Kurt Eccarius
Encyclopedia
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. He was put on trial for war crimes in 1947 by the Soviets in the Berlin Pankow city hall along with fellow SS guard and Sachsenhausen record keeper Gustav Sorge
the last Sachsenhausen commandant, Anton Kaindl
, 11 other SS officers, one civil servant and two prisoner kapos including Paul Sakowski who served as the crematorium foreman & camp hangman from 1941- 1943.
Eccarius was found guilty on October 31, 1947 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with compulsory forced labor at the Vorkuta
Gulag
. In January 1956 in a deal brokered by West German prime minister Konrad Adenauer
he along with other German prisoners of war were repatriated to West Germany
and initially received amnesty. In 1962 he was indicted by the West German authorities for the shooting of prisoners near Wittstock
, Germany while on a death march
from Sachenhausen northwest to Crivitz, Germany begun on April 21, 1945 one day prior to liberation of the camp by the Soviet Army. He was found guilty on November 30, 1962 in the Federal District Court in Coburg
, West Germany
and sentenced to 4 years. Additional criminal charges were filed against Eccarius in 1962 for complicity in the killing of over 13,000 Soviet prisoners in the "Genickschussanlage
" (neck shooting facility) in 1941. The trial was held in the Federal District Court of Munich were he was found guilty and sentenced to eight and a half years imprisonment on December 22, 1969. He was released after serving two years. He was also investigated for the murder of Jacob Stalin, son of Josef Stalin.
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....
who was in charge the of the prison block inside the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
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...
from 1939-1945. He was born in Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the collective name of two duchies, Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha, in Germany. They were located in what today are the states of Bavaria and Thuringia, respectively, and the two were in personal union between 1826 and 1918...
. Eccarius was captured by the British and then handed over to the Soviets. He was put on trial for war crimes in 1947 by the Soviets in the Berlin Pankow city hall along with fellow SS guard and Sachsenhausen record keeper Gustav Sorge
Gustav Sorge
Gustav Hermann Sorge 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...
the last Sachsenhausen commandant, Anton Kaindl
Anton Kaindl
Anton Kaindl was an SS-Standartenführer and commandant of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp from 1942-1945....
, 11 other SS officers, one civil servant and two prisoner kapos including Paul Sakowski who served as the crematorium foreman & camp hangman from 1941- 1943.
Eccarius was found guilty on October 31, 1947 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with compulsory forced labor at the Vorkuta
Vorkuta
Vorkuta is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin at the Usa River. Population: - Labor camp origins :...
Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. In January 1956 in a deal brokered by West German prime minister Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
he along with other German prisoners of war were 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....
and initially received amnesty. In 1962 he was indicted by the West German authorities for the shooting of prisoners near Wittstock
Wittstock
Wittstock is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in north-western Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Dosse, 20 km east of Pritzwalk, and 95 km northwest of Berlin. It was the location of the 1636 Battle of Wittstock between Sweden and an alliance of the Holy Roman...
, Germany while on a death march
Death marches (Holocaust)
The death marches refer to the forcible movement between Autumn 1944 and late April 1945 by Nazi Germany of thousands of prisoners from German concentration camps near the war front to camps inside Germany.-General:...
from Sachenhausen northwest to Crivitz, Germany begun on April 21, 1945 one day prior to liberation of the camp by the Soviet Army. He was found guilty on November 30, 1962 in the Federal District Court in Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
, 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....
and sentenced to 4 years. Additional criminal charges were filed against Eccarius in 1962 for complicity in the killing of over 13,000 Soviet prisoners in the "Genickschussanlage
Genickschussanlage
Genickschussanlage is the official name of a facility used for surprise executions in Nazi Germany. The victim was placed, under a pretext, in a position where a shot could be fired into the back of his/her neck from the neighbouring room. For that purpose, the facilities were partly disguised as...
" (neck shooting facility) in 1941. The trial was held in the Federal District Court of Munich were he was found guilty and sentenced to eight and a half years imprisonment on December 22, 1969. He was released after serving two years. He was also investigated for the murder of Jacob Stalin, son of Josef Stalin.