Nuremberg War Crimes Trials Witness Identification

[Ian Sayer]

I have a fairly extensive collection of pictures taken by US Army photographers mainly on behalf of the Office Chief of Counsel for War Crimes at Nuremberg circa 1945/6. These photos comprise mainly low to middle ranking officials who were scheduled to appear as witnesses or, in some case, defendants at the main Nuremberg Trial or at the secondary US Trials.

I have some biographical information relating to a number ot these individuals but none on others. It is my intention to share these pictures with you before they are lost to history.

I will try and include them in the correct forum but please do not get irritated if I fail to accomplish this. Just let me know and I will move them.

If anyone can share any biographical or relevant information on these individuals it would be greatly appreciated. Dates of birth and death, where known, would be particularly welcome.

Here is the first batch

Regards
Ian

[Ian Sayer]

And another

[Michael Miller]

Superb photos, as always.

Dr. Altenburg was, from the end of April 1941 to 3. November 1943, "Bevollmächtigten des Reiches für Griechenland", with the Auswärtiges Amt rank of Gesandter. You might find more on him via the following link (a pdf file) which details the Holocaust in Greece: http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?i ... 376908.pdf

See http://www.nato.int/cv/is/asg-pa/altenburg-e.htm for a biography of a NATO Ambassador by the same name, likely his son (I see a resemblance).

Best,
~ Mike

[Michael Miller]

Nothing on Otto Abs, except that he was likely related to the banker Hermann Abs (see article on him at http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Abs ).

Best,
~ Mike

[Ian Sayer]

Thanks Mike.
I can add:
Head of Political Divisio 1VB (Austria and Czechslovakia) in the German Foreign Ministry (193?

Minister, Director of the Information Department, German Foreigh Ministry: head of the German delegation on the German-Italian commission of investigation in Transylvania, Oct 1940.


You're right the Nato guy just has to be his son!
Best
Ian

[Ian Sayer]

Dr.Erich Albrecht:

Gesanter Erster Klasse: Ministerialdirigent: head of Legal Division of German Foreign Office (Appointed Jan 1943)

and I picked this interesting piece up from an earlier thread

Affidavit of Dr. Erich Albrecht, Chief of the Legal Division of the German Foreign Office, 31 May 1948, concerning the shooting of 50 Officers of the British Air Force and diplomatic developments with respect thereto, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 3-5.


Translation of Ritter Document 21, Ritter Defense Exhibit 21.

I, Dr. Erich Albrecht*, formerly Ministerial Dirigent in the Foreign Office, have been duly warned that I make myself liable to punishment if I make a false affidavit. As evidence for the Military Tribunal IV in Nuernberg, I declare the following under oath in accordance with the truth:

In the case of the shooting of fifty officer of the British Air Force who had escaped from Camp Sagan, the Swiss Legation handed the Foreign Office a complaint from the British Government at the end of April 1944.

The note was submitted to the Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs and I was told that I would have to wait for directives from the Minister for handling the matter.

At the middle of May 1944, I was in Barcelona in order to direct the German side of an exchange of seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war agreed upon with the British and American Governments, as well as of medical personnel and civilians. On the occasion of this exchange, the British officer who had been senior prisoner in Sagan was exchanged. A few days after my return from Barcelona, around 25 May 1944, a younger official from Ribbentrop's circle of influence informed me by telephone of the latter's directive to come to Salzburg to work out a note in reply to the British complaint. Here I learned that Ribbentrop had requested the Reich Security Main Office to send two officials to Salzburg with the necessary documents regarding the incidents, and the OKW to send an officer of the Prisoner-of-War Department; however, they had not yet arrived.

Soon after my arrival, a discussion of the case took place in Ribbentrop's presence, in which Ritter and I took part. At the conclusion of the discussion, Ribbentrop authorized us to prepare the draft of a reply note to the Swiss Legation on the basis of the material which had been made available by the Reich Security Main Office and to submit it to him for approval.

A few days later, two officials of the Reich Criminal Police Office in Salzburg appeared and submitted photostatic copies of teletype messages or written reports in which the heads of a number of State Police Directorate offices in various parts of Germany reported about the shooting of individuals or of entire groups of prisoners of war escaped from Sagan. In the reports the statement was always made, either that the escapees had been shot in resisting recapture or in renewed attempts to escape after recapture. All the material created the impression of having been invented. When confronted with this, the officials of the Reich Criminal Police Office did not actually admit it in so many words, but did not dispute it seriously. After conferring with Ritter, I nevertheless prepared the draft of a reply note on the basis of this material, which Ritter submitted to the Minister with the urgent advice from both of us not to let such a reply be sent off. As Ritter told me, Ribbentrop came over to our point of view and retained the sole right to issue directives for the further handling of the matter.

In June 1944 I again took a business trip abroad, from which I returned on 21 June 1944. It is possible that on the next day, 22 June 1944, I was questioned as to the stage of handling of the Sagan affair with reference to a statement of Eden in the directors' conference; I cannot remember, at any rate. The information which I gave then must have corresponded with my present description, since I had heard nothing in the meantime regarding any further development. At any rate, it is impossible that I made the statement that the British would be sent a report that the escaped officers had to be shot, since they did not comply with the orders when they were captured; as mentioned above, Ribbentrop had already decided at our suggestion that a reply note should not be issued on the basis of the invented material of the Gestapo.

I consider the memorandum of Thadden under section 1 of his account of 22 June 1944 --Document NG-3496, Prosecution Exhibit 1283 -- to be an erroneous summary of what I was able to answer at that time to the question about the stage of handling.**

Nuernberg, 31 May 1948.
[Signed] Dr. Erich Albrecht.

The above signature of Dr. Erich Albrecht was performed before me, Dr. Erich Schmidt-Leichner, defense counsel at the Military Tribunal in Nuernberg, and is hereby certified and attested by me.

Nuernberg, 31 May 1948
[Signed] Dr. Erich Schmidt-Leichner.
__________________________________________________________________
* Albrecht also testified as a defense witness. His testimony is recorded in the mimeographed transcript, 4 March 1948, 15-16 March 1948, and 28 October 1948; pages 2666-2686, 3260-3339, and 26673-26678.
** Eberhard von Thadden testified as a prosecution witness in this case. His memorandum of 22 June 1944 to the chief of Division Inland II of the Foreign Office is reproduced below in this section. Von Thadden's complete testimony is recorded in the mimeographed transcript, 3 March 1948, pages 2638-2664.

[Ian Sayer]

Re: Josef Altmeyer. I have an Altmeyer: Ministerialrat. Attached to Reich Ministry of Justice (1943). It might be him.
Ian

[Andreas Schulz]

Altenburg, Dr. jur. Günter geb. Königsberg 05.06.1894, gest. Bonn 23.10.1984. Sohn des Reichsbahndirektors Oskar Altenburg und seiner Ehefrau Wanda geb. Suneck; 00.00.1913 Abitur am Wilhelmsgymnasium in Königsberg, 00.00.1913 - 00.08.1914 Studium der Rechtswissenschaften an der Universität Göttingen; 00.08.1914 - 00.11.1918 Kriegsdienst, zuletzt Leutnant d. R.; 00.11.1918 - 00.12.1919 Fortsetzung des Studiums an der Universität Königsberg, 22.12.1919 erste juristische Staatsprüfung (Referendar-Examen), 05.01.1920 Eintritt in den preußischen Justizdienst, 24.07.1920 Promotion, 21.09.1920 Einberufung in den Auswärtigen Dienst als Attaché in der Abteilung X (Außenhandel) des Auswärtigen Amtes (13.10.1920 Dienstantritt), 21.09.1921 Konsularische Prüfung, 00.09.1921 im Referat It (Italien) der Abteilung II (Westeuropa) des Auswärtigen Amtes, später im Büro des Staatssekretärs für politische Angelegenheiten, 12.08.1922 mit der Amtsbezeichnung Legationssekretär zur Deutschen Quirinalbotschaft in Rom (04.09.1922 Dienstantritt), 06.01.1925 zur Deutschen Gesandtschaft in Sofia (02.02.1925 Dienstantritt), 18.01.1925 Legationssekretär, 00.00.1930 - 00.00.1933 Mitglied der DVP, 25.04.1931 zum Referat 2 (Süd- und Südosteuropa) der Abteilung II (West- und Südosteuropa) des Auswärtigen Amtes (09.05.1931 Dienstantritt). 26.08.1933 Gesandtschaftsrat II. Klasse, 09.02.1934 - 25.09.1934 an der Deutschen Gesandtschaft in Wien (27.02.1934 Dienstantritt), 30.09.1934 zum Referat Österreich, Ungarn Tschechoslowakei der Abteilung II (West- und Südosteuropa) des Auswärtigen Amtes (22.10.1934 Dienstantritt), 01.12.1935 Aufnahme in die NSDAP, 26.01.1937 Legationsrat I. Klasse; 25.06.1938 Eheschließung mit Sabine Röver; 25.08.1938 Vortragender Legationsrat, 20.04.1939 Gesandter I. Klasse als Ministerialdirigent, 21.08.1939 – 00.11.1940 Leiter der Informationsabteilung des Auswärtigen Amtes, 15.10.1940 - 29.10.1940 Leiter der deutschen Delegation einer deutsch-italienischen Kommission zur Untersuchung der Zustände in Siebenbürgern, 00.12.1940 in den Persönlichen Stab des Reichsaußenministers berufen, 01.05.1941 - 00.10.1943 Bevollmächtigter des Reiches für Griechenland (Athen), 26.10.1943 zurück zum Auswärtigen Amt zur kommissarischen Beschäftigung, 05.11.1943 Dienstantritt im Feldquartier des Reichsaußenministers (Persönlicher Stab des Reichsaußenministers), 00.10.1944 - 18.12.1944 Leiter der „Dienststelle Gesandter Altenburg“ in Wien, 18.12.1944 - 00.00.1945 Leiter der Dienststelle des Auswärtigen Amtes für Bulgarien und Rumänien (Wien), 00.00.1945 - 00.05.1945 Leiter der Ausweichstelle des Auswärtigen Amtes in Altaussee (Steiermark). 00.00.1945 - 00.11.1946 in amerikanischer Internierungshaft; danach als Rechtsanwalt tätig; 00.06.1947 - 00.12.1947 Zeugenhaft in Nürnberg (Fall VII); danach wieder Anwalt, später kaufmännisch in Heidelberg tätig, 00.00.1951 Leiter der Außenhandelsabteilung des Deutschen Industrie- und Handelstages, 00.00.1957 - 00.00.1964 Generalsekretär der Deutschen Gruppe der Internationalen Handelskammer in Köln


Albrecht, Dr. jur. Erich geb. Kronstadt (Siebenbürgen) 08.08.1890, gest. Stuttgart 04.02.1949. Sohn des Buchhändlers und Druckereibesitzers Adolf Albrecht; Realgymnasium in Dresden, München und Zittau, 23.03.1908 Abitur, 00.04.1908 - 00.00.1912 Studium der Rechtswissenschaften an den Universitäten Leipzig, Berlin und Bonn, 29.02.1912 Promotion, 29.09.1912 erste juristische Staatsprüfung (Referendar-Examen); 01.10.1912 - 30.09.1913 Einjährig-Freiwilliger, 01.08.1914 - 28.11.1918 Weltkriegsteilnehmer; 00.00.1918 Eintritt in den preußischen Justizdienst, 15.11.1920 Große juristische Staatsprüfung (Assessor-Examen), 01.12.1920 Staatsanwalt am Landgericht II in Berlin, 07.02.1922 Mitglied des deutsch-englischen Gemischten Schiedsgerichts in Berlin und London, zuletzt Geheimer Justizrat, 12.07.1928 in den Auswärtigen Dienst einberufen, 01.10.1928 Dienstantritt beim Referat Z (Internationaler Rechtsschutz) der Abteilung V (Recht) des Auswärtigen Amtes, 14.11.1929 Legationsrat, 01.08.1931 Legationsrat I. Klasse, 22.12.1932 Vortragender Legationsrat, 00.00.1937 - 30.09.1943 stellvertretender Leiter der Rechtsabteilung des Auswärtigen Amtes, 00.00.1939 Antrag auf Aufnahme in die NSDAP (abgelehnt), 00.00.1941 Antrag auf Aufnahme in die NSDAP (abgelehnt), 10.03.1942 Gesandter I. Klasse als Ministerialdirigent, 00.00.1943 Antrag auf Aufnahme in die NSDAP (abgelehnt), 01.10.1943 - 00.05.1945 Leiter der Rechtsabteilung des Auswärtigen Amtes


AnDie

[Ian Sayer]

Brilliant AnDie. Thanks
Ian

[Ian Sayer]

Another batch
Ian

[Ian Sayer]

And another one. I think he was a banker.
Ian

[Ian Sayer]

And two more.

[Dieter Zinke]

Helge AULEB, General der Infanterie, see
http://www.geocities.com/%7Eorion47/

Dr. Rudolf Bast
http://www.literaturhaus.at/buch/buch/r ... ckdertote/

Dieter Z.

[Ian Sayer]

Many thanks Dieter
Ian

[Ian Sayer]

Another 3