Kurt Gerstein
Kurt Gerstein was born on August 11 of 1905. Growing up, Gerstein was a difficult child. He often did not get along with others including members of his family. Although very smart, Gerstein did not apply himself in primary school and was not well liked by teachers. The University of Marburg was where Gerstein first started attending school, but he later moved to the University of Aachen and became an engineer. A few years after college, Gerstein became a member of the Nazi Party (Simkin, "Kurt Gerstein").
Gerstein’s religious beliefs clashed with the Nazi Party. He got in trouble for them on a few occasion and was sent to concentration camp twice before being readmitted into the Party and acquiring a job with the Hygiene Service. Because of his hard work, he was soon promoted and eventually given the job of delivering Zyklon B (gas used for mass killings) to concentration camps. During his job, he witnessed much death and poor treatment of people. He tried to stop the way things were going but was not largely successful in the effort (Levine, Jason).
Seeking to aid the Allies, Gerstein sought out the French government to supply them with information as to what is happening in Germany. He is put in jail by the French as he was involved in the crimes. There are many existing reports about what the Germans did to the Jews and other ‘unwanted’ people. Kurt Gerstein died as a result of hanging. He was found in his cell on July 25, 1945 (Levine, Jason).
By: SJL
Gerstein’s religious beliefs clashed with the Nazi Party. He got in trouble for them on a few occasion and was sent to concentration camp twice before being readmitted into the Party and acquiring a job with the Hygiene Service. Because of his hard work, he was soon promoted and eventually given the job of delivering Zyklon B (gas used for mass killings) to concentration camps. During his job, he witnessed much death and poor treatment of people. He tried to stop the way things were going but was not largely successful in the effort (Levine, Jason).
Seeking to aid the Allies, Gerstein sought out the French government to supply them with information as to what is happening in Germany. He is put in jail by the French as he was involved in the crimes. There are many existing reports about what the Germans did to the Jews and other ‘unwanted’ people. Kurt Gerstein died as a result of hanging. He was found in his cell on July 25, 1945 (Levine, Jason).
By: SJL
Ilse Hirsch
In 1922, Ilse Hirsch was born in Hamm, Germany. At the age of sixteen, she joined the German Girls’ League soon becoming one of its primary leaders. Training for special jobs was part of her duty. She soon received a mission when the mayor of a nearby town, Auchen, was put into power by the Allies after their D-Day win. The mayor’s name was Franz Oppenhoff and Hirsch’s job was to assist members of her team in assassinating him. This mission became known as Operation Carnival. Although she was not the killer, she did help with the operation. Her retreat was unsuccessful as she lost her footing over a wire attached to a burial mine. She was injured and one of her team members was killed. Ilse Hirsch was later arrested but released. In her adult life, Hirsch resides in Auchen and was the mother of two (“Ilse Hirsch.”).
By: SJL
By: SJL
Hans Frank
On May 23, 1900, Hans Frank was born in Karlsrule, Germany. At the age of 17, he joined the German Army and fought in World War I. In his later adult years, he became a member of the Nazi Party. After participating in the Beer Hall Putsch, Frank eventually became a government official (Simkin, John).
As Hitler rose to power, so did Hans Frank. Frank was named Minister of Justice in Bavaria after Hitler’s rise to Chancellor of Germany. Frank later became governor general of Poland. During the Second World War, Frank was very sensitive to all the mass killings going on around him. He experienced some success when he spoke out against these killings on a few occasions, but his success was short lived and his input began to prove ineffective. In May of 1945, Hans Frank was tried at the Nuremburg Trials. He took responsibility for the actions of the Nazi Party which he was a member of but expressed his regret and disgust. Despite his confession and true regret of his crimes, Hans Frank was sentenced to death and, on October 1, 1946, was executed (Simkin, "Hans Frank").
By: SJL
As Hitler rose to power, so did Hans Frank. Frank was named Minister of Justice in Bavaria after Hitler’s rise to Chancellor of Germany. Frank later became governor general of Poland. During the Second World War, Frank was very sensitive to all the mass killings going on around him. He experienced some success when he spoke out against these killings on a few occasions, but his success was short lived and his input began to prove ineffective. In May of 1945, Hans Frank was tried at the Nuremburg Trials. He took responsibility for the actions of the Nazi Party which he was a member of but expressed his regret and disgust. Despite his confession and true regret of his crimes, Hans Frank was sentenced to death and, on October 1, 1946, was executed (Simkin, "Hans Frank").
By: SJL
Franz Stangl
Franz Stangl was born in Austria in 1908, where he joined the police force after temporarily working as a tailor. After joining the Nazi Party, Stangl advanced through the party to become the director of the Euthanasia institute, an institution in which those with physical or metal disabilities were exterminated. After transferring to Poland, Stangl worked in multiple death camps where he gained the status of being one of the best administrators in Poland. Notably, throughout the war, Stangl held vast amounts of stolen deposits in various banks. After the war ended, Stangl escaped to Syria in 1947, and Brazil four years later. Stangl was eventually caught in 1967 and sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1971 (Simkin, "Franz Stangl").
By: RDO
By: RDO
Kurt Daluege
Kurt Daluege, born September 15, 1897, held the occupation of engineer prior to his membership to the Nazi Party in 1922. As a World War I veteran, Daluege’s first duty was to form a “Sturm Abteilung” unit in Berlin, Germany with Heinrich Himmler. After advancing further within the Nazi Party, Daluege accepted a position to the German Reichstag and later the “Prussian Ministry of Interior” as the head of Police. Among his other duties, Daluege became responsible for preventing an internal revolt with the Nazi Party. The last few years of Daluege’s time with the Nazi Party, included his commandment as the “Protector of Czechoslovakia”, where he was ordered to assassinate nearly three-hundred in a single village. When World War II ended, Daluege was found guilty for war-related crimes in Prague and hung in 1946 (Simkin, "Kurt Daluege").
By: RDO
By: RDO
Irma Grese
Irma Grese, born October 7, 1923, held jobs as a farmer, shopkeeper, and hospital employee prior to going to work at a concentration camp at nineteen years of age. After working at Ravensbrück concentration camp, Grese was relocated to Auschwitz, where she became a member of the Nazi Party in 1943. With her promotion to the SS, Grese oversaw tens-of-thousands of female prisoners. Grese’s reputation within the prison camps was known to be ruthless and full of malice. Accounts describe Grese as frequently beating, and shooting random individuals, as well as subjecting prisoners to vicious dogs and gas chambers without reason. At the conclusion of the war, Grese was sentence to death by execution in December of 1945 (Bülow).
By: RDO
By: RDO