Friedrich Engel
Encyclopedia
Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Konrad Siegfried Engel (January 3, 1909 – February 4, 2006) was a German
SS officer who was convicted in absentia of 246 murder charges by an Italian
military court in 1999 for his role in the 1944 execution of Italian captives in retalition for a partisan attack against German soldiers, and who as a result would earn the nickname "Butcher of Genoa
".
Subsequently brought before a German court in Hamburg
in 2002, Engel was tried and likewise convicted on 59 counts of murder, being sentenced to seven years in prison, although because of his advanced age, he was given a stay of that ruling and was able to leave the court effectively a free man.
In 2004, Germany
's highest court, the Bundesgerichtshof, overturned the previous ruling on the grounds that, despite acknowledging that Engel ordered the executions, the case of criminal murder had not been proven. The court would not permit a new trial to establish murder charges given the age and health state of the then 95-year-old Engel.
Prior to this, he had been investigated by German
authorities in 1969, but no charges were laid and the case ended in 1970.
Engel was born in Warnau an der Havel, part of Havelberg
, and died in Hamburg.
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...
SS officer who was convicted in absentia of 246 murder charges by an Italian
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...
military court in 1999 for his role in the 1944 execution of Italian captives in retalition for a partisan attack against German soldiers, and who as a result would earn the nickname "Butcher of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
".
Subsequently brought before a German court in Hamburg
Hamburg
-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...
in 2002, Engel was tried and likewise convicted on 59 counts of murder, being sentenced to seven years in prison, although because of his advanced age, he was given a stay of that ruling and was able to leave the court effectively a free man.
In 2004, 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...
's highest court, the Bundesgerichtshof, overturned the previous ruling on the grounds that, despite acknowledging that Engel ordered the executions, the case of criminal murder had not been proven. The court would not permit a new trial to establish murder charges given the age and health state of the then 95-year-old Engel.
Prior to this, he had been investigated by German
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...
authorities in 1969, but no charges were laid and the case ended in 1970.
Engel was born in Warnau an der Havel, part of Havelberg
Havelberg
Havelberg is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875...
, and died in Hamburg.