Stalag Luft III murders
Encyclopedia
The Stalag Luft III murders was a war crime
perpetrated by members of the Gestapo
following the "Great Escape" of Allied prisoners of war
from the German Air Force
prison camp known as Stalag Luft III
on March 25, 1944. Of a total of 76 successful escapees, 73 were recaptured, mostly within days of the breakout, of whom 50 were executed on the personal orders of Adolf Hitler
. These summary execution
s were conducted within a short period of recapture.
Outrage at the killings was felt immediately, both in the prison camp, among comrades of the escaped prisoners, and in the United Kingdom, where the Foreign Minister Anthony Eden
rose in the House of Commons to announce in June 1944 that those guilty of what the British government suspected was a war crime would be "brought to exemplary justice."
After Nazi Germany
's capitulation in May 1945, the Police branch of the Royal Air Force
, with whom the 50 airmen had been serving, launched a special investigation into the killings, having branded the shootings a war crime despite official German reports that the airmen had been shot while attempting to escape from captivity following recapture. An extensive investigation into the events following the recapture of the 73 airmen was launched, which was unique for being the only major war crime to be investigated by a single branch of any nation's military.
, head of the Luftwaffe
, Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler
, chief of state security, and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel
head of the German High Command
, who had ultimate control over prisoners of war, argued about the responsibility for the escape. Göring pointed out to Hitler that a massacre might bring about reprisals to German pilots in Allied hands. Hitler agreed, but insisted "more than half" were to be shot. Himmler fixed the total at 50. Keitel gave orders that the murdered officers were to be cremated and returned to the POW camp as a deterrent to further escapes. Himmler set up the logistics for actually killing the men, and passed it down through his subordinates in the Gestapo. The general orders were that recaptured officers would be turned over to the Criminal Police
, and fifty would be handed to the Gestapo to be killed.
As the prisoners were captured, they were interrogated for any useful information, and taken out by motor car, usually in small parties of two at a time, on the pretext of returning them to their prison camp. Their Gestapo escorts would stop them in the country and invite the officers to relieve themselves. The prisoners were then shot at close range from behind by pistol or machine pistol fire. The bodies were then left for retrieval, after which they were cremated and returned to Stalag Luft III.
British Military Intelligence was made aware of the extraordinary events even during conditions of wartime, via letters home and as a result of communications via the Protecting Power, i.e. Switzerland, who as a neutral party regularly reported on conditions in prisoner camps to both sides. Notices posted in Allied POW camps on 23 July 1944 that "THE ESCAPE FROM PRISON CAMPS IS NO LONGER A SPORT" in the wake of the Stalag Luft III escape, as well as the suspicious deaths of fifty officers during their recapture, led the British government to suspect a war crime had occurred. The Judge Advocate General originally placed the blame on Field Marshal Keitel, feeling publication of the notices linked him to the notice to shoot the prisoners.
The British government learned of the deaths from a routine visit to the camp by the Swiss authorities as the Protecting power
in May; the Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden
announced the news to the House of Commons
on 19 May 1944. Shortly after the announcement the Senior British Officer of the camp, Group Captain Herbert Massey
, was repatriated to England due to ill health. Upon his return, he informed the Government about the circumstances of the escape and the reality of the murder of the recaptured escapees. Eden updated Parliament on 23 June, promising that, at the end of the war, those responsible would be brought to exemplary justice.
was given the assignment of tracking down the killers of the 50 officers. The investigation started seventeen months after the alleged crimes had been committed, making it a cold case. Worse, according to an account of the investigation, the perpetrators "belonged to a body, the Secret State Police or Gestapo, which held and exercised every facility to provide its members with false identities and forged identification papers immediately they were ordered to go on the run at the moment of national surrender."
The small detachment of investigators, numbering five officers and fourteen NCOs, remained active for three years, and identified seventy-two men, guilty of either murder or conspiracy to murder, 69 of whom were accounted for. Of these, 21 were eventually tried and executed (some of these were for other than the Stalag Luft III murders); 17 were tried and imprisoned; 11 had committed suicide; 7 were untraced, though of these 4 were presumed dead; 6 had been killed during the war; 5 were arrested but charges had not been laid; 1 was arrested but not charged so he could be used as a material witness; three were charged but either acquitted or had the sentence quashed on review, and one remained in refuge in East Germany.
Despite attempts to cover up the murders during the war, the investigators were aided by such things as meticulous book-keeping, such as at various crematoria, as well as willing eye-witness accounts and many confessions among the Gestapo members themselves, who cited that they were only following orders
.
, who is believed to have selected the airmen to be shot, was later executed for his involvement in the July 20 plot
to kill Hitler.
American Colonel Telford Taylor
was the U.S. prosecutor in the High Command case at the Nuremberg Trials
. The indictment in this case called for the General Staff of the Army and the High Command of the German Armed Forces to be considered criminal organizations; the witnesses were several of the surviving German Field Marshal
s and their staff officers. One of the crimes charged was of the murder of the 50. Luftwaffe Colonel
Bernd von Brauchitsch, who served on the staff of Reich Marshal Hermann Göring
, was interrogated by Captain Horace Hahn
about the murders.
The first trial specifically dealing with the Stalag Luft III murders began on 1 July 1947, against 18 defendants. The trial was held before No. 1 War Crimes Court at the Curio Haus in Hamburg. The accused all pled Not Guilty to the counts indicated on the table below; names in the final column are the victims that they were accused of murdering. The verdicts and sentences were handed down after a full fifty days on September 3rd of that year. Max Wielen was found guilty of conspiracy and sentenced to life imprisonment. The others were found not guilty of the first two charges, but guilty of the individual charges of murder. Breithaupt received life imprisonment, Denkmann and Struve ten years imprisonment each, and Boschert eventually received life imprisonment. The rest were hanged at the Hamelin Gaol in February 1948.
A second trial began in Hamburg on 11 October 1948, with verdicts and sentences being reached by November 6th. In the interim, however, Ernest Bevin
, the British Foreign Secretary, announced a Cabinet decision not to prosecute any more war criminals after 31 August 1948.
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
perpetrated by members of the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
following the "Great Escape" of Allied prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
from the German Air Force
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
prison camp known as Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
on March 25, 1944. Of a total of 76 successful escapees, 73 were recaptured, mostly within days of the breakout, of whom 50 were executed on the personal orders of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. These summary execution
Summary execution
A summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is killed on the spot without trial or after a show trial. Summary executions have been practiced by the police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, terrorism, and...
s were conducted within a short period of recapture.
Outrage at the killings was felt immediately, both in the prison camp, among comrades of the escaped prisoners, and in the United Kingdom, where the Foreign Minister Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
rose in the House of Commons to announce in June 1944 that those guilty of what the British government suspected was a war crime would be "brought to exemplary justice."
After 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...
's capitulation in May 1945, the Police branch of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, with whom the 50 airmen had been serving, launched a special investigation into the killings, having branded the shootings a war crime despite official German reports that the airmen had been shot while attempting to escape from captivity following recapture. An extensive investigation into the events following the recapture of the 73 airmen was launched, which was unique for being the only major war crime to be investigated by a single branch of any nation's military.
The murders
The day after the mass escape from Stalag Luft III, Hitler gave personal orders that every recaptured officer was to be shot. Reichsmarschall Hermann GöringHermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, head of the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, chief of state security, and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
head of the German High Command
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht was part of the command structure of the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.- Genesis :...
, who had ultimate control over prisoners of war, argued about the responsibility for the escape. Göring pointed out to Hitler that a massacre might bring about reprisals to German pilots in Allied hands. Hitler agreed, but insisted "more than half" were to be shot. Himmler fixed the total at 50. Keitel gave orders that the murdered officers were to be cremated and returned to the POW camp as a deterrent to further escapes. Himmler set up the logistics for actually killing the men, and passed it down through his subordinates in the Gestapo. The general orders were that recaptured officers would be turned over to the Criminal Police
Kriminalpolizei
is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany during 1936, the Kripo became the Criminal Police Department for the entire Reich...
, and fifty would be handed to the Gestapo to be killed.
As the prisoners were captured, they were interrogated for any useful information, and taken out by motor car, usually in small parties of two at a time, on the pretext of returning them to their prison camp. Their Gestapo escorts would stop them in the country and invite the officers to relieve themselves. The prisoners were then shot at close range from behind by pistol or machine pistol fire. The bodies were then left for retrieval, after which they were cremated and returned to Stalag Luft III.
British Military Intelligence was made aware of the extraordinary events even during conditions of wartime, via letters home and as a result of communications via the Protecting Power, i.e. Switzerland, who as a neutral party regularly reported on conditions in prisoner camps to both sides. Notices posted in Allied POW camps on 23 July 1944 that "THE ESCAPE FROM PRISON CAMPS IS NO LONGER A SPORT" in the wake of the Stalag Luft III escape, as well as the suspicious deaths of fifty officers during their recapture, led the British government to suspect a war crime had occurred. The Judge Advocate General originally placed the blame on Field Marshal Keitel, feeling publication of the notices linked him to the notice to shoot the prisoners.
The British government learned of the deaths from a routine visit to the camp by the Swiss authorities as the Protecting power
Protecting power
A protecting power is a state which somehow protects another state, and/or represents the interests of the protected state's citizens in a third state....
in May; the Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
announced the news to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
on 19 May 1944. Shortly after the announcement the Senior British Officer of the camp, Group Captain Herbert Massey
Herbert Massey
Air Commodore Herbert Martin Massey CBE DSO MC was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during World War II. After being captured by the Germans, Massey became the Senior British Officer at Stalag Luft III....
, was repatriated to England due to ill health. Upon his return, he informed the Government about the circumstances of the escape and the reality of the murder of the recaptured escapees. Eden updated Parliament on 23 June, promising that, at the end of the war, those responsible would be brought to exemplary justice.
Victims
| Name | Rank | Force | Date of Death/Last Seen Alive | Cremated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birkland, Henry J. | Flying Officer |  CanadaRCAF |
31 March 1944 | Leignitz |
| Brettell, E. Gordon | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig |
| Bull, Lester J. | Squadron Leader | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Brüx |
| Bushell, Roger J. Roger Bushell Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell RAF was a South African-born British Auxiliary Air Force pilot who organised and led the famous escape from the Nazi prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft III. He was a victim of the Stalag Luft III murders. The escape was used as the basis for the film The Great... |
Squadron Leader | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Poznań |
| Casey, Michael J. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
| Catanach, James | Squadron Leader |  RAAF |
29 March 1944 | Kiel |
| Christensen, Arnold G. | Pilot Officer |  RNZAF |
29 March 1944 | Kiel |
| Cochran, Dennis H. | Flying Officer | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Natzweiler |
| Cross, Ian E.K.P. | Squadron Leader | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
| Espelid, Haldor | Lieutenant |  Royal Norwegian Air Force |
29 March 1944 | Kiel |
| Evans, Brian H. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Fuglesang, Nils | Lieutenant | Royal Norwegian Air Force |
29 March 1944 | Kiel |
| Gouws, Johannes S. | Lieutenant |  South African Air Force |
29 March 1944 | München |
| Grisman, William J. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
| Gunn, Alastair D.M. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
| Hake, Albert H. | Flight Lieutenant | RAAF |
31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
| Hall, Charles P. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 30 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Hayter, Anthony R.H. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 6 April 1944 | Natzweiler |
| Humphreys, Edgar S. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Kidder, Gordon A. | Flying Officer | CanadaRCAF |
29 March 1944 | Mährisch Ostrau |
| Kierath, Reginald V. | Flight Lieutenant | RAAF |
29 March 1944 | Brüx |
| Kiewnarski, Antoni | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 31 March 1944 | unknown |
| Kirby-Green, Thomas G. | Squadron Leader | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Mährisch Ostrau |
| Kolanowski, Wlodzimierz A. | Flying Officer | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Krol, Stanislaw Z. | Flying Officer | RAF | 12 April 1944 | Breslau |
| Langford, Patrick W. | Flight Lieutenant | CanadaRCAF |
31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Leigh, Thomas B. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
| Long, James L.R. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 12 April 1944 | Breslau |
| Marcinkus, Romas Romualdas Marcinkus Romualdas Marcinkus was a Lithuanian pilot. Marcinkus participated in an early trans-European flight on 25 June 1934, and was the only Lithuanian pilot to serve in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War... |
Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig |
| McGarr, Clement A.N. | Lieutenant | South African Air Force |
6 April 1944 | Breslau |
| McGill, George E. | Flight Lieutenant | CanadaRCAF |
31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Millford, Harold J. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
| Mondschein, Jerzy T. | Flying Officer | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Brüx |
| Pawluk, Kazimierz | Flying Officer | RAF | 31 March 1944 | unknown |
| Picard, Henri A. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig |
| Pohe, John | Flying Officer | RNZAF |
31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
| Scheidhauer, Bernard W.M. | Lieutenant |  Free French Air Force |
29 March 1944 | Saarbrücken |
| Skanzikas, Sotiris | Pilot Officer |  Royal Hellenic Air Force |
30 March 1944 | unknown |
| Stevens, Rupert J. | Lieutenant | South African Air Force |
29 March 1944 | München |
| Stewart, Robert C. | Flying Officer | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Stower, John G. | Flying Officer | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Street, Denys O. | Flying Officer | RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
| Swain, Cyril D. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Tobolski, Pawel | Flying Officer | RAF | 2 April 1944 | Breslau |
| Valenta, Ernst Ernst Valenta Ernst Valenta was a member of the Royal Air Force murdered by the Gestapo in March 1944.-Capture:... |
Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
| Walenn, Gilbert W. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig |
| Wernham, James C. | Flight Lieutenant | CanadaRCAF |
30 March 1944 | unknown |
| Wiley, George W. | Flight Lieutenant | CanadaRCAF |
31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
| Williams, John E.A. John Edwin Ashley Williams Squadron Leader John Edwin Ashley "Willy" Williams, DFC was an Australian air ace during the Second World War. He served in the Middle East and North Africa with the Royal Air Force , and was among the Allied prisoners of war murdered by the Gestapo, following "The Great Escape", in 1944. He... |
Squadron Leader | RAAF |
29 March 1944 | Brüx |
| Williams, John F. | Flight Lieutenant | RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
Investigation
A detachment of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
was given the assignment of tracking down the killers of the 50 officers. The investigation started seventeen months after the alleged crimes had been committed, making it a cold case. Worse, according to an account of the investigation, the perpetrators "belonged to a body, the Secret State Police or Gestapo, which held and exercised every facility to provide its members with false identities and forged identification papers immediately they were ordered to go on the run at the moment of national surrender."
The small detachment of investigators, numbering five officers and fourteen NCOs, remained active for three years, and identified seventy-two men, guilty of either murder or conspiracy to murder, 69 of whom were accounted for. Of these, 21 were eventually tried and executed (some of these were for other than the Stalag Luft III murders); 17 were tried and imprisoned; 11 had committed suicide; 7 were untraced, though of these 4 were presumed dead; 6 had been killed during the war; 5 were arrested but charges had not been laid; 1 was arrested but not charged so he could be used as a material witness; three were charged but either acquitted or had the sentence quashed on review, and one remained in refuge in East Germany.
Despite attempts to cover up the murders during the war, the investigators were aided by such things as meticulous book-keeping, such as at various crematoria, as well as willing eye-witness accounts and many confessions among the Gestapo members themselves, who cited that they were only following orders
Superior Orders
Superior orders is a plea in a court of law that a soldier not be held guilty for actions which were ordered by a superior office...
.
High Command
| Name | Position | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Hitler, Adolf Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945... |
Führer Führer Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also... |
Suicide, 30 April 1945 |
| Keitel, Wilhelm Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II... |
Head of OKW "Supreme Command of the Armed Forces" | Executed 16 October 1946 |
| Himmler, Heinrich Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo... |
Reichsführer-SS Reichsführer-SS was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:... and Chief of the German Police |
Suicide 23 May 1945 |
| Göring, Hermann Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"... |
Luftwaffe Luftwaffe Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.... and enemy Air Forces POWs |
Suicide 16 October 1946 |
Gestapo High Command
| Name | Position | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Kaltenbrunner, Ernst Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the... |
Chief of RSHA RSHA The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS... |
Executed 16 October 1946 |
| Nebe, Artur | Chief of Kripo, RSHA | Executed by Gestapo February 1945 |
| Wielen, Max | Kripo, Breslau | Sentenced to life imprisonment 3 September 1947 |
| Müller, Heinrich | Chief of Gestapo, RSHA | Unknown, believed suicide in Berlin 1945 |
| Scharpwinkel, Wilhelm | Gestapo, Breslau | Died in Soviet prison, May 1948 |
Gestapo Field Offices
| Name | Office | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Absalon, Gunther | Breslau | Died in Soviet prison May 1948 |
| Baatz | Reichenberg Liberec Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic.... |
Prematurely released from Red Army camp |
| Boschert, Heinrich | Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Sentenced to death 3 September 1947, commuted to life imprisonment |
| Breithaupt, Walter | Saarbrücken Saarbrücken Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live.... |
Sentenced to life imprisonment 3 September 1947 |
| Bruchardt, Reinhold | Danzig 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... |
Sentenced to death 6 November 1948, commuted to life imprisonment upon Britain abandoning the death sentence experimentally |
| Dankert | Breslau | Untraced |
| Denkmann, Artur | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Sentenced to 10 years imprisonment 3 September 1947 |
| Dissner, Max | Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... |
Suicide 11 May 1948 |
| Ganninger, Otto | Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Suicide 26 April 1946 |
| Geith, Eduard | München Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Gmeiner, Josef | Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Hampel, Walter | Breslau | Arrested 1 September 1948, charge not proceeded with in accordance with British government's new war crimes policy |
| Hänsel, Richard | Breslau | Acquitted 6 November 1948 |
| Herbert, Walter | Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Hilker, Heinrich | Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... |
Prematurely released from French custody, charged but case dismissed 23 December 1966 |
| Hug, Julius | Danzig 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... |
Untraced |
| Isselhorst, Erich | Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... |
Condemned to death for other atrocities |
| Jacobs, Walter | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Kähler, Hans | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Kilpe, Max | Danzig 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... |
Arrested 27 August 1948, charges not proceeded with |
| Kiske, Paul | Breslau | Killed during Siege of Breslau |
| Kiowsky, Friedrich | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Executed in Czechoslovakia 1947 |
| Knappe, ? | Breslau | Killed during Siege of Breslau |
| Knippelberg, Adolf | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Prematurely released from Red Army camp 1945 |
| Koslowsky, Otto | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Executed in Czechoslovokia 1947 |
| Kreuzer, ? | Breslau | Untraced, probably killed 1945 |
| Kuhnel, ? | Breslau | Killed during Siege of Breslau |
| Lang, ? | Breslau | Untraced, probably killed 1945 |
| Läuffer, ? | Breslau | Suicide reported, not confirmed |
| Lux, ? | Breslau | Killed during Siege of Breslau |
| Nölle, Wilhelm | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Arrested 10 June 1948; charge not proceeded with |
| Pattke, Walter | Breslau | Untraced, probably killed 1945 |
| Post, Johannes | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Preiss, Otto | Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Prosse, ? | Breslau | Died 1944 |
| Romer, Hugo | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Untraced |
| Sasse, Walter | Danzig 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... |
Escaped from internment camp |
| Schäfer, Oswald | München Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... |
Charge dismissed 11 December 1968 |
| Schauschütz, Franz | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Executed in Czechoslovakia 1947 |
| Schermer, Martin | München Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... |
Suicide 25 April 1945 |
| Schimmel, Alfred | Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Schmauser, Ernst | Breslau | Captured by Red Army |
| Schmidt, Franz | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Suicide 27 October 1946 |
| Schmidt, Friedrich (Fritz) | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Sentenced to two years imprisonment May 1968 |
| Schmidt, Oskar | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Schneider, Johann | München Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Schröder, Robert | Breslau | Not charged, used as material witness |
| Schulz, Emil | Saarbrücken Saarbrücken Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live.... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Schwartzer, Friedrich | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Executed in Czechoslovakia 1947 |
| Seetzen, ? | Breslau | Suicide 28 September 1945 |
| Spann, Leopold | Saarbrücken Saarbrücken Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live.... |
Killed in air raid, Linz Linz Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about... , 25 April 1945 |
| Struve, Wilhelm | Kiel Kiel 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... |
Sentenced to 10 years imprisonment 3 September 1947 |
| Venediger, Günther | Danzig 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... |
Sentenced to two years imprisonment after four years of appeals, 17 December 1957 |
| Voelz, Walter | Danzig 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... |
Untraced, believed killed |
| Weil, Emil | München Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Weissman, Robert | Reichenberg Liberec Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic.... |
Held by French authorities but not transferred |
| Wenzler, Herbert | Danzig 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... |
Arrested 1948, charge not proceeded with |
| Weyland, Robert | Reichenberg Liberec Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic.... |
Refuge in Soviet zone |
| Wieczorek, Erwin | Breslau | Sentenced to death 6 November 1948, sentence quashed on review |
| Wielen, Max | Breslau | Sentenced to life imprisonment 3 September 1947 |
| Witt, Harry | Danzig 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... |
Arrested September 1948, charge not proceeded with |
| Wochner, Magnus | Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
Sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for atrocities at Natzweiler-Struthof Natzweiler-Struthof Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg.... |
| Zacharias, Erich | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Executed at Hameln Hamelin Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 .... 27 February 1948 |
| Ziegler, Hans | Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District... /Zlín Zlín Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company... |
Suicide 3 February 1948 |
Trials
SS-Gruppenführer Arthur NebeArthur Nebe
SS-Gruppenführer Arthur Nebe was a member of the NSDAP party with card number 574,307. In July 1931, he joined the SS and his membership number was 280,152. His early career included the Berlin position of Police Commissioner in the 1920s...
, who is believed to have selected the airmen to be shot, was later executed for his involvement in the July 20 plot
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
to kill Hitler.
American Colonel Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor was an American lawyer best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, his opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, and his outspoken criticism of U.S...
was the U.S. prosecutor in the High Command case at 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....
. The indictment in this case called for the General Staff of the Army and the High Command of the German Armed Forces to be considered criminal organizations; the witnesses were several of the surviving German Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
s and their staff officers. One of the crimes charged was of the murder of the 50. Luftwaffe Colonel
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
Bernd von Brauchitsch, who served on the staff of Reich Marshal Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, was interrogated by Captain Horace Hahn
Horace Hahn
Horace L. Hahn was an American best known for working with Cecil B. DeMille on several films as a young man, including a supporting role in This Day and Age . He also served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, and assisted Justice Robert H...
about the murders.
The first trial specifically dealing with the Stalag Luft III murders began on 1 July 1947, against 18 defendants. The trial was held before No. 1 War Crimes Court at the Curio Haus in Hamburg. The accused all pled Not Guilty to the counts indicated on the table below; names in the final column are the victims that they were accused of murdering. The verdicts and sentences were handed down after a full fifty days on September 3rd of that year. Max Wielen was found guilty of conspiracy and sentenced to life imprisonment. The others were found not guilty of the first two charges, but guilty of the individual charges of murder. Breithaupt received life imprisonment, Denkmann and Struve ten years imprisonment each, and Boschert eventually received life imprisonment. The rest were hanged at the Hamelin Gaol in February 1948.
| Accused | Charge 1: Committing a war crime in that you at divers(e) places in Germany and German occupied territory between 25th March 1944 and 13th April 1944 were concerned together and with SS Gruppenführer Müller and SS Gruppenführer Nebe and other persons known and unknown in the killing in violations of the laws and usages of war of prisoners of war who had escaped from Stalag Luft III. | Charge 2: Committing a war crime in that you in divers(e) places in Germany and German-occupied territory between 25th March 1944 and 13th April 1944 aided and abetted SS Gruppenführer Müller and SS Gruppenführer Nebe and each other and other persons known and unknown in carrying out orders which were contrary to the laws and usages of war — namely, orders to kill prisoners of war who had escaped from Stalag Luft III. | Charge 3: Committing a war crime in that you between (place) and (place) on or about (date) when members of the (place) Gestapo, in violation of the laws and usages of war were concerned in the killing of (victim(s)), both of the (force), prisoners of war. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boschert, Heinrich | x | x | D.H. Cochran |
| Breithaupt, Walter | x | x | R.J. Bushell and B.M.W. Scheidhauer |
| Denkmann, Artur | x | x | J. Catanach, H. Espelid, A.G. Christensen, N. Fuglesang |
| Geith, Eduard | x | x | J.R. Stevens, J.S. Gouws |
| Gmeiner, Josef | x | x | D.H. Cochran |
| Herberg, Walter | x | x | D.H. Cochran |
| Jacobs, Walter | x | x | H. Espelid, A.G. Christensen, N. Fuglesang |
| Kähler, Hans | x | x | J. Catanach, H. Espelid, A.G. Christensen, N. Fuglesang |
| Post, Johannes | x | x | J. Catanach, H. Espelid, A.G. Christensen, N. Fuglesang |
| Preiss, Otto | x | x | D.H. Cochran |
| Schimmel, Alfred | x | x | A.R.H. Hayter |
| Schmidt, Oskar | x | x | H. Espelid, A.G. Christensen, N. Fuglesang |
| Schneider, Johann | x | x | J.R. Stevens, J.S. Gouws |
| Schulz, Emil | x | x | R.J. Bushell, B.M.W. Scheidhauer |
| Struve, Wilhelm | x | x | H. Espelid, A.G. Christensen, N. Fuglesang |
| Weil, Emil | x | x | J.R. Stevens, J.S. Gouws |
| Wielen, Max | x | x | N/A |
| Zacharias, Erich | x | x | G.A. Kidder, T.G. Kirby-Green |
A second trial began in Hamburg on 11 October 1948, with verdicts and sentences being reached by November 6th. In the interim, however, Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin was a British trade union leader and Labour politician. He served as general secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1945, as Minister of Labour in the war-time coalition government, and as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour Government.-Early...
, the British Foreign Secretary, announced a Cabinet decision not to prosecute any more war criminals after 31 August 1948.