Richard Hildebrandt
Encyclopedia
Richard Hermann Hildebrandt (13 May 1897, Worms
- 10 March 1952, Gdansk
) was a politician in Nazi Germany
and member of the Reichstag, and an SS-Obergruppenführer. From 1943 until his capture in 1945, he led the SS-Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt ( or "RuSHA"), the Office of Race and Settlement of the SS. He was convicted in the phase of the Nuremberg trials
known as the RuSHA Trial
, for measures put into force in the furtherance of the "Germanization" component of the Generalplan Ost
program in the Danzig-West Prussia
area.
International War Crimes Tribunal I found he was guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the following crimes against humanity
:
On a separate charge of carrying out a program of euthanasia
, the tribunal found it was carried out by Hildebrandt only against citizens of Germany, and for that reason did not constitute a crime against humanity.
Because of his membership in the SS, he was also found guilty of membership in a criminal organization.
The Tribunal sentenced him to 25 years in prison, but he was then turned over to Polish authorities for further criminal proceedings. As a result of the Polish proceedings, he was hanged in Warsaw
in 1952.
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
- 10 March 1952, Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
) was a politician in 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...
and member of the Reichstag, and an SS-Obergruppenführer. From 1943 until his capture in 1945, he led the SS-Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt ( or "RuSHA"), the Office of Race and Settlement of the SS. He was convicted in the phase of 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....
known as the RuSHA Trial
RuSHA Trial
The RuSHA Trial was the eighth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S...
, for measures put into force in the furtherance of the "Germanization" component of the Generalplan Ost
Generalplan Ost
Generalplan Ost was a secret Nazi German plan for the colonization of Eastern Europe. Implementing it would have necessitated genocide and ethnic cleansing to be undertaken in the Eastern European territories occupied by Germany during World War II...
program in the Danzig-West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
area.
International War Crimes Tribunal I found he was guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the following crimes against humanity
Crime against humanity
Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
:
- kidnapping of alien children;
- forcible abortions on Eastern workers;
- taking away infants of Eastern workers;
- illegal and unjust punishment of foreign nationals for sexual intercourse with Germans;
- hampering the reproduction of enemy nationals;
- forced evacuation and resettlement of populations;
- forced Germanization of enemy nationals; and
- utilization of enemy nationals as slave labor.
On a separate charge of carrying out a program of euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
, the tribunal found it was carried out by Hildebrandt only against citizens of Germany, and for that reason did not constitute a crime against humanity.
Because of his membership in the SS, he was also found guilty of membership in a criminal organization.
The Tribunal sentenced him to 25 years in prison, but he was then turned over to Polish authorities for further criminal proceedings. As a result of the Polish proceedings, he was hanged in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1952.