Josef Blösche
Encyclopedia
Josef Blösche was a member of the National Socialist German Workers Party
(Nazi Party) in Germany
, and served in the SS
and SD
during World War II
as a Rottenführer
(Section Leader). Blösche became known to the world as a symbol of the Nazi cruelty inflicted on people within the Warsaw ghetto
because of a famous photograph taken during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
which portrays a surrendering little boy in the foreground, and Blösche as the SS soldier who is facing the boy with an MP18
sub-machine gun in hand.
Blösche spent his early life working as a farmhand and a waiter at his father's hotel. He joined the Nazi Party and the SS in 1938, after Adolf Hitler
's Germany
annexed the Sudetenland
. After serving in Warsaw with the SS from March 1940 onwards, he joined the Security Service Sicherheitsdienst
(SD) division of the SS. He served in the SD's Warsaw ghetto
outpost during the summer of 1942, when the massive deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp
began. Blösche personally killed hundreds of Jewish civilians around this time, and later received the German War Merit Cross
for his actions during the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
.
In May 1945, he surrendered to the Red Army and became a prisoner of war
of the Soviet Union
. Blösche was sent to the Soviet camps for forced labour
shortly thereafter. In early 1946, still a prisoner of war, he was returned to East Germany. In August 1946 he suffered a major accident at work, leaving the side of his face severely deformed. In 1947 his labour camp was dissolved, and Blösche was released. He returned to where his parents lived and led a quiet life. His facial scars protected him from discovery as the SS
soldier displayed in the photos from the Warsaw ghetto. He began leading a normal life, was married, and had two children.
, linked Blösche to the atrocities he had committed in Warsaw. Further investigation by the East German police led to a series of findings resulting in his identification and arrest in January 1967.
Blösche was put on trial in Erfurt
in April 1969. He was found guilty of having been involved in the deportation of 300,000 Jews, and of murdering of an indeterminable number of persons (possibly as much as 2000) including newborn infants, pregnant women, handicapped persons, and old persons. The Jews had given him the nickname "Frankenstein" for his sadistic tendency to rape and after that kill women from the Ghetto. He was sentenced to death, and executed in Leipzig
on July 29, 1969, by a shot through the neck.
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...
(Nazi Party) in 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...
, and served in the SS
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...
and SD
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...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a Rottenführer
Rottenführer
Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung , the Schutzstaffel and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.The insignia for Rottenführer...
(Section Leader). Blösche became known to the world as a symbol of the Nazi cruelty inflicted on people within the Warsaw ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
because of a famous photograph taken during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
which portrays a surrendering little boy in the foreground, and Blösche as the SS soldier who is facing the boy with an MP18
MP18
The MP18.1 manufactured by Theodor Bergmann Waffenbau Abteilung was the first practical submachine gun used in combat. It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the primary weapon of the Stosstruppen, assault groups specialized in trench combat...
sub-machine gun in hand.
World War II
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...
's 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...
annexed the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
. After serving in Warsaw with the SS from March 1940 onwards, he joined the Security Service 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) division of the SS. He served in the SD's Warsaw ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
outpost during the summer of 1942, when the massive deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka was a Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland during World War II near the village of Treblinka in the modern-day Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. The camp, which was constructed as part of Operation Reinhard, operated between and ,. During this time, approximately 850,000 men, women...
began. Blösche personally killed hundreds of Jewish civilians around this time, and later received the German War Merit Cross
War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
for his actions during the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
.
In May 1945, he surrendered to the Red Army and became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
of 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....
. Blösche was sent to the Soviet camps for forced labour
Unfree labour
Unfree labour includes all forms of slavery as well as all other related institutions .-Payment for unfree labour:If payment occurs, it may be in one or more of the following forms:...
shortly thereafter. In early 1946, still a prisoner of war, he was returned to East Germany. In August 1946 he suffered a major accident at work, leaving the side of his face severely deformed. In 1947 his labour camp was dissolved, and Blösche was released. He returned to where his parents lived and led a quiet life. His facial scars protected him from discovery as the SS
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...
soldier displayed in the photos from the Warsaw ghetto. He began leading a normal life, was married, and had two children.
War crimes trial
In 1961, a former SS comrade who was on trial for war crimes in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, linked Blösche to the atrocities he had committed in Warsaw. Further investigation by the East German police led to a series of findings resulting in his identification and arrest in January 1967.
Blösche was put on trial in Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
in April 1969. He was found guilty of having been involved in the deportation of 300,000 Jews, and of murdering of an indeterminable number of persons (possibly as much as 2000) including newborn infants, pregnant women, handicapped persons, and old persons. The Jews had given him the nickname "Frankenstein" for his sadistic tendency to rape and after that kill women from the Ghetto. He was sentenced to death, and executed in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
on July 29, 1969, by a shot through the neck.