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The Fifth Field

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So far The Fifth Field has created 141 blog entries.

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg; on the left is Hermann Göring, center is Rudolf Hess and right is Joachim von Ribbentrop.  Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, said of Hess, the Deputy Führer, “But Hess – he’s insane.  He’s been insane for a long time.  We knew it when he flew to England.”  Göring took poison and committed suicide on October 15, 1946 – hours before he was to be hanged.  Hess died under mysterious circumstances on July 17, 1987, while confined at Spandau Prison in Berlin.  Von Ribbentrop was convicted of war crimes and hanged by Master Sergeant John C. Woods at Nürnberg on October 16, 1946.  His last words were, “God guard Germany!  God have mercy on my soul!  My final wish is that Germany should recover her unity and that, for the sake of world peace, there should be understanding between East and West.”

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg2015-09-10T12:32:00-05:00

Dr. Fritz Todt, Minister of Armaments and creator of the German Autobahn

Dr. Fritz Todt

Dr. Fritz Todt, Minister of Armaments and creator of the German Autobahn.  Todt on the war (December 27, 1941), “It is a struggle in which the primitive people will prove superior.  They can endure everything, including the harshness of the climate.  We are too sensitive and are bound to be defeated.  In the end, victory will go to the Russians and the Japanese.”  Todt was killed on February 8, 1942 in an airplane crash at Hitler’s headquarters, near Rastenburg, East Prussia.

Dr. Fritz Todt, Minister of Armaments and creator of the German Autobahn2015-09-10T12:32:38-05:00

Baldur von Schirach, Reich Youth Leader

Baldur von Schirach

Baldur von Schirach, Gauleiter of Vienna and Reich Youth Leader.  Schirach on the Hitler Youth, “The German boy can make his own when he follows the directions of the Führer, who has assigned him the task ‘to be slim and slender, quick like a greyhound, tough like leather and hard like Krupp’s steel.”  Von Schirach was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment at Nürnberg in 1946; he was released in 1966 and died on August 8, 1974 at Kröv an der Mosel.

Baldur von Schirach, Reich Youth Leader2015-09-10T12:33:47-05:00

Camp Men Sample Page

The Camp Men Sample Page

Camp Men sample page.  The information for each officer is presented in tabular format and includes the National Archive File microfilm roll number.

Camp Men Sample Page2015-09-09T20:00:28-05:00

Himmler, SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Ziereis (Mauthausen) and Kaltenbrunner

Himmler, Ziereis and Kaltenbrunner

Heinrich Himmler (left) with SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Ziereis (pointing, in the center) and Ernst Kaltenbrunner (right) at Mauthausen.  Mauthausen, and its satellite camps, were the scene of 70,000 to 120,000 deaths among the inmates.  Ziereis served at Mauthausen from 1939 to 1945.  American troops near the camp shot him and he died of his wounds on May 24, 1945.  Ernst Kaltenbrunner took over the Reich Main Security Service (RSHA) after the death of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942.  Kaltenbrunner was convicted of war crimes and hanged by Master Sergeant John C. Woods at Nürnberg on October 16, 1946.

Himmler, SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Ziereis (Mauthausen) and Kaltenbrunner2015-09-09T20:02:20-05:00

Theodor Eicke, Kommandant at Dachau

Theodor Eicke

Kommandant at Dachau (1933-1934.)  One of the most brutal men in the concentration camp system, he became the Inspector of Concentration Camps, after his stint at Dachau.  He later served in the SS Totenkopf Division and assumed command of that formation.  He was a winner of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves; he was killed when his aircraft was shot down in Russia on February 26, 1943.

Theodor Eicke, Kommandant at Dachau2015-09-09T20:03:30-05:00

SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Baer, Dachau, Columbia Haus, Neuengamme, Auschwitz & Dora

Richard Baer

Kommandant at Auschwitz (1944-1945) and Dora (1945.)  Baer served in the SS Totenkopf Division in 1942.  At least 1,000,000 persons died at Auschwitz; about 20,000 perished at Dora.  He died while in detention at trial in Frankfurt, Germany on June 17, 1963, having avoided prosecution for many years due to a false identity of Karl Neumann.

SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Baer, Dachau, Columbia Haus, Neuengamme, Auschwitz & Dora2015-09-09T20:05:23-05:00

SS-Sturmbannführer Paul Werner Hoppe, Stutthof & Oranienburg

Paul Werner Hoppe

Kommandant at Stutthof (1942-1945.) Won the Iron Cross First Class, while serving in the SS Totenkopf Division.  He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment, released in 1966 and died in July 1974.  After the war, he stated about the Final Solution, “All this never happened.  It’s all lies.” (see 2,000 Quotes.)

SS-Sturmbannführer Paul Werner Hoppe, Stutthof & Oranienburg2015-09-09T20:07:13-05:00

SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Pauly, Stutthof & Neuengamme

Max Pauly

Kommandant at Stutthof (1941-1942) and Neuengamme (1942-1945.)  Some 65,000 to 85,000 persons perished at Stutthof during the war, while 40,000 to 56,000 died at Neuengamme.  Max Pauly was hanged on October 8, 1948 at Hameln, Germany, probably by the British hangman Albert Pierrepoint.

SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Pauly, Stutthof & Neuengamme2015-09-09T20:08:59-05:00

SS-Oberführer Heinrich Deubel, Dachau & Columbia Haus

Heinrich Deubel

Kommandant at Dachau (1934-1936) and Columbia Haus (1936-1937.)   He left the SS in 1937 and played no active role in the war.  German authorities decline to prosecute him after the war.  Deubel died on October 2, 1962 in Dingolfing, Germany.

SS-Oberführer Heinrich Deubel, Dachau & Columbia Haus2015-09-09T20:10:03-05:00
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