Waldemar Klingelhöfer
Encyclopedia
Waldemar Klingelhöfer ; died about 1980) was an SS-Sturmbannführer
(Major) and convicted war criminal.
, served in the German army from June–December 1918 and after the war studied music and voice. He gave concerts throughout Germany and later received a State's Certificate as a voice teacher. In 1935, he became an opera singer.
in Rossbach. In 1937, he took over the Department of Culture, a branch of the Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst
, or SD), office SD III-C in Kassel. In 1941, he was assigned to Einsatzgruppe B as a Russian interpreter. This Einsatzgruppe—already by November 1941, according to its own Status Report No. 133—had killed 45,467 persons.
By 26 October, Vorkommando Moscow—a part of Einsatzgruppe B—and the group staff had executed 2,457 persons, including 572 persons killed between 28 September and 26 October 1941, while Klingelhöfer was in command. Klingelhöfer witnessed executions and carried out others. For example, he shot 30 Jews who had left a ghetto without permission. Klingelhöfer later claimed he did this on the orders of Arthur Nebe
to make an example out of the victims, then contradicted himself by saying that three women had contacted some partisans, then returned to the town and spoke with the Jews. This, according to Klingelhöfer, made the Jews partisans
and therefore subject to being shot. The three woman Klingelhöfer also shot, but—unlike the Jews—he blindfolded them and buried them in a separate grave.
Beyond this, the tribunal found that Klingelhöfer was not just an interpreter, but an active leader and commander, who knew what the Einsatz units were doing to the Jews. According to Klingelhöfer's own affidavit, he had been appointed by Arthur Nebe
to lead Vorkommando Moscow:
The Einsatzgruppen operated with the assumption that a Führer order (Führerbefehl) existed that provided for and required the mass murder of Jews, Gypsies and others whom the Nazis did not deem racially worthy. Although Klingelhöfer stated several times during his testimony that he was morally opposed to the Führer Order, the court found that he went along quite willingly with it. Klingelhöfer was unrepentant about the necessity for the war:
. In 1951, under intense political pressure, U.S. High Commissioner John J. McCloy
commuted Klingelhöfer's sentence—and those of three other Einsatzgruppen defendants—to life imprisonment. On December 12, 1956, Klingelhöfer was released from Landsberg prison
. In 1960, he lived in Villingen and worked as an office clerk.
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
(Major) and convicted war criminal.
Early life
Klingelhöfer was born in Moscow as the son of a funeral director of German origins. Waldemar Klingelhöfer attended school in KasselKassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, served in the German army from June–December 1918 and after the war studied music and voice. He gave concerts throughout Germany and later received a State's Certificate as a voice teacher. In 1935, he became an opera singer.
Nazi career
In the 1920s, Klingelhöfer joined the FreikorpsFreikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
in Rossbach. In 1937, he took over the Department of Culture, a branch of the Security Service (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...
, or SD), office SD III-C in Kassel. In 1941, he was assigned to Einsatzgruppe B as a Russian interpreter. This Einsatzgruppe—already by November 1941, according to its own Status Report No. 133—had killed 45,467 persons.
By 26 October, Vorkommando Moscow—a part of Einsatzgruppe B—and the group staff had executed 2,457 persons, including 572 persons killed between 28 September and 26 October 1941, while Klingelhöfer was in command. Klingelhöfer witnessed executions and carried out others. For example, he shot 30 Jews who had left a ghetto without permission. Klingelhöfer later claimed he did this on the orders of Arthur Nebe
Arthur 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...
to make an example out of the victims, then contradicted himself by saying that three women had contacted some partisans, then returned to the town and spoke with the Jews. This, according to Klingelhöfer, made the Jews partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
and therefore subject to being shot. The three woman Klingelhöfer also shot, but—unlike the Jews—he blindfolded them and buried them in a separate grave.
War crimes trial
At trial, Klingelhöfer claimed that his only role in the Einsatzgruppe was that of interpreter. This contention was rejected by the court, on the grounds that even if it were true, as an interpreter, his tasks included locating, evaluating and forwarding to the Einsatzgruppe command lists of Communist party functionaries. Because—according to his own testimony—he knew the people would be executed when found, this made him an accessory to the crime.Beyond this, the tribunal found that Klingelhöfer was not just an interpreter, but an active leader and commander, who knew what the Einsatz units were doing to the Jews. According to Klingelhöfer's own affidavit, he had been appointed by Arthur Nebe
Arthur 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...
to lead Vorkommando Moscow:
The Einsatzgruppen operated with the assumption that a Führer order (Führerbefehl) existed that provided for and required the mass murder of Jews, Gypsies and others whom the Nazis did not deem racially worthy. Although Klingelhöfer stated several times during his testimony that he was morally opposed to the Führer Order, the court found that he went along quite willingly with it. Klingelhöfer was unrepentant about the necessity for the war:
Death sentence and reprieve
On April 10, 1948, Klingelhöfer was sentenced to death in the Einsatzgruppen TrialEinsatzgruppen Trial
The Einsatzgruppen Trial was the ninth 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...
. In 1951, under intense political pressure, U.S. High Commissioner John J. McCloy
John J. McCloy
John Jay McCloy was a lawyer and banker who served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II, president of the World Bank and U.S. High Commissioner for Germany...
commuted Klingelhöfer's sentence—and those of three other Einsatzgruppen defendants—to life imprisonment. On December 12, 1956, Klingelhöfer was released from Landsberg prison
Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison is a penal facility located in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west of Munich and south of Augsburg....
. In 1960, he lived in Villingen and worked as an office clerk.
Further reading
- Earl, Hilary, The Nuremberg SS-Einsatzgruppen Trial, 1945–1958: Atrocity, Law, and History, Nipissing University, Ontario ISBN 9780521456081
- Headland, Ronald, Messages of Murder: A Study of the Reports of the Einsatzgruppen of the Security Police and the Security Service, 1941-1943, Rutherford 1992 ISBN 0838634184