Frankfurt Auschwitz trials
Encyclopedia
The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials, known in German
as der Auschwitz-Prozess or der zweite Auschwitz-Prozess, (the "second Auschwitz trial") was a series of trials running from December 20, 1963 to August 10, 1965, charging 22 defendants under German penal law for their roles in the Holocaust as mid- to lower-level officials in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death and concentration camp complex.
authorities in 1947, following their participation as witnesses in the Nuremberg Trial, at which time they were tried in Kraków
and many sentenced to death. That earlier trial in Poland is usually known as the first Auschwitz Trial
; Richard Baer
, the last camp commandant died in detention while still under investigation as part of the trials.
to kapo
s, privileged prisoners responsible for low-level control of camp internees, and included some of those responsible for the process of "selection," or determination of who should be sent to the gas chambers directly from the "ramp" upon disembarking the trains that brought them from across Europe
("selection" generally entailed inclusion of all children held to be ineligible for work, generally under the age of 14, and any mothers unwilling to part with their "selected" children). In the course of the trial, approximately 360 witnesses were called, including around 210 survivors. Proceedings began in the "Bürgerhaus Gallus", in Frankfurt am Main, which was converted into a courthouse for that purpose, and remained there until their conclusion.
Hessian
Generalstaatsanwalt (State Attorney General) Fritz Bauer
, himself briefly interned in the concentration camp at Heuberg in 1933, led the prosecution. Bauer was perhaps at least as concerned with establishing the character of the camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau as he was with pursuing individual defendants, which may explain in part why only 22 of an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 SS members thought to have been involved in the administration and operation of the camp were charged. Bauer is said to have been opposed in the former purpose by the young Helmut Kohl
, then a junior member of the Christian Democratic Union
. In furtherance of that purpose Bauer sought and received support from the Institute for Contemporary History
in Munich. The following historians from the Institute served as expert witnesses for the prosecution; Helmut Krausnick, Hans-Adolf Jacobsen, Hans Buchheim, and Martin Broszat
. Subsequently, the information the four historians gathered for the prosecution served as the basis for their 1968 book, Anatomy of the SS State, the first thorough survey of the SS based on SS records.
Information about the actions of those accused and their whereabouts had been in the possession of West German authorities since 1958, but action on their cases was delayed by jurisdictional disputes, among other considerations. The court's proceedings were largely public and served to bring many details of the Holocaust to the attention of the public in the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as abroad. Six defendants were given life sentences and several others received the maximum prison sentences possible for the charges brought against them.
) from Golleschau to Wodzisław Śląski (German: Loslau).
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as der Auschwitz-Prozess or der zweite Auschwitz-Prozess, (the "second Auschwitz trial") was a series of trials running from December 20, 1963 to August 10, 1965, charging 22 defendants under German penal law for their roles in the Holocaust as mid- to lower-level officials in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death and concentration camp complex.
Prior trial in Poland
Most of the senior leaders of the camp, including Rudolf Höss, the longest-standing commandant of the camp, were turned over to PolishPoland
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...
authorities in 1947, following their participation as witnesses in the Nuremberg Trial, at which time they were tried in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and many sentenced to death. That earlier trial in Poland is usually known as the first Auschwitz Trial
Auschwitz trial
The Auschwitz trial began on November 24, 1947, in Kraków, when Polish authorities tried 41 former staff of the Auschwitz concentration camps. The trials ended on December 22, 1947....
; Richard Baer
Richard Baer
Richard Baer was a German Nazi official with the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer and commander of the Auschwitz I concentration camp from May 1944 to February 1945. He was a member of N.S.D.A.P...
, the last camp commandant died in detention while still under investigation as part of the trials.
Course of proceedings
Defendants ranged from members of the SSSchutzstaffel
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...
to kapo
Kapo (concentration camp)
A kapo was a prisoner who worked inside German Nazi concentration camps during World War II in any of certain lower administrative positions. The official Nazi word was Funktionshäftling, or "prisoner functionary", but the Nazis commonly referred to them as kapos.- Etymology :The origin of "kapo"...
s, privileged prisoners responsible for low-level control of camp internees, and included some of those responsible for the process of "selection," or determination of who should be sent to the gas chambers directly from the "ramp" upon disembarking the trains that brought them from across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
("selection" generally entailed inclusion of all children held to be ineligible for work, generally under the age of 14, and any mothers unwilling to part with their "selected" children). In the course of the trial, approximately 360 witnesses were called, including around 210 survivors. Proceedings began in the "Bürgerhaus Gallus", in Frankfurt am Main, which was converted into a courthouse for that purpose, and remained there until their conclusion.
Hessian
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
Generalstaatsanwalt (State Attorney General) Fritz Bauer
Fritz Bauer
Fritz Bauer was a German judge and prosecutor.-Life:Bauer was born in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire to Jewish parents. He attended Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium and studied business and law at the Universities of Heidelberg, Munich and Tübingen. After receiving his Doctorate of...
, himself briefly interned in the concentration camp at Heuberg in 1933, led the prosecution. Bauer was perhaps at least as concerned with establishing the character of the camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau as he was with pursuing individual defendants, which may explain in part why only 22 of an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 SS members thought to have been involved in the administration and operation of the camp were charged. Bauer is said to have been opposed in the former purpose by the young Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
, then a junior member of the Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
. In furtherance of that purpose Bauer sought and received support from the Institute for Contemporary History
Institut für Zeitgeschichte
The Institut für Zeitgeschichte in Munich was conceived in 1947 under the name Deutsches Institut für Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Zeit...
in Munich. The following historians from the Institute served as expert witnesses for the prosecution; Helmut Krausnick, Hans-Adolf Jacobsen, Hans Buchheim, and Martin Broszat
Martin Broszat
Martin Broszat was a German historian specializing in modern German social history whose work has been described by The Encyclopedia of Historians as indispensable for any serious study of the Third Reich. Broszat was born in Leipzig, Germany and studied history at the University of Leipzig and...
. Subsequently, the information the four historians gathered for the prosecution served as the basis for their 1968 book, Anatomy of the SS State, the first thorough survey of the SS based on SS records.
Information about the actions of those accused and their whereabouts had been in the possession of West German authorities since 1958, but action on their cases was delayed by jurisdictional disputes, among other considerations. The court's proceedings were largely public and served to bring many details of the Holocaust to the attention of the public in the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as abroad. Six defendants were given life sentences and several others received the maximum prison sentences possible for the charges brought against them.
Outcomes
| Name | Rank, Title, or Role | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Stefan Baretzki | Blockführer (block chief) | Life plus 8 years imprisonment |
| Emil Bednarek | Kapo | Life imprisonment |
| Wilhelm Boger Wilhelm Boger Wilhelm Friedrich Boger known as “The Tiger of Auschwitz” was a German police commissioner and concentration camp overseer... |
camp 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... |
Life & 5 years imprisonment |
| Wilhelm Breitwieser | camp Häftlingsbekleidungskammer | Released |
| Perry Broad Perry Broad Perry Broad, also Pery Broad was a Brazilian Non-commissioned officer SS-Unterscharführer, active at Auschwitz from April 1942 - 1945 as a translator and stenographer at the Auschwitz headquarters.... |
camp 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... |
4 years imprisonment |
| Viktor Capesius Viktor Capesius Viktor Capesius was a Nazi SS-Sturmbannführer as a KZ-Apotheker who served in Dachau from 1943-1944 and in Auschwitz from 1944-1945.-Early Life:Capesius, the son of a physician and pharmacist, began his academic studies in 1924 at the University of... |
pharmacist | 9 years imprisonment |
| Klaus Dylewski Klaus Dylewski Klaus Hubert Hermann Dylewski was a German Volksdeutsche with Polish citizenship and SS-Oberscharführer who perpetrated acts of genocide at Auschwitz concentration camp.-Early life:... |
camp 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... |
5 years imprisonment |
| Willi Frank | Head of SS dental station | 7 years imprisonment |
| Emil Hantl | Sanitätsdienstgrad (medical orderly) | 3½ years imprisonment |
| Karl-Friedrich Höcker Karl-Friedrich Höcker Karl-Friedrich Höcker was a SS-Obersturmführer and the adjutant to Richard Baer, who was a commandant of Auschwitz I concentration camp from May 1944 to February 1945... |
adjutant | 7 years imprisonment |
| Franz-Johann Hofmann | Head of protective custody camp | Life imprisonment |
| Oswald Kaduk Oswald Kaduk Oswald Kaduk was a German SS-Unterscharführer and Rapportführer at Auschwitz concentration camp.-Biography:... |
Rapportführer (SS NCO Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission... ) |
Life imprisonment |
| Josef Klehr Josef Klehr Josef Klehr was an SS-Oberscharführer, supervisor in several Nazi concentration camps and head of the SS disinfection commando at Auschwitz concentration camp.- Life :... |
medical orderly | Life & 15 years imprisonment |
| Dr. Franz Lucas | SS 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... |
3 years, 3 months imprisonment |
| Robert Mulka Robert Mulka Robert Karl Ludwig Mulka was an SS-Obersturmführer. At Auschwitz concentration camp, he was adjutant to the camp commandant, SS-Obersturmbannführer Rudolf Höss.- Life :... |
adjutant | 14 years imprisonment |
| Gerhard Neubert | HKB Monovitz | Released |
| Hans Nierzwicki | HKB Auschwitz 1 | Released |
| Willi Schatz Willi Schatz Willi Schatz was a Nazi SS-Obersturmführer as a SS-KZ Zahnarzt who served in Auschwitz and Neuengamme.-Early life:... |
SS dentist | Acquitted & released |
| Herbert Scherpe | SS Oberscharführer Oberscharführer Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership... |
4½ years imprisonment |
| Bruno Schlage | SS Oberscharführer Oberscharführer Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership... |
6 years imprisonment |
| Johann Schobert | Political Division | Acquitted & released |
| Hans Stark Hans Stark Hans Stark was an SS-Untersturmführer and head of the admissions detail at Auschwitz-II Birkenau of Auschwitz concentration camp.- Life and SS career :... |
camp 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... |
10 years imprisonment |
1977
In 1977 an additional trial was held in Frankfurt against two former members of the SS for killings in the satellite camp of Lagischa (Polish: Lagisza) and on the "evacuation" (i.e. death marchDeath march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees. Those marching must walk over long distances for an extremely long period of time and are not supplied with food or water...
) from Golleschau to Wodzisław Śląski (German: Loslau).
Further reading
- Devin O. Pendas,The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, 1963–65: Genocide, History and the Limits of the Law (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
- Rebecca Wittmann, Beyond Justice: the Auschwitz Trial (Harvard University Press, 2005)
- review of "The Investigation" by Peter WeissPeter WeissPeter Ulrich Weiss was a German writer, painter, and artist of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays Marat/Sade and The Investigation and his novel The Aesthetics of Resistance....
(1965)