Karl Hass
Encyclopedia
Karl Hass was a German Lieutenant-Colonel in the SS whose involvement in the Ardeatine massacre
while serving in Italy led to allegations of war crimes. Hass was not charged with or convicted of war crimes following the war, but the reprisal killings of some 335 Italians following a partisan attack on German troops in Rome is one of the most notorious events of World War II
. His involvement as a witness in the Erich Priebke
trial led him to being tried and convicted in Italy for the Ardeatine killings in 1998 (despite having been given legal immunity by Italy).
.
In 1934, Hass joined the Sicherheitsdienst
, the SS's intelligence service, where his ruthlessness brought promotion. After the downfall of Benito Mussolini
and the occupation of Italy by Nazi Germany
, Karl Hass was sent to Rome
to set up a network of radio operators and to organize saboteurs behind the invading Allied
lines. While in Rome, under SS-Obersturmbannführer
(Lieutenant-Colonel) Herbert Kappler
, Karl Hass aided in the deportation of more than 1,000 Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp
.
Hass was also the officer who had Princess Mafalda of Savoy, the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy
, placed into German military custody, which eventually resulted in her death. He reputedly lured her to his headquarters in Rome by the suggestion that there was a message from her husband who was then being held in Berlin
. On her arrival at the German command, Hass had the princess arrested and sent for questioning to Munich in Germany. She was subsequently sent to Berlin and then to Buchenwald concentration camp, where she was later wounded in an Allied bombing raid. Despite receiving medical attention at the camp, she died following an operation to amputate her infected arm.
Following a March 23, 1944, bomb attack in the Via Rasella by Italian resistance fighters that killed 33 soldiers, Hass with Capt. Erich Priebke
and his fellow officers rounded up 335 Italians and the next day transported them to the Ardeatine caves at the outskirts of Rome. Hass, Priebke, and their soldiers systematically executed each captive with a shot to the back of the head. The Ardeatine massacre
is one of the most notorious in the Italian history of World War II.
After the war, SS-Hauptsturmführer
Hass was captured by the Allies, but rather than being brought to justice for his war crimes, he was apparently employed by the United States Army
Counter Intelligence Corps
to spy on the Soviet Union
. Only Herbert Kappler was ever charged with the Ardeatine cave massacre. In the early 1990s, Capt. Erich Priebke, who had helped Karl Hass with the executions, was interviewed in Argentina
by an American
television crew and as a result of the ensuing uproar in Italy was eventually extradited to stand trial. In exchange for immunity, Karl Hass returned to Italy to testify against Priebke. However, on the night before he was due to testify, Hass decided against testifying against his old colleague, and attempted to flee from his hotel room by climbing down from an outside balcony. He seriously injured himself after slipping and falling from the balcony and was taken to hospital where he ultimately gave testimony to Court officials. In the court records, Karl Hass admitted to executing two civilians but defended his actions by claiming he was only following orders, a defense which has been ruled invalid ever since the Nuremberg trials
.
Hass's attempt to flee meant that Karl Hass lost his legal immunity from prosecution, and he was made to stand trial. Tried and convicted for his role in the Ardeatine action, he was sentenced to life in prison in 1998. Because of his advanced age and poor health, Hass was held under house arrest in Castel Gandolfo
, near Rome
(Italy
), where Hass spent his last years, till his death.
Ardeatine massacre
The Fosse Ardeatine massacre was a mass execution carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War as a reprisal for a partisan attack conducted on the previous day in central Rome....
while serving in Italy led to allegations of war crimes. Hass was not charged with or convicted of war crimes following the war, but the reprisal killings of some 335 Italians following a partisan attack on German troops in Rome is one of the most notorious events of 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...
. His involvement as a witness in the Erich Priebke
Erich Priebke
Erich Priebke is a former Hauptsturmführer in the Waffen SS. In 1996 he was convicted of war crimes in Italy, for participating in the massacre at the Ardeatine caves in Rome, on March 24, 1944...
trial led him to being tried and convicted in Italy for the Ardeatine killings in 1998 (despite having been given legal immunity by Italy).
Biography
Hass was born in KielKiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
.
In 1934, Hass joined the 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...
, the SS's intelligence service, where his ruthlessness brought promotion. After the downfall of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and the occupation of Italy by Nazi 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...
, Karl Hass was sent to 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...
to set up a network of radio operators and to organize saboteurs behind the invading Allied
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...
lines. While in Rome, under SS-Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
(Lieutenant-Colonel) Herbert Kappler
Herbert Kappler
Herbert Kappler , was the head of German police and security services in Rome during World War II...
, Karl Hass aided in the deportation of more than 1,000 Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
.
Hass was also the officer who had Princess Mafalda of Savoy, the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III was a member of the House of Savoy and King of Italy . In addition, he claimed the crowns of Ethiopia and Albania and claimed the titles Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Albania , which were unrecognised by the Great Powers...
, placed into German military custody, which eventually resulted in her death. He reputedly lured her to his headquarters in Rome by the suggestion that there was a message from her husband who was then being held 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...
. On her arrival at the German command, Hass had the princess arrested and sent for questioning to Munich in Germany. She was subsequently sent to Berlin and then to Buchenwald concentration camp, where she was later wounded in an Allied bombing raid. Despite receiving medical attention at the camp, she died following an operation to amputate her infected arm.
Following a March 23, 1944, bomb attack in the Via Rasella by Italian resistance fighters that killed 33 soldiers, Hass with Capt. Erich Priebke
Erich Priebke
Erich Priebke is a former Hauptsturmführer in the Waffen SS. In 1996 he was convicted of war crimes in Italy, for participating in the massacre at the Ardeatine caves in Rome, on March 24, 1944...
and his fellow officers rounded up 335 Italians and the next day transported them to the Ardeatine caves at the outskirts of Rome. Hass, Priebke, and their soldiers systematically executed each captive with a shot to the back of the head. The Ardeatine massacre
Ardeatine massacre
The Fosse Ardeatine massacre was a mass execution carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War as a reprisal for a partisan attack conducted on the previous day in central Rome....
is one of the most notorious in the Italian history of World War II.
After the war, SS-Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
Hass was captured by the Allies, but rather than being brought to justice for his war crimes, he was apparently employed by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Counter Intelligence Corps
Counter Intelligence Corps
The Counter Intelligence Corps was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and, in 1967, by the U.S. Army Intelligence Agency...
to spy on 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....
. Only Herbert Kappler was ever charged with the Ardeatine cave massacre. In the early 1990s, Capt. Erich Priebke, who had helped Karl Hass with the executions, was interviewed in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
by an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television crew and as a result of the ensuing uproar in Italy was eventually extradited to stand trial. In exchange for immunity, Karl Hass returned to Italy to testify against Priebke. However, on the night before he was due to testify, Hass decided against testifying against his old colleague, and attempted to flee from his hotel room by climbing down from an outside balcony. He seriously injured himself after slipping and falling from the balcony and was taken to hospital where he ultimately gave testimony to Court officials. In the court records, Karl Hass admitted to executing two civilians but defended his actions by claiming he was only following orders, a defense which has been ruled invalid ever since the Nuremberg trials
Nuremberg 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....
.
Hass's attempt to flee meant that Karl Hass lost his legal immunity from prosecution, and he was made to stand trial. Tried and convicted for his role in the Ardeatine action, he was sentenced to life in prison in 1998. Because of his advanced age and poor health, Hass was held under house arrest in Castel Gandolfo
Castel Gandolfo
Castel Gandolfo is a small Italian town or comune in Lazio that occupies a height overlooking Lake Albano about 15 miles south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills. It is best known as the summer residence of the Pope. It is an Italian town with the population of 8834...
, near 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...
(Italy
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...
), where Hass spent his last years, till his death.