Gerhard Sommer
Encyclopedia
Gerhard Sommer is a former SS
-Untersturmführer
(Second Lieutenant) in the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS
who was involved in the massacre of 560 civilians on 12 August 1944 in the Italian
village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema
.
in Saxony
.
In July 1933, when he was 12 years old, Sommer became a member of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth
), where he obtained the rank of Jungzugführer in the Deutsche Jungvolk
. On 1 September 1939, at age 18, he joined the Nazi Party NSDAP and in October enlisted in the Waffen-SS
.
Sommer fought in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
in the Balkans
and Ukraine
. He was wounded twice and was awarded the Iron Cross
2nd class. In 1943 Sommer applied for the rank of SS-Reserveführer. After training in Proschnitz, he was appointed an SS-Untersturmführer
on January 30, 1944. He served as a Zugführer and later a Kompanieführer
in the 7th Kompanie des II. Bataillons/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 35. On August 19, 1944 he received the Iron Cross 1st class. Near the end of the war, Sommer served in the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands
.
On June 22, 2005, Sommer and nine other former SS members were convicted by an Italian military court in La Spezia
for the "continued murder with special cruelty
" of 560 villagers at Sant'Anna di Stazzema
. All ten were sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation
payments.
Sommer and four of his comrades appealed, but the sentences were confirmed in 2006 by a military court in Rome
.
In 2002 investigations against Sommer were initiated in Germany, but no criminal charges have yet been brought. Gabriela Heinecke, a lawyer from Hamburg
in charge of the "Nebenklage" of the Italian survivors of the massacre continues to be denied access to the records by the German public prosecution department.
As of 2007, Sommer lives in a nursing home in Hamburg-Volksdorf, Germany.
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...
-Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
(Second Lieutenant) in the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS
16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS
The 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS was a Panzergrenadier formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II.-History:Formed in November 1943 when Volksdeutsche recruits were added to the Sturmbrigade Reichsführer SS, which was used as the cadre in the formation of the new division...
who was involved in the massacre of 560 civilians on 12 August 1944 in the 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...
village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Sant'Anna di Stazzema is a village in Tuscany in central Italy. Administratively, it is a frazione of the comune of Stazzema, in the province of Lucca....
.
Biography
Sommer was born in at Steinpleis near ZwickauZwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
.
In July 1933, when he was 12 years old, Sommer became a member of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
), where he obtained the rank of Jungzugführer in the Deutsche Jungvolk
Deutsches Jungvolk
thumb|250px|DJ TroopThe Deutsches Jungvolk was the subdivision of the Hitler Youth for boys aged 10 to 14. It reinforced the National Socialist view of Aryan ideals and transmitted the Nazi idea of the Volksgemeinschaft...
. On 1 September 1939, at age 18, he joined the Nazi Party NSDAP and in October enlisted in the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
.
Sommer fought in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He was wounded twice and was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd class. In 1943 Sommer applied for the rank of SS-Reserveführer. After training in Proschnitz, he was appointed an SS-Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
on January 30, 1944. He served as a Zugführer and later a Kompanieführer
Kompanieführer
Kompanieführer is a German paramilitary title that has existed since the First World War. Originally, the title of Kompanieführer was held by the officer commanding an infantry company Kompanieführer is a German paramilitary title that has existed since the First World War. Originally, the title...
in the 7th Kompanie des II. Bataillons/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 35. On August 19, 1944 he received the Iron Cross 1st class. Near the end of the war, Sommer served in the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands
4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands
The 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland. was a German Waffen SS volunteer division comprising volunteers of Dutch background...
.
On June 22, 2005, Sommer and nine other former SS members were convicted by an Italian military court in La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
for the "continued murder with special cruelty
Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre
The Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre was a Nazi German atrocity in the village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema, Italy, in the course of an operation against the Italian resistance movement in 1944, during the Italian Campaign of World War II.-Facts:...
" of 560 villagers at Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Sant'Anna di Stazzema is a village in Tuscany in central Italy. Administratively, it is a frazione of the comune of Stazzema, in the province of Lucca....
. All ten were sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation
War reparations
War reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...
payments.
Sommer and four of his comrades appealed, but the sentences were confirmed in 2006 by a military court in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
In 2002 investigations against Sommer were initiated in Germany, but no criminal charges have yet been brought. Gabriela Heinecke, a lawyer from 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 charge of the "Nebenklage" of the Italian survivors of the massacre continues to be denied access to the records by the German public prosecution department.
As of 2007, Sommer lives in a nursing home in Hamburg-Volksdorf, Germany.