for the daily newspaper il manifesto, and musicologist. He is currently a professor of Anglo-American literature at the University of Rome La Sapienza...
's The Order Has Been Carried Out is an important work on the action in via Rasella and the Fosse Ardeatine.
In the spotlight
In 1994, reporter Sam DonaldsonSam Donaldson
Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson, Jr. is a reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to the present, best known as the network's White House Correspondent and as a panelist and later co-anchor of the network's Sunday Program "This Week."-Early life and career:Donaldson was born in El...
filmed a report about Priebke for the ABC Television
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
news magazine Primetime Live. Priebke spoke openly about his role in the massacre. He also justified his actions by saying that he only followed orders from the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
chief of Rome, Obersturmbannführer (equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel) Herbert Kappler. When testifying after the war, Kappler explained that Priebke had been ordered to make sure that all the victims were brought to the caves and executed, and to check the list of people who were to be killed.
A free man
In post-World War II trials, Priebke had been set to be tried for his role in the massacre, but he managed to escape from a British prison camp in northeastern Italy in 1946. After he had escaped, he lived with a family in SterzingSterzing
Sterzing is a comune in South Tyrol in the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. It is the main village of the southern Wipptal, and the Eisack River flows through the medieval town.-Origin:...
/Vipiteno. During this time he received on 13 September 1948 a second baptism by a local priest.
After his time in South Tyrol he went to Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
in Rome to find protection. Bishop Alois Hudal
Alois Hudal
Alois Hudal was a Rome-based bishop of Austrian descent. He was for thirty years head of the small Austrian-German congregation of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome and until 1937, an influential representative of the Austrian Church...
, a main participant in the Vatican's Ratlines
Ratlines (history)
Ratlines were a system of escape routes for Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe at the end of World War II. These escape routes mainly led toward havens in South America, particularly Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. Other destinations included the United States and perhaps...
, was accustomed to making false travel documents for German officials who had been involved in the war, and he supplied Priebke with a falsified visa to travel to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
(then led by Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
). Though alleged to have been responsible for war crimes, Priebke lived in Argentina as a free man for 50 years.
Priebke told Donaldson that the victims - from 14 year old boys to 75 year old men - were, in his view at the time, terrorists. He admitted that it was he who compiled the lists of those who were going to be executed.
The extradition of Priebke
Donaldson's news report showed how openly Priebke could live in Argentina, and how little remorse he felt for his actions. This caused strong reactions by many people. Argentine authorities arrested Priebke. Because of his old age and poor health, he was at first not imprisoned, but rather held under house arrestHouse arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
at his home in Bariloche, where he had lived since 1949.
The extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
of Priebke had several delays - his lawyers used tactics like demanding all Italian documents be translated to Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, a process which could have taken two years. The Argentine court eventually denied the process, but appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
s and other delays caused the extradition case to take more than a year. His lawyers made arguments that the case was expired since murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
cases expire after 15 years.
In March 1995, after nine months of delays, the president of the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
was promised, by among others, the Argentine president Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
, that the case would soon be closed, and that Priebke was to be transferred to Italy by the end of the month. In spite of these promises, the Supreme Court of Argentina
Supreme Court of Argentina
The Supreme Court of Argentina is the highest court of law of the Argentine Republic. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. However, during much of the 20th century, the Court and, in general, the Argentine judicial system, has lacked autonomy from the executive power...
decided that the case was to be transferred to the local court in Bariloche where the case was originally brought up. This opened the possibility for years of delays from future appeals, while Priebke could live at his home.
In May 1995, an Argentine federal judge accepted the Italian demand for extradition on the grounds that cases of crimes against humanity could not expire. But there were more appeals and rumours that the court might change the ruling.
In August of the same year, it was judged that Priebke was not to be extradited because the case had expired. To put pressure on the Argentine government, Germany demanded extradition the same day. The Italian military prosecutor, Antonio Intelisano, argued that FN agreements which Argentina was signatory to, expressly state that cases of war criminals
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
and crimes against humanity do not expire.
After seventeen months of delays, the Argentine supreme court decided that Priebke was to be extradited to Italy. He was put on a direct flight from Bariloche to Ciampino
Ciampino
Ciampino is a town and comune in the province of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It was a frazione of Marino until 1974, when it became a comune; it obtained the city status in 2004 by presidential decree.-Overview:It is best known for the local "Giovan Battista Pastine" International Airport, best known as...
, a military airport close to the Ardeatine caves, where the executions had been carried out many years earlier.
Priebke in court
In court, Priebke declared himself not guilty. He did not deny what he had done, but he denied any responsibilityMoral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
. He blamed the massacre on whom he branded as "the Italian terrorists" who were behind the attack in which 33 young German soldiers were killed. The order came directly from Hitler, and he thought it was a legitimate punishment.
During the trial it became clear that Priebke had personally shot two Italians. This was also in his testimony from 1946 before he managed to escape.
Around noon on March 24, 1944, 335 men went to the Ardeatine Caves, Rome. All were tied with their hands behind their backs and their names were read out loud. Five and five went into the caves. Priebke went inside together with the second or third group and shot a man with an Italian machine pistol. Towards the end he shot another man with the same machine pistol. The executions ended when it got dark that night. After the shootings, explosives were used to shut the caves.
Priebke was found not guilty, for the reason of acting under orders.
On August 1, 1996, orders were given for the immediate release of Priebke. The Italian minister of justice later told that Priebke might be arrested again, depending on whether or not he was going to be extradited to Germany, where he was charged with murder. The courts were blocked by demonstrators
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
for over seven hours after Priebke's trial.
The judges voted two against, one for, sentencing the 83 year old Priebke for taking part of the massacres, which he himself had admitted, but he was released because he was following orders.
There were strong reactions from family members of the victims, who claimed that the judges put no value on human lives. Shimon Samuels, the leader of the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
said that with this ruling, Italy was permitting crimes against humanity.
The appeal
The case was appealed by the prosecutors. The day after, Germany asked Italy to keep Priebke imprisoned until their demand to have him extradited was processed, as they wanted him put on trial for the murders of two people that he had personally shot.Outside the courthouse there were demonstrations, but when it became known that Priebke had been rearrested, these calmed down. Many people later went to visit the Ardeatine Caves to honour the victims.
The Italian supreme court decided that the court that had freed Priebke was incompetent and the appeal went through. Among other things it was questioned why the Nuremberg trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
were not taken up earlier, since it had been concluded that an individual has personal responsibility for his actions. The reason that Priebke had been released was that he followed orders. He claimed that if he had not obeyed, he would have been executed himself, but the appeals would not accept this, as it was a baseless excuse.
The Court of Cassation
Court of Cassation (Italy)
The Supreme Court of Cassation is the major court of last resort in Italy. It has its seat in the Rome Hall of Justice.The Court of Cassation exists also to “ensure the observation and the correct interpretation of law” by ensuring the same application of law in the inferior and appeal courts...
voided the decision, ordering a new trial for Priebke. He was sentenced to 15 years. These were reduced to 10 years because of his age and alleged ill health. In March 1998, the Court of Appeal condemned him to life imprisonment, together with Karl Hass
Karl Hass
Karl Hass was a German Lieutenant-Colonel in the SS whose involvement in the Ardeatine massacre while serving in Italy led to allegations of war crimes...
, another former member of the SS. The decision was upheld in November of the same year by the Court of Cassation. Because of his age, Priebke has been put under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
.
Furthermore, in March 1997 it was decided that Priebke could not be extradited to Germany. The reason for this was that he was now going through a trial which was for the same things that Germany wanted him tried for. He was not to be tried for the same crime twice
Double jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
.
Priebke's appeals
Priebke denied any responsibility, and therefore appealed the case. At the appeals it was decided that Hass and Priebke had committed cruel murders of the first degree and that they should be put away for life.Priebke himself claimed that he was the victim of intense hatred, and that he was blamed for all atrocities done during World War II. "I gave Argentina 50 years of my life, and they don't want me. (...) I fought for Germany during the war, now they want me put to trial for obeying orders."
Priebke appealed the case to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, where he claimed he had no choice but to obey Hitler's orders, a defense not accepted during the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
(see Nuremberg Defense and Nuremberg Principle IV
Nuremberg Principles
The Nuremberg principles were a set of guidelines for determining what constitutes a war crime. The document was created by the International Law Commission of the United Nations to codify the legal principles underlying the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi party members following World War II.- Principle...
). Moreover, it has been underlined by many that in the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine 335 died, 5 more than required by the order "10 Italians executed for each German killed". These 5 extra victims are a responsibility of Erich Priebke alone, since he was given the duty of checking the list.
On March 20, 2004, 80 people gathered in a room of the Centro Lettarario in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
to show their support for the man. He is currently under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
because of his old age. On June 12, 2007, he received authorization to leave his home for working reasons, to work at his lawyer's office in Rome.
This led to angry protests from Jewish groups and the judge's decision was overturned.
As of 2011, his health has been reported to be fading and he has been basically confined to his apartment.
Trivia
- In 2007 two stamps printed by the Post of FinlandPostiItella Corporation is a national mail enterprise owned by the Finnish state, headquartered in Pohjois-Pasila, Helsinki. Besides domestic operations, it operates in twelve other European countries...
, sent by Erich Priebke to his son, caused some quarrel in ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. In Finland it is possible to buy stamps with one's own picture on them, and according to the post officials, nobody knew that the man in the image was a Nazi war criminal.
- In June 2007, Erich Priebke had his work permit revoked by an Italian magistrate after a day of protests. The magistrate cited that Priebke had failed to adequately communicate his movements. He was supposed to be working in his lawyer's offices as a clerk and a translator, given his knowledge of German, Spanish, English and French languages. The issue of a work permit to the former Nazi SS captain sparked outrage, particularly in the Italian Jewish community.
- Erich Priebke was played by Brook WilliamsBrook WilliamsBrook Richard Williams was an English stage actor who also made numerous film and television appearances in small roles....
in the 1973 movie Massacre in Rome.
See also
- Ex-Nazis and List of living Nazis
- Nuremberg Principle IVNuremberg PrinciplesThe Nuremberg principles were a set of guidelines for determining what constitutes a war crime. The document was created by the International Law Commission of the United Nations to codify the legal principles underlying the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi party members following World War II.- Principle...
External links
- Erich Priebke home page
- Interview with Erich Priebke by Antonella Ricciardi, 3 July 2004
- Remembering evil - Reason.com
- The Massacre at the Ardeatine Caves, 24 March 1944
- Erich Priebke 2005-2007 in a Finnish stamp, 12 December 2005
- Trial Watch - a Swiss site re. Priebke's trial
- Italians protest outside Priebke's office in July 2007