Gustav Sorge
Encyclopedia
Gustav Hermann Sorge
Gustav Hermann Sorge (April 24, 1911 (Rydzyna
) – 1978 (Rheinbach, prison
), nicknamed "Der eiserne Gustav" (The Iron Gustav) for his brutality, was an SS-Hauptscharführer
and a guard at Esterwegen
concentration camp in the Emsland
region of Germany prior to being assigned to Sachenhausen
concentration camp.
Among the many people who were murdered at Sachsenhausen by Sorge was Leon Sternbach, a professor of classical philology at Jagiellonian University
and the paternal uncle of famed chemist Leo Sternbach
.
Sorge became a prisoner of war of the U.S.S.R. after the war, was tried as a war criminal in the Sachsenhausen trial held in the former city hall of Berlin-Pankow in 1947 along with Sachsenhausen commandant Anton Kaindl
, prison block director Kurt Eccarius
and others, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sorge was subsequently repatriated to West Germany
in 1956 on the condition that he continue to serve the life sentence imposed by the Soviets. He was put on trial with fellow SS guard Wilhelm Schubert in Bonn
(West Germany) for the 1941 murders of over 13,000 Soviet prisoners of war, many of whom where invalided at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The murders were carried out on a daily basis for six weeks. The retrial was ordered by the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany
to assuage public conscience that the original verdicts in 1947 where indeed warranted. He was convicted of 67 individual murders and numerous counts of manslaughter and resentenced to a life term. He was sent to Rheinbach prison near Bonn, where he died.
Gustav Hermann Sorge (April 24, 1911 (Rydzyna
Rydzyna
Rydzyna is a Polish town that was the seat of king Stanisław Leszczyński during Leszczyński's first short reign from 1704-1709. Rydzyna is known as "the pearl of the Polish baroque"....
) – 1978 (Rheinbach, prison
Rheinbach
Rheinbach is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis district , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It belongs to the administrative district of Cologne .-Geography:...
), nicknamed "Der eiserne Gustav" (The Iron Gustav) for his brutality, was an SS-Hauptscharführer
Hauptscharführer
Hauptscharführer was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the Schutzstaffel between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank was the highest enlisted rank of the SS, with the exception of the special Waffen-SS rank of Sturmscharführer....
and a guard at Esterwegen
KZ Esterwegen
KZ Esterwegen was one of a series of camps first established in the Emsland region of Germany near Papenburg in 1933 as prison camps for political prisoners by the Nazi regime. It was one of 15 camps in the Emsland region and was designated as "Lager VII"....
concentration camp in the Emsland
Emsland
Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , the district of Bentheim and the Netherlands .- History :For a long time the region of the Emsland was...
region of Germany prior to being assigned to Sachenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
concentration camp.
Among the many people who were murdered at Sachsenhausen by Sorge was Leon Sternbach, a professor of classical philology at Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
and the paternal uncle of famed chemist Leo Sternbach
Leo Sternbach
Leo Henryk Sternbach was a Polish-Jewish chemist who is credited with discovering benzodiazepines, main class of tranquilizers.-Biography:...
.
Sorge became a prisoner of war of the U.S.S.R. after the war, was tried as a war criminal in the Sachsenhausen trial held in the former city hall of Berlin-Pankow in 1947 along with Sachsenhausen commandant Anton Kaindl
Anton Kaindl
Anton Kaindl was an SS-Standartenführer and commandant of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp from 1942-1945....
, prison block director Kurt Eccarius
Kurt Eccarius
Kurt Eccarius was an SS Hauptscharführer who was in charge the of the prison block inside the Sachsenhausen concentration camp from 1939-1945. He was born in Coburg, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Eccarius was captured by the British and then handed over to the Soviets...
and others, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sorge was subsequently repatriated to 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....
in 1956 on the condition that he continue to serve the life sentence imposed by the Soviets. He was put on trial with fellow SS guard Wilhelm Schubert in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
(West Germany) for the 1941 murders of over 13,000 Soviet prisoners of war, many of whom where invalided at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The murders were carried out on a daily basis for six weeks. The retrial was ordered by the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany
Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Justice is a federal ministry in Germany.Under the federal system of Germany, individual states are most responsible for the administration of justice and the application of penalties. The Federal Ministry of Justice devotes itself to creating and changing law in the...
to assuage public conscience that the original verdicts in 1947 where indeed warranted. He was convicted of 67 individual murders and numerous counts of manslaughter and resentenced to a life term. He was sent to Rheinbach prison near Bonn, where he died.