Originally posted by Halibutt
I'd strongly suggest we cut him out.The main reason for this is that he has never been extradited by the Americans - for unknown reasons. He's been arrested exactly on the firs aniversary of Warsaw Uprising. For unknown reason he was not accused of the crimes in the Nuernberg Trials, but only testified about... 1934. He testified a lot about his fellow officers as well and it is said that he was very close to convince the jury to consider the whole german OKH a crimi9nal organization (just like NSDAP was).
Polish authorities asked the americans several times for his extradition. But the Americans always declined to send him to Poland, either for procedural reasons or for no reason at all. They only agreed to lend him for one day to testify in the process of another criminal Ludwig Fischer on Feb 1st 1947. The process took place in Warsaw and von dem Bach was smiling all the time...
He's been released by the Americans in 1949, but two years later he himself went to Ansbach and told american prosecutor Wiliam D.Canfield that it was him who gave Goering the poison he commited suicide with. As a proof he brought exactly identical to poison that has been found in Goerings mouth... Probably he wanted to rehabilitate in the eyes of his former colleagues that considered him a traitor after he played his role in Nuernberg. Anyway, the prosecutor decided not to sue him (!).
In 1951 he's been sentenced to another ten years for some early thirties case, but the jury decided that he already spent five years and the other five he stayed free because he... simply did not go to prison. "If they want me, let them come and take me to prison; I won't go there myself" (Der Spiegel, Feb. 1959).
He was a free man until 1958, when he was arrested again and accused of murdering SS-Obersturmführer Anton von Hohberg und Buchwald in 1934. He's been found guilty and sentenced to... 2,5 years. The sentence was so low because "he was not found guilty of any crime before". The jury apparently forgot the 1951 trial...
Later he was found guilty of murdering 7 german communists. The penalty was ten years of house arrest.
Anyway, the fact that he was not convicted of any war crime is due to the fact that he must've had some mighty protectors who constantly denied his extradition or even accusing him of any crimes. It's not that he was innocent.
Indeed. However both you and the jury forgot to mention that he was the commander of all Einsatzgruppen in Byelarussia from 1941 on...
During his testimony in Nuernberg (Jan 26th): "I take full responsibility for the period I commanded [the Warsaw Area - me]. Even in the cases I could not force my troops to respect my will."BTW, he changed his name on Nov 28th 1940 to von dem Bach, because Zelewski "sounds too polish".
IndeedYes he did.
He did not command any division at that time, he was a "Beauftrage des Reichskommissars für die Festigung des deutschen Volkstums" (vice-commissar for the strenghthening of germanity" in the Silesian area and the southern part of polish lands incorporated to the Reich) from Nov. 7th 1939 on.
In late 1939 he himself asked Himmler to create a concentration camp in Auschwitz. The reason was that he had no place to resettle all the inhabitants of Silesia and southern GG. His subordinate (Inspekteur der Sicherheitspolizei und des Sicherheitsdienst SS-Oberführer Wiegand) sent a document to Berlin with the proposal of the vicinities of the town of Oswiecim(von dem Bach signed it - document survived the war). A comission has been sent from Berlin to check if the spot was suitable and... decided it wasn't.
Therefore von dem Bach had to try harder and asked Himmler to intervene. In April 1940 another commission was sent (commanded by Rudolf Hoess, future commander of Konzentrationlager Auschwitz) and von dem Bach finally had his camp... His signature can be found on lots of letters sent to Berlin proposing Auschwitz, copies of those letters can even be found in Warsaw archives...
When the first prisoner escaped from the camp (July 6th 1940, only three weeks after the creation of the camp), he visited Auschwitz and issued an order of: shooting five civilians accused of helping the fugitive, shooting at the spot of any 'suspected people' that would get closer than 5 km. from the camp.
The order was issued personally, but Hoess asked for a written confirmation and he got it (July 22nd). This document is present in the Auschwitz Museum State Archive, as well as many documents concerning the creation of the camp - all signed by competent chief of police and SS in the area - von dem Bach...
Let's stick to the HoI timeframe, as we do in most other cases. I know. Why do you mention it?I'll say it again: he wasn't convicted because the Americans needed him in Nuernberg and did not want him to be sent to Poland or Byelarus', sentenced to death and shot. He was simply too useful. And later the cold war started and there was no chance for his extradition. But that doesn't mean he was innocent. And, although I'm a democrat, I wouldn't say that he's the best example of "innocent until sentenced". Maybe that's because I live in a city that has been levelled by his subordinates carrying out his orders he took full responsibility for? Or maybe it's that I live in a city that has a small stoine tablet on almost every corner of the street saying "Here on this spot XX Poles were shot/burnt alive/drowned/whatever on XX XX 1944"? I don't know.
The only thing I'm sure is that von dem Bachs name does not deserve to be mentioned anywhere. Strategy game included.
Cheers
