Siegfried Kasche
Encyclopedia
Siegfried Kasche was an SA
Obergruppenführer
and ambassador of the Third Reich to the allied Independent State of Croatia
during the Second World War. He was tried for "complicity in deportations and murders" by a Yugoslav
court and was executed in June 1947.
Kasche was born in Strausberg
in Brandenburg
, Germany
on June 18, 1903. After attending cadet school in Potsdam
and the Lichterfelde
military academy, he spent 1919-1920 in the Freikorps
in Berlin
and the Baltic states
. He joined the Sturmabteilung
in 1925 and the Nazi party in 1926. From 1928 to 1931 Kasche was deputy Gauleiter
in Ostmark
, and in September 1930 was elected to the Reichstag
. From April 1941 until the end of the war in May 1945, he was the Reich's Minister Plenipotentiary
in Zagreb
. On 17 July he was designated as the future Reichskommissar
of the planned Nazi colony called Moskowien, which was to comprise the main territories of central and northern Russia
up to the Ural mountains
. Military realities on the Eastern Front
during the 1941-1942 winter prevented its establishment, leaving the project in the planning stages.
, a conference was held in the German Legation presided over by Siegfried Kasche, "at which it was decided forcibly to evacuate the Slovenes to Croatia and Serbia and the Serbs from Croatia into Serbia. This decision results from a telegram from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Number 389, dated 31 May 1941".
He reported to Berlin on April 18, 1944 that "Croatia is one of the countries in which the Jewish problem has been solved".
After the war, Kasche was returned to Yugoslavia by the Allies
. He was tried by the Supreme Court of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in May 1947, convicted, and executed by hanging on June 7, 1947.
Sturmabteilung
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...
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
and ambassador of the Third Reich to the allied Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
during the Second World War. He was tried for "complicity in deportations and murders" by a Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
court and was executed in June 1947.
Kasche was born in Strausberg
Strausberg
Strausberg is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, located 30 km east of Berlin. With a population of 26,206 in 2010 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland.-History:...
in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, 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...
on June 18, 1903. After attending cadet school in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
and the Lichterfelde
Lichterfelde (Berlin)
Lichterfelde is a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part, with Steglitz and Lankwitz of the former Steglitz borough.-History:...
military academy, he spent 1919-1920 in the Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
in 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 the Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
. He joined the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
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...
in 1925 and the Nazi party in 1926. From 1928 to 1931 Kasche was deputy Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
in Ostmark
Ostmark
Ostmark is a German term meaning either Eastern march when applied to territories or Eastern Mark when applied to currencies.Ostmark may refer to:...
, and in September 1930 was elected to the Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
. From April 1941 until the end of the war in May 1945, he was the Reich's Minister Plenipotentiary
Plenipotentiary
The word plenipotentiary has two meanings. As a noun, it refers to a person who has "full powers." In particular, the term commonly refers to a diplomat fully authorized to represent his government as a prerogative...
in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. On 17 July he was designated as the future Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar , in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and the Nazi Third Reich....
of the planned Nazi colony called Moskowien, which was to comprise the main territories of central and northern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
up to the Ural mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
. Military realities on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
during the 1941-1942 winter prevented its establishment, leaving the project in the planning stages.
War crimes
During World War II, many Serbs were deported from Croatia—some to Serbia and others to Germany. The order to deport Serbs did not originate with the Croatian government. According to the Nuremberg TribunalNuremberg 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....
, a conference was held in the German Legation presided over by Siegfried Kasche, "at which it was decided forcibly to evacuate the Slovenes to Croatia and Serbia and the Serbs from Croatia into Serbia. This decision results from a telegram from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Number 389, dated 31 May 1941".
He reported to Berlin on April 18, 1944 that "Croatia is one of the countries in which the Jewish problem has been solved".
After the war, Kasche was returned to Yugoslavia by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. He was tried by the Supreme Court of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in May 1947, convicted, and executed by hanging on June 7, 1947.
Further reading
- Ernst Klee: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. (The Encyclopedia of People of the Third Reich) Revised edition, Frankfurt am Main, 2003, ISBN 3-10-039309-0, p 299