Ernst Lerch
Encyclopedia
Ernst Lerch was one of the most important men of Operation Reinhard
, responsible for "Jewish affairs", and the mass murder
of the Jews
in the General Government
(Generalgouvernement).
, (Austria
). He briefly studied at the Hochschule für Welthandel in Vienna
, Austria. From 1931 to 1934 Lerch learned the hotel trade by working as a waiter in various hotels in Switzerland
, France
, and Hungary
.
On 1 December 1932, Lerch joined the National Socialist German Workers Party
(Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP) (Party Number 1,327,396). On 1 March 1934, he became member of the "Protective Squadron" (German: Schutzstaffel
, SS) (SS Number 309,700).
From 1934 until the unification of Austria and Germany (Anschluss
) in 1938, Lerch was employed in his father's Café Lerch. The café
, located in Klagenfurt
, became a meeting place for Nazis such as Odilo Globocnik
and Ernst Kaltenbrunner
, who frequented the café.
While still in Austria, Lerch was promoted to an SS-Second Lieutenant (Untersturmführer
) on 9 September 1936. By 1937, he was promoted to an SS-First Lieutenant (Obersturmführer
).
In 1938, Lerch moved to Berlin
. In Berlin he became an SS-Captain (Hauptsturmführer
) in the Reich Security Directorate on 12 March 1938. At his wedding to a "Secret State Police" (Gestapo
) employee, Oswald Pohl
and Globocnik acted as witnesses.
, he was involved in the 1939 Polish Campaign as a signals corporal
. From February 1940 until September 1941, Lerch was employed at the "Reich Security Main Office" (Reichssicherheitshauptamt, RSHA
) in Berlin. Then he was appointed as Rasse-und Siedlungsführer in Cracow.
From 1941 to 1943, Lerch served in Lublin
as chief of Globocnik's personal office and Stabsführer
der Allgemeine SS
, responsible for the radio link between the Aktion Reinhard headquarters
and Berlin. On 21 July 1942, he was promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer
. At the trial of Hermann Worthoff (former Gestapo chief in Lublin) after the war, it was mentioned that Lerch had overseen the liquidation of thousands of Jews from the Majdan Tatarski ghetto
in Lublin at the nearby Krepiec Forest.
When Operation Reinhard
(Aktion Reinhard) was finished, Lerch was ordered to Italy
in September 1943. He went with most of the SS-men of Globocnik's staff. In Trieste
, Lerch continued to serve as chief of Globocnik's personal staff in the OZAK (Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland). He was still Globocnik’s right hand but had also military-related tasks. Lerch was very much involved in anti-partisan
operations. For a few weeks, Lerch was provisional police commander
in Fiume.
(Southern Austria), a region he knew very well. There, at an alpine pasture (Möslacher Alm) near the Weissensee Lake, he was captured by a British
commando
on 31 May 1945. Lerch was captured with his comrades Globocnik, Hermann Höfle
, and Michalsen.
Being imprisoned in Wolfsberg
, Lerch was interrogated by the British. He insisted on having spent just a short time in Lublin, and had nothing to do neither with Globocnik nor the mass killings of Jews in Poland
. Lerch escaped from prison and lived in hiding from 1947 to 1950. He was captured again in 1950.
In 1960, Lerch was sentenced to two years of imprisonment
by a de-Nazification court
in Wiesbaden
(8JS 1145/60 StA Wiesbaden). In 1971, he was accused again of being involved in the Holocaust
. The trial was held in Klagenfurt. His case
was finally dropped on 11 May 1976 because Lerch denied having done anything in Poland and because of a lack of witness
es (LG Klagenfurt: 25VR 3123/71).
Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard was the code name given to the Nazi plan to murder Polish Jews in the General Government, and marked the most deadly phase of the Holocaust, the use of extermination camps...
, responsible for "Jewish affairs", and the mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
of the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
(Generalgouvernement).
Life and early career
On 19 November 1914, Lerch was born in KlagenfurtKlagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, (Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
). He briefly studied at the Hochschule für Welthandel in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria. From 1931 to 1934 Lerch learned the hotel trade by working as a waiter in various hotels in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
On 1 December 1932, Lerch joined the National Socialist German Workers Party
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
(Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP) (Party Number 1,327,396). On 1 March 1934, he became member of the "Protective Squadron" (German: Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
, SS) (SS Number 309,700).
From 1934 until the unification of Austria and Germany (Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
) in 1938, Lerch was employed in his father's Café Lerch. The café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
, located in Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, became a meeting place for Nazis such as Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Lotario Globocnik was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. He was an acquaintance of Adolf Eichmann, who played a major role in the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust...
and Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
, who frequented the café.
While still in Austria, Lerch was promoted to an SS-Second Lieutenant (Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
) on 9 September 1936. By 1937, he was promoted to an SS-First Lieutenant (Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
).
In 1938, Lerch moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In Berlin he became an SS-Captain (Hauptsturmführer
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...
) in the Reich Security Directorate on 12 March 1938. At his wedding to a "Secret State Police" (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...
) employee, Oswald Pohl
Oswald Pohl
Oswald Pohl was a Nazi official and member of the SS , involved in the mass murders of Jews in concentration camps, the so-called Final Solution.-Early years:...
and Globocnik acted as witnesses.
Activities in Poland
In December 1938, Lerch joined the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer). According to his testimonyTestimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
, he was involved in the 1939 Polish Campaign as a signals corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
. From February 1940 until September 1941, Lerch was employed at the "Reich Security Main Office" (Reichssicherheitshauptamt, RSHA
RSHA
The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
) in Berlin. Then he was appointed as Rasse-und Siedlungsführer in Cracow.
From 1941 to 1943, Lerch served in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
as chief of Globocnik's personal office and Stabsführer
Stabsführer
Stabsführer was a rank in Nazi Germany, translated as Staff Leader.Stabsführer was a Hitler Youth paramilitary rank that was held by the senior most member of the Adult Leadership Corps...
der Allgemeine SS
Allgemeine SS
The Allgemeine SS was the most numerous branch of the Schutzstaffel paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany. It was managed by the SS-Hauptamt...
, responsible for the radio link between the Aktion Reinhard headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
and Berlin. On 21 July 1942, he was promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
. At the trial of Hermann Worthoff (former Gestapo chief in Lublin) after the war, it was mentioned that Lerch had overseen the liquidation of thousands of Jews from the Majdan Tatarski ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
in Lublin at the nearby Krepiec Forest.
When Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard was the code name given to the Nazi plan to murder Polish Jews in the General Government, and marked the most deadly phase of the Holocaust, the use of extermination camps...
(Aktion Reinhard) was finished, Lerch was ordered to 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...
in September 1943. He went with most of the SS-men of Globocnik's staff. 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...
, Lerch continued to serve as chief of Globocnik's personal staff in the OZAK (Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland). He was still Globocnik’s right hand but had also military-related tasks. Lerch was very much involved in anti-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...
operations. For a few weeks, Lerch was provisional police commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
in Fiume.
After the war
After the German surrender in Italy (1 May 1945), Lerch fled to CarinthiaCarinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
(Southern Austria), a region he knew very well. There, at an alpine pasture (Möslacher Alm) near the Weissensee Lake, he was captured by a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
on 31 May 1945. Lerch was captured with his comrades Globocnik, Hermann Höfle
Hermann Höfle
Hermann Julius "Hans" Höfle was an Austrian-born SS-Sturmbannführer . He was deputy to Odilo Globocnik in the Aktion Reinhard program, serving as his main deportation and extermination expert...
, and Michalsen.
Being imprisoned in Wolfsberg
Wolfsberg
Places named Wolfsberg include:*Wolfsberg, Carinthia, a district capital in Carinthia, Austria*Wolfsberg , a district of Carinthia, Austria*Wolfsberg im Schwarzautal, a municipality in Styria, Austria...
, Lerch was interrogated by the British. He insisted on having spent just a short time in Lublin, and had nothing to do neither with Globocnik nor the mass killings of Jews in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Lerch escaped from prison and lived in hiding from 1947 to 1950. He was captured again in 1950.
In 1960, Lerch was sentenced to two years of imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
by a de-Nazification court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
(8JS 1145/60 StA Wiesbaden). In 1971, he was accused again of being involved in the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. The trial was held in Klagenfurt. His case
Legal case
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal...
was finally dropped on 11 May 1976 because Lerch denied having done anything in Poland and because of a lack of witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es (LG Klagenfurt: 25VR 3123/71).