Yugoslav War Crimes Trials of German Officials

[David Thompson]

Here is a list of the various Yugoslav war crimes proceedings I found which involved German officials. The header numbers are not consecutive because I abstracted this list of German defendants from a larger list of all Yugoslav war crimes proceedings I found in the 1944-1986 period. Can anyone add any additional defendants or correct any mistakes which I might have made?

WWII War Crimes, Collaboration and Treason Processes in the former Yugoslavia Involving German Officials 1944-1950

(1) Summary executions. Between Dec 1944 and May 1945, Yugoslav partisans took a number of German, Slovenian, Croat and Chetnik officers and executed them "out of hand". These persons included:
von Erdmannsdorff, Werner
Fehn, Gustav
Kattner, Heinz
Stephan, Friedrich
Waue, Georg

(13) Trial of German officers at Belgrade (1st Process), concluded 23 Oct 1946 (33 defendants; 23 sentenced to death by firing squad, 10 to prison terms of 5-20 years)

(14) Trial by the Voivodina Supreme Court of Yugoslavia of Hungarian military officials for massacres at Novy Sad and Baka, concluded 31 Oct 1946 (at least 9 defendants; all sentenced to death)
Deak, Laszlo (death)
Feketehalmy-Czeydner or Fekethaimi Zeidner, Ferenc (Franz) Vitez (death by hanging)
Graszy or Grassy, Joszef (death by hanging)
Szombathyeli, Ferenc (death by firing squad)
Zoldi, Dr. Marton (death by hanging)

(15) Trial of German physicians at Belgrade, concluded 5 Nov 1946
Bock, Dr. med. Helmuth (death)
Schulz, Dr. med. Guenther (death)

(16) Trial of German police officials in Serbia held at Belgrade (2nd Process) by the Supreme Military Court of Yugoslavia, concluded 22 Dec 1946 (21 defendants, 18 sentenced to death, 2 to 20 years imprisonment, and 1 to 5 years imprisonment)
Eckert, Josef (death)
Fuchs, Wilhelm (death)
Hahn, Josef "Sepp" (death by hanging)
Helm, Hans (death)
Hesterberg, Ernst (5 years imprisonment)
Kaaserer, Richard (death)
von Meyszner, August Edler (death)
Polte, Friedrich (death)
Teichmann, Ludwig (death)
Weimann, Ernst (death)

(22) Trial of German officers at Belgrade (4th process), concluded 16 Feb 1947
Fortner, Johann (death by hanging)
Kuebler (Kübler), Josef (death by hanging)
Loehr (Löhr), Alexander (death by firing squad)
Lontschar, Adalbert (death by hanging)
Neidholdt, Fritz (death by hanging)
Schmidhuber, August (death by hanging)
Tribukait or Tribukayt, Guenther (death by hanging)
(Note from Octavianus -- "There was apparently another accusant, one Paul Gerchard, about whom I did not been able to find much, who was taken out from this trial and was trialed separately for his crimes committed in Kragujevac in 1942.")

(23) Trial held 27 Feb-5th Mar 1947 by the Military Court of the Yugoslav 3rd Army at Belgrade (5th Process) of German occupation officials in Serbia. (12 defendants; 10 sentenced to death by firing squad)
Berg, Rudolf (death)
Boehme (Böhme), Walter (death)
Boethmer (Böthmer), Karl (death)
Firow, Walter (death)
Jostel, Adolf (death)
Kiessel, Georg (death)
Ludwig, Ernst (death)
Schulze, Langemann (death)
Tritschler, Franz (death)
Turner, Dr. Harald (death

(24) Trial held at Belgrade (6th Process) of German officers; concluded 5 Apr 1947 (9 defendants total; 7 defendants sentenced to death and 2 to 12 years imprisonment)
Gravenstein, Hans (death)
von Ludwiger, Hartwig (death)
von Oberkamp, Karl Reichsritter (death)
? Fiebig, Martin (death by hanging; executed May 1947)

(28) Trial held by the Military Court of the 4th Yugoslav Army at Ljubljana (10th Process) of German officers and Slovene officials; concluded 19 or 21 Jul 1947 (at least 14 defendants; 12 sentenced to death, 2 received prison terms)
Gerlach, Reinhard (death)
Hacin, Lovro (death; but see trial 9 above)
von Hoesslin (Hößlin), Hans (death)
Kuebler (Kübler), Ludwig (death)
Rainer, Dr Friedrich (death)
Roesener (Rösener), Erwin (death)
Rozman, Dr Gregorij (in absentia)
Rupnik, Leon (death, but see trial 9 above)
? Stage, Kurt (death by hanging)
Vizjak, Milko (unknown prison term)

(29) Trial of German officers held at Belgrade; 22-31 Oct 1947 (at least 5 defendants sentenced to death)
Behrends, Dr. jur. Hermann (death by firing squad)
Danckelmann, Heinrich (death)
Neuhausen, Franz (20 years imprisonment)
Pfeiffert, _____

(33) Trial by unknown Yugoslav court at unknown location on unknown date; defendant executed 22 May 1948.
Kuehne (Kühne), Gerhard (death by firing squad)

(36) Trial at Zrenjanin; concluded 3 Dec 1948
Heim, Karl (death by firing squad)
Spieler, Julius (death by hanging)

(40) Trial held at Zagreb; concluded 28 Jan 1950
Altgaier, Branamir (death by firing squad)

(44) Yugoslav trials at unknown places on unknown dates
Fiebig, Martin (death; executed 5 May 1947)
Fischer, Adolf (death; executed 23 Oct 1947)
Fischer, Theodor (death)
May, Andreas (death)
Neubacher, Hermann (20 years imprisonment; amnestied after 7)
Stare, Dr. Egon (death)
Strohmaier, Hubert (death; executed 1947)
Wagner, Jürgen (death; executed 1947)
Wurster, Eugen (death; executed 1948)

[K.Kocjancic]

(28) Trial held by the Military Court of the 4th Yugoslav Army at Ljubljana (10th Process) of German officers and Slovene officials; concluded 19 or 21 Jul 1947 (at least 14 defendants; 12 sentenced to death, 2 received prison terms)
Gerlach, Reinhard (death)
Hacin, Lovro (death; but see trial 9 above)
von Hoesslin (Hößlin), Hans (death)
Kuebler (Kübler), Ludwig (death)
Rainer, Dr Friedrich (death)
Roesener (Rösener), Erwin (death)
Rozman, Dr Gregorij (in absentia)
Rupnik, Leon (death, but see trial 9 above)
? Stage, Kurt (death by hanging)
Vizjak, Milko (unknown prison term)

Could you post info on trial 9?

Thanks in advance,
Kocjo

[David Thompson]

(9) Trial held by 4th Yugoslav Army military court, location unknown, concluded 30 Aug 1946
Hacin, Lovro (death; executed announced 8 Sept 1946)
Krek, Dr. Miho (15 years imprisonment)
Rozman, Gregor (in absentia; 18 months imprisonment)
Rupnik, Leon (death by firing squad; execution announced 8 Sept 1946)
Vizjak, Vilko (20 years imprisonment)

[Wilfried Abenaschon]

Hi!

Do you know if these people were mistreated whilst awaiting trial?

Any pics of the the so-called trials or executions?

Were most of them arrested in Yugoslavia or sent by the allies?

What made the difference between firing quads and hanging?

Where are all the records kept?

Willab

[David Thompson]

Wilfred -- You asked:

(1) Do you know if these people were mistreated whilst awaiting trial?

I don't know.

(2) Any pics of the the so-called trials or executions?

I've never seen any, though they probably exist/existed.

(3) Were most of them arrested in Yugoslavia or sent by the allies?

I haven't tried to chart this, but my impression is that roughly 2/3 of the German officials were captured and roughly 1/3 extradited.

(4) What made the difference between firing quads and hanging?

I haven't been able to tell.

(5) Where are all the records kept?

I don't know, and I've never seen any cited in any reference. I had to scrape all the information together from reading old newspapers and from secondary sources. I've never seen either transcripts or judgments from these trials. It is a very obscure subject for the western reader.

I'm sorry not to be more informative, but that's all I know about it. My inability to get more information is what led me to post what I had. Even the USHMM doesn't have the records, judging from their on-line finding aids.

[dylan]

Hi David

all information comes from Kaltenegger roland ( titos kriegsgefangene)

Uber 50000 deutsche und osterreicher verloren nach 1945 in jugoslawischer gefangenschaft ihr leben.
3000 offiziere taken prisoner. 1000 kehrten zuruck , 1000 died
und die restlichen 1000 wurden nach schauprozessen hingerichtet.

the last 43 prisoners are released march 1953.
all sentence to life or death .

The names

Balzer johann 29/3/89 hauptmann
Daemm waldemar 22/9/93 oberst
Dittgens karl beno 19/11/99
Dingeler hieronymus 28/5/11 obergefreiter
Dupont karl friedrich 29/4/20
Ebke august 1/8/98 oberst
Edscheidt lothar 4/4/08 obersturmbannfuhrer
Fest anton 23/12/08 obersturmbannfuhrer
Graf alfred 12/12/97 oberstluitenant
Griese bernhard 17/1/87 oberst
Haedecke gunther 30/5/21 untersturmfuhrer
Herbst friedrich 27/7/08 sd belgrado
Zimmerman walter 1/10/97 standartenfuhrer
Hering paul 14/7/08 police officer
Jlte paul 19/6/07 hauptscharfuhrer
Jessen hugo 22/9/20 oberstluitenant
Klein erich 4/2/96 oberst
Markowitz gerd 8/1/20 obersturmfuhrer
Neuhausen franz 13/12/87 gen.bev.mil.w
Ott franz 3/10/19 unterofficier
Von stockhausen 30/1/91 gen. luit
Thurm johann 12/7/13 gefreiter
Vierow walter 1/5/92 gen. majoor
Schrader alfred 16/5/07 sturmfuhrer
Wenzel adolf 13/12/05 obergefreiter.

Zuruckgestellte alte

Buderath josef 26/4/17 hauptman
Bloss otto 9/11/01 oberstluit.
Frahm walter 16/3/03 hauptman
Klassen heinz 2/10/10 luit.
Moravek hans 6/1/10 oberstluit.
Muller hans 2/12/01 major
Bunkel julius 17/3/10 major
Wilde paul 27/11/15 oberstluit ( als vernehmer auch zuruckbehalten)

Zuruckgestellte neue

Becker bruno 8/5/94 gen.intend.
Deutschel jakob 11/5/02 hauptman
Henrici rudolf 27/4/93 general
Hufing gustav 31/12/94 oberstluit.
Kemper hans 11/11/14 hauptman
Kleist franz 20/9/11 hauptscharfuhrer
Schubert klaus 6/6/14 major i.g
Speiss andreas 24/12/04 feldwebel
Sturmat kurt 4/10/11 major
Wagner hans 22/1/14 major i.g

regards dylan

[David Thompson]

dylan -- Thanks for the help!

[George Lepre]

Hi guys -

I think I can add some information to this thread.

Thirty-eight German members of the SS Handschar Division were extradited to Yugoslavia after the war. They were tried in Belgrade from 22-30 August 1947. I have published some research on that division and interviewed a number of these men or their families. One of them, Alfred Schrader, is on your list. He was living in or near Berlin in the early 1990s but was blind.

One of the men told me that of the thirty-eight, only ten were charged with specific offenses. Another officer, Otto Kruse, was supposed to be extradited but Kruse swallowed a spoon (!) before the British could hand him over. He was rushed to a British military hospital and avoided extradition. Undaunted, the Yugoslav officer in charge of the extradition simply selected another captive Handschar officer, Robert Ehlers, and sent him in Kruse's place!

At trial, all of the men were found guilty. Ten were executed:

R. Baumeister
W. Eipel
K. Luetkemueller
B. Luetjens
H. Masannek
J. Paelmke
W. Schmidt
W. Schreer
E. Schwerin
K. Weber

The others received long prison terms. One man, Wilhelm Mahn, died in captivity, but from what the others told me, it does not seem like he died from an type of mistreatment; they said that Mahn had lost a son in the war and had simply given up on life. All of the men were released by 1953.

There was also the case of Halim Malkoc, a Handschar imam. He was sentenced to death in Bihac for his role in quelling a mutiny in SS-Geb.Pi.Btl. 13 in France. He was found guilty and executed on 7 March 1947.

I know of one Prinz Eugen officer who was executed in Yugoslavia after the war, Jochen Krah.

I hope this information is helpful!

Best regards,

George Lepre

[David Thompson]

GeorgeLepre -- The information helps a lot. Anything I can find on this obscure topic is a distinct plus. Thank you very much!

[Researcher]

Does anyone have info on the following Officers from Dylans list? command, crime, sentence etc.

Edscheidt Lothar 4/4/08 Obersturmbannfuhrer
Fest Anton 23/12/08 Obersturmbannfuhrer

8 men on the list were extradited from British captivity May 46-Sept 57.

Balzer, Hering, Ilte and Wenzel received 20 year prison sentences.

regards
Researcher

[dylan]

Hi Researcher

Fest : chief security police Sarajevo sept 43 until april 45.

Edscheidt :stationed at Boten camp ( norway ) march 42 until late 43
wanted for illtreatment and murder of and unauthorised employment
of pow 's. ( listed as obersturmfuhrer ) there are some mistakes in that
list of author Kaltenegger.

regards dylan

[Researcher]

Hi Dylan

Thanks for the information
Do you have anything on Ebke (extradited May 46) Markowitz (extradited Apr 47) Griese and Herbst (extradited Sept 47).

Best regards
Researcher

[dylan]

Hi Researcher

Ebke : cmdt. prison camp oflag VI C Osnabruck - eversheide 43-45.
Herbst : rank ss sturmbannfuhrer.
Griese : Oberst 14 pol. regiment Ogulin ( joeg ).

thats all.

regards dylan

[Csaba Becze]

At least 20 000 (max 40 000, the exact number is unknown) Hungarian (POW's and simply men also) were brutally massacred by the partisans and other Yugoslavian units in 1944/45.

The exact officer names: Szombathelyi Ferenc (he had a prison sentence in Hungary,with the therms, that don't allowed a more strict sentence), Zöldi Márton, Grassy József, etc.

Csaba

[pennywise]

During and after the WW2 jugoslavians terrorised today's macedonian people, because... they told "we are not jugoslavians, we are bulgarians". Macedonia was brutally taken from Bulgaria, dividing families, brother from brother, mother from child...
Is this a crime of just like walking in the park?