Franz Six
Encyclopedia
Dr. Franz Alfred Six was a Nazi
official who rose to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer
. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich
to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA). In 1940, he was appointed to direct state police operations in an occupied Great Britain
following invasion.
to study sociology and politics. He graduated there with a degree of Doctor in philosophy in 1934. In 1936, he earned the high degree of Dr.phil.habil.
and began teaching at the University of Königsberg
where he also took up the position of Press Director for the German Student's Association. By 1939, he had become chair for Foreign Political Science at the University of Berlin
and was its first Dean of the faculty for Foreign Countries.
(SA) in 1932, for whom he was a student organizer. Six joined the Sicherheitsdienst
(SD) in 1935 and his SS membership number was 107,480. Impressed by his academic achievements and outstanding curriculum, Reinhard Heydrich appointed him as head of Amt VII, Written Records of the RSHA which dealt mainly with ideological
tasks. These included the creation of anti-semitic, anti-masonic propaganda, the sounding of public opinion and monitoring of Nazi indoctrination by the public. He held this post until 1943 when he was succeeded by Paul Dittel
.
On 17 September 1940, the same day on which Hitler
abandoned the idea of an invasion of Great Britain
, Heydrich charged him to plan the elimination of anti-Nazi elements in Britain following a successful invasion by the Wehrmacht
, since this task would be appointed to the RSHA, which included the SD. Among other things, his responsibilities included the detention of some 2,300 individuals immediately after the conquest of Britain by Germany. Their names came from a list
previously compiled by Walter Schellenberg
, Chief of Amt VI, Ausland-SD that made up the foreign intelligence branch of the SD. This list included British politicians, namely Winston Churchill
and other members of the Cabinet, writers like Sigmund Freud
, even though he had died in September 1939, the philosopher
Bertrand Russell
, members of exiled governments, financiers such as Bernard Baruch
and many other anti-Nazi elements. According to William L. Shirer
's book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
, Churchill was to be placed into the hands of RSHA Amt VI Ausland-SD, but most of the rest of the people on the list were to be turned over to RSHA Amt IV (Gestapo
). A separate list also named many organizations who would have to be dismantled as well, namely the Freemasons
, the Jehovah's Witnesses
and even the Boy Scouts
.
Franz Six was also charged with the creation of six Einsatzgruppen
to be located in London
, Manchester
, Birmingham
, Bristol
, Liverpool
and either Edinburgh
or Glasgow
. These death squads would be charged with the elimination of civilian resistance members and Jews all over Great Britain.
, Hitler gave up on his attempts to invade Great Britain and thus Six's plans came to nothing. On 20 June 1941, Six was assigned as chief of Vorkommando Moscow a unit of Einsatzgruppe B in the Soviet Union
. During this command, Six's kommando reported "liquidating" 144 persons. The report claimed "The Vorkommando Moscow was forced to execute another 46 persons, amongst them 38 intellectual Jews who had tried to create unrest and discontent in the newly established Ghetto of Smolensk
." He was promoted by Himmler
himself on 9 November 1941 to SS-Oberführer
for exceptional service in the Einsatz. On 31 January 1945, he was again promoted to SS-Brigadeführer
. Six was tried as a war criminal at Nuremberg
in the Einsatzgruppen Trial
of 1948. Unable to link him directly to any atrocities, the Nuremberg tribunal
sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment. A clemency court commuted this sentence to 10 years, and he was released on 30 September 1952. CIA files suggest Six joined the Gehlen Organization
, the forerunner to the Bundesnachrichtendienst
, in the 1950s.
, the Zionist underground army; Feivel Polkes to Berlin. This document is unusual as it is one of the few publicly available documents regarding Nazi/Zionist collaboration, such as the Haavara Agreement
. The memorandum states "Pressure is being exerted on the Reich Deputation of the Jews in Germany in order to compel Jews emigrating from Germany to head only to Palestine and not to any other country." and "Such a measure lies entirely in the German interest and it is already being put into effect by the Gestapo." Six's memo also states how the Jewish army Haganah
invited Adolf Eichmann
to visit Palestine. "In the work of making contacts, the name of SS-Hauptscharfuehrer Eichmann of Department II-112 comes to mind before any other. He had talks with Polkes during the latter's stay in Berlin and he was invited by him to visit the Jewish colonies in Palestine under his guidance."
(the Einsatzgruppen Trial
). In January 1951, this sentenced was reduced to 10 years. On September 30, 1952 he was released.
in southwest Germany
. He worked as a publicity/advertising executive for Porsche
. In 1960, he was interviewed by British journalist
Comer Clarke for his book England Under Hitler (referenced below under further reading).
Six was called as one of four witnesses by defense attorney Robert Servatius
in the 1961 trial in Israel
of Adolf Eichmann
, and gave his testimony by deposition in West Germany
. Servatius had wanted to have Six appear in person, but Prosecutor Gideon Hausner
stated that the former Nazi general would be subject to arrest as a war criminal
. Six's testimony was introduced in Eichmann's defense, but proved to be of more help to the prosecution.
Franz Six died in 1975.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
official who rose to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA). In 1940, he was appointed to direct state police operations in an occupied Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
following invasion.
Academic career
Franz Six completed his classical High School in 1930, and proceeded to the University of HeidelbergRuprecht Karl University of Heidelberg
The Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is a public research university located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386, it is the oldest university in Germany and was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been a coeducational institution...
to study sociology and politics. He graduated there with a degree of Doctor in philosophy in 1934. In 1936, he earned the high degree of Dr.phil.habil.
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
and began teaching at the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
where he also took up the position of Press Director for the German Student's Association. By 1939, he had become chair for Foreign Political Science at the University of 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...
and was its first Dean of the faculty for Foreign Countries.
Nazi official
Six joined the Nazi party in 1930 with member number 245,670 and the SturmabteilungSturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
(SA) in 1932, for whom he was a student organizer. Six joined the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(SD) in 1935 and his SS membership number was 107,480. Impressed by his academic achievements and outstanding curriculum, Reinhard Heydrich appointed him as head of Amt VII, Written Records of the RSHA which dealt mainly with ideological
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
tasks. These included the creation of anti-semitic, anti-masonic propaganda, the sounding of public opinion and monitoring of Nazi indoctrination by the public. He held this post until 1943 when he was succeeded by Paul Dittel
Paul Dittel
Paul Dittel was a German historian and Anglicist who was also an Obersturmbannführer in the Schutzstaffel...
.
On 17 September 1940, the same day on which 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...
abandoned the idea of an invasion of Great Britain
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, beginning in 1940. To have had any chance of success, however, the operation would have required air and naval supremacy over the English Channel...
, Heydrich charged him to plan the elimination of anti-Nazi elements in Britain following a successful invasion by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, since this task would be appointed to the RSHA, which included the SD. Among other things, his responsibilities included the detention of some 2,300 individuals immediately after the conquest of Britain by Germany. Their names came from a list
The Black Book
The Black Book was the post-war name given to the Sonderfahndungsliste G.B. , the list of prominent British to be arrested in the case of a successful invasion of Britain by Nazi Germany in World War II.-Background:The list was similar to earlier lists prepared by SS like the Special Prosecution...
previously compiled by Walter Schellenberg
Walter Schellenberg
Walther Friedrich Schellenberg was a German SS-Brigadeführer who rose through the ranks of the SS to become the head of foreign intelligence following the abolition of the Abwehr in 1944.-Biography:...
, Chief of Amt VI, Ausland-SD that made up the foreign intelligence branch of the SD. This list included British politicians, namely Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and other members of the Cabinet, writers like Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, even though he had died in September 1939, the philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, members of exiled governments, financiers such as Bernard Baruch
Bernard Baruch
Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters and became a philanthropist.-Early life...
and many other anti-Nazi elements. According to William L. Shirer
William L. Shirer
William Lawrence Shirer was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany read and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years...
's book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a 1960 non-fiction book by William L. Shirer chronicling the general history of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945...
, Churchill was to be placed into the hands of RSHA Amt VI Ausland-SD, but most of the rest of the people on the list were to be turned over to RSHA Amt IV (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...
). A separate list also named many organizations who would have to be dismantled as well, namely the Freemasons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, the Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
and even the Boy Scouts
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
.
Franz Six was also charged with the creation of six Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
to be located in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and either Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
or Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. These death squads would be charged with the elimination of civilian resistance members and Jews all over Great Britain.
Einsatzgruppen
After the Battle of BritainBattle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, Hitler gave up on his attempts to invade Great Britain and thus Six's plans came to nothing. On 20 June 1941, Six was assigned as chief of Vorkommando Moscow a unit of Einsatzgruppe B in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. During this command, Six's kommando reported "liquidating" 144 persons. The report claimed "The Vorkommando Moscow was forced to execute another 46 persons, amongst them 38 intellectual Jews who had tried to create unrest and discontent in the newly established Ghetto of Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
." He was promoted by Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
himself on 9 November 1941 to SS-Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
for exceptional service in the Einsatz. On 31 January 1945, he was again promoted to SS-Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
. Six was tried as a war criminal at Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
in the Einsatzgruppen Trial
Einsatzgruppen Trial
The Einsatzgruppen Trial was the ninth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S...
of 1948. Unable to link him directly to any atrocities, the Nuremberg tribunal
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....
sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment. A clemency court commuted this sentence to 10 years, and he was released on 30 September 1952. CIA files suggest Six joined the Gehlen Organization
Gehlen Organization
Gehlen Organization was an intelligence agency established in June 1946 by U.S. occupation authorities in the United States Zone of Germany, and consisted of former members of the 12th Department of the Army General Staff...
, the forerunner to the Bundesnachrichtendienst
Bundesnachrichtendienst
The Bundesnachrichtendienst [ˌbʊndəsˈnaːχʁɪçtnˌdiːnst] is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinated to the Chancellor's Office. Its headquarters are in Pullach near Munich, and Berlin . The BND has 300 locations in Germany and foreign countries...
, in the 1950s.
Contact with Zionists
Six was the author of a June 17, 1937 memorandum which bears the classification "Secret Matter for the Command." This memorandum contains information about a visit of the Zionist emissary and commander of HaganahHaganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, the Zionist underground army; Feivel Polkes to Berlin. This document is unusual as it is one of the few publicly available documents regarding Nazi/Zionist collaboration, such as the Haavara Agreement
Haavara Agreement
The Haavara Agreement was signed on 25 August 1933 after three months of talks by the Zionist Federation of Germany , the Anglo-Palestine Bank and the economic authorities of Nazi Germany...
. The memorandum states "Pressure is being exerted on the Reich Deputation of the Jews in Germany in order to compel Jews emigrating from Germany to head only to Palestine and not to any other country." and "Such a measure lies entirely in the German interest and it is already being put into effect by the Gestapo." Six's memo also states how the Jewish army Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
invited Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
to visit Palestine. "In the work of making contacts, the name of SS-Hauptscharfuehrer Eichmann of Department II-112 comes to mind before any other. He had talks with Polkes during the latter's stay in Berlin and he was invited by him to visit the Jewish colonies in Palestine under his guidance."
Post War Sentencing & Early Release
In April 1948, Six was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for war crimes at the ninth of the twelve Subsequent Nuremberg TrialsSubsequent Nuremberg Trials
The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials were a series of twelve U.S...
(the Einsatzgruppen Trial
Einsatzgruppen Trial
The Einsatzgruppen Trial was the ninth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S...
). In January 1951, this sentenced was reduced to 10 years. On September 30, 1952 he was released.
Retirement
Franz Six retired to FriedrichshafenFriedrichshafen
This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...
in southwest Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He worked as a publicity/advertising executive for Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
. In 1960, he was interviewed by British journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Comer Clarke for his book England Under Hitler (referenced below under further reading).
Six was called as one of four witnesses by defense attorney Robert Servatius
Robert Servatius
Robert Servatius was a German lawyer, prominent in his profession in Cologne.-Life:Servatius was born in Cologne on 31 October 1894. In the First World War he served as an artillery officer, and during the Second World War returned to military service, rising to the rank of Major...
in the 1961 trial in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
of Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
, and gave his testimony by deposition in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. Servatius had wanted to have Six appear in person, but Prosecutor Gideon Hausner
Gideon Hausner
Gideon Hausner was an Israeli jurist and politician. Between 1960 and 1963 he served as Attorney General, and was later elected to the Knesset and served in the cabinet....
stated that the former Nazi general would be subject to arrest as a war criminal
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
. Six's testimony was introduced in Eichmann's defense, but proved to be of more help to the prosecution.
Franz Six died in 1975.
See also
- Glossary of Nazi Germany
- List of Nazi Party leaders and officials
- List of SS personnel
- New Order (Nazism)
Further reading
- Clarke, Comer England Under Hitler: Revealed at Last—The Secret Nazi Plans for the Rape of England, New York:1961 Ballantine Books (paperback edition)
- Hachmeister, Lutz Der Gegnerforscher. Die Karriere des SS-Führers Franz Alfred Six, Munich 1998