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Ludwig Hahn

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Ludwig Hahn
Born(1908-01-23)23 January 1908
Eitzen,Province of Hanover,German Empire
Died10 November 1986(1986-11-10)(aged 78)
Ammersbek,West Germany
AllegianceNazi Germany
Service/branchSchutzstaffel
Years of service1933–1945
RankSS-Standartenführer
UnitReich Security Main Office(RSHA)
Commands held
Battles/wars
RelationsJohannes Steinhoff(brother-in-law)

Ludwig Hermann Karl Hahn(23 January 1908 – 10 November 1986) was aGermanSS-Standartenführer,Nazi officialand convictedwar criminal.He held numerous positions with theGermanpolice and security servicesover the course of his career with theSchutzstaffel(SS).

As a senior officer of theSicherheitspolizei(Security Police) andSicherheitsdienst(Security Service) inoccupied-Poland,Hahn was directly involved in theliquidationof theWarsaw Ghetto(July–September 1942) and the brutal suppression of both theWarsaw Ghetto Uprising(April–May 1943) and theWarsaw Uprising(August–October 1944).

During postwar investigations against him, Hahn was imprisoned from July 1960 to July 1961 and December 1965 to December 1967. Between 1972 and 1975, Hahn was the subject of two separatewar crimesprosecutions inHamburg,West Germany;both related toatrocitiesthat occurred during his service with the SS inWarsaw.He was ultimately convicted and imprisoned from 1975 to 1983.

Biography

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The son of a prosperous farmer of the same name, Hahn was born on 23 January 1908, in the rural town ofEitzen,Uelzen district,Province of Hanoverin what was then theGerman Empire.[1]Hahn attendedVolksschuleas a youth and was then enrolled at theLüneburgRealgymnasium,completing hismatriculationexam in 1927. Hahn went on to studyfinancial lawat theUniversity of Göttingenwhere he became a member of theNational Socialist German Students' League(NSDStB). In February 1930 he joined both theNazi Party(NSDAP Nr. 194 463) and theSturmabteilung(SA), where he would rise to the rank ofScharführer(Squad Leader).

After successfully defending hisdissertationbefore theFaculty of Lawat theUniversity of Jena,Hahn obtained hisdoctorate of jurisprudence(Dr. jur.) in July 1932. Afterward, Hahn apprenticed as anassessorinLüneburg,NaumburgandWeimar.He joined theSchutzstaffel(SS) in April 1933 (SS Nr. 65 823) and was assigned to the17th SS-Standarte(regiment) inLüneburgand later transferred to the 26th SS-Standarte inHamburg.

Ludwig Hahn (left), with his wife Charlotte, sister of Johannes Steinhoff (center) in occupied Warsaw.

Early Nazi career

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In December 1933 Hahn was attached to theSS Regional HeadquartersinWeimaras a member of theStabswache(staff guard). After attending the Nazi Party'sState School for Leadership and Politics,he was assigned to theSicherheitsdienst(SD) in May 1934. Hahn qualified as a lawyer after completing hisclerkshipin April 1935 and became a member of theNational Socialist Association of Legal Professionals(NS-Rechtswahrerbund). That same year he married Charlotte Steinhoff, sister of theLuftwaffefighter pilotJohannes Steinhoff,who later served as a seniorGeneralwith the postwarWest German Air Forceand was alsoChairman of the NATO Military Committeefrom 1971 to 1974. The couple would have four children.[1]

Hahn began his career with theNazi security servicesin June 1935 when he was retained as aconsultant(Referent) at theSD-HauptamtinBerlin.In January 1936, he was posted toHanoverwhere he served as Deputy Chief of the city'sGestapobureau (Stellvertreter Staatspolizeistelle), before returning to Berlin in November of that year to work as alegal advisor(Regierungsassessor) atGestapo Headquarters.[1]Hahn underwentmilitary-trainingwith theWehrmachtinFrankfurt an der Oderand was subsequently reassigned toWeimaras Chief of theGestapo(Kriminalkommissar) and Deputy Commander of theSecurity Police(Stellvertreter der Polizeipräsident). Hahn maintained both positions from April 1937 to August 1939. He was promoted to the rank ofSS-Sturmbannführer(Major)und Kriminalratin September 1938.

During the build-up toWorld War IIhe was transferred toVienna,Austriain preparation for the loominginvasion of Poland.He was assigned toEinsatzgruppe Iunder the command ofSS-BrigadeführerBruno Streckenbach,and was given command of the sub-unit ofEinsatzkommando 1/I.During theinvasion of Polandin September 1939, Hahn and his unit were attached to theGerman 14th Armyin the territories ofSilesiaandMalopolska.

World War II

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During theSeptember Campaign,Hahn and hisEinsatzkommandowere heavily involved in the arrests and executions carried out as part of theIntelligenzaktion,a Nazi extermination operation targeting the Polishintelligentsiaand other members of the nation'selite.Between September–November 1939, Hahn took part in the mass-killings of Polishpublic officials,political activists,intellectualsandarmy officersinKatowice,Sanok,RzeszowandPodlesie.Einsatzgruppe Iwas also involved in theDynów massacre,in which 170-200Jewishcivilians lost their lives. The town's surviving Jewish population was subsequently expelled intoSoviet-occupied eastern Poland.

Following the dissolution ofEinsatzgruppe I,Hahn served asStadtkommissar(City Commissioner) for the city ofPrzemyśl(Prömsel) from November–December 1939. Hahn next took over as Commander of theSicherheitspolizei(SiPo) and theSicherheitsdienst(SD) for the occupied city ofKrakówin January 1940. He also served as chief of the "Police Emergency Court" (Standgericht) atMontelupich Prison.In this capacity Hahn was instrumental in the implementation of theGerman AB-Aktion in Poland.

In August 1940, Hahn was transferred toBratislava,Slovakiawhere he had been appointedSonderbeauftragter(Special Representative) of theReichsführer-SS.In this position Hahn served as SS leaderHeinrich Himmler'spersonal emissary to theNazi-alliedgovernment of theSlovak RepublicunderJozef Tiso.He also acted as a senior advisor to theSlovak Ministry of the Interior.From April–June 1941 Hahn was stationed inAthens,Greecewhere he commandedEinsatzgruppe Griechenlandduring theBalkan Campaign.Following the German victory in the offensive, he was promoted to the rank ofSS-Obersturmbannführer(Lieutenant Colonel) and returned to his diplomatic post inSlovakia.[2]

Warsaw

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Hahn's written announcement of the execution of 100 Polish hostages as revenge for the death ofSS and Police LeaderFranz Kutschera,2 February 1944

In August 1941, Hahn returned tooccupied-Polandand was appointed Commander of theSicherheitspolizei(SiPo) and theSicherheitsdienst(SD) for the city ofWarsaw.His headquarters was housed in the former offices of theMinistry of Religious Affairs and Public Education.As Commander of the SiPo and the SD, Hahn would oversee a force of approximately 2,000 individuals; including a staff of 500-600SS security personnel,as well as around 1,000Polish police auxiliariesand severalguard companiescomposed mostly ofUkrainian and Cossack collaborators.

During his tenure, Hahn was directly involved in the planning and implementation of theHolocaust in Poland.In the summer of 1942, Hahn collaborated withSS-BrigadeführerOdilo Globocnikand other personnel associated withOperation Reinhardto carry outGrossaktion Warschau,the liquidation of theWarsaw Ghetto.An estimated 265,000Polish Jewsperished between July–September 1942, either in mass-executions carried out by the SS or following their deportation to theextermination campatTreblinka.This was the single deadliest action taken against the Jews in the course of the Holocaust inoccupied-Poland.

As a deputy officer toSS and Police LeaderJürgen Stroop,Hahn also had a leading role in the bloody suppression of theWarsaw Ghetto Uprisingin April–May 1943. The brutal pacification of the ghetto by the SS resulted in the deaths of 13,000 Jews either killed in the fighting or executed. In the aftermath of the uprising, Hahn orchestrated the deportation of another 36,000 Jews from Warsaw to thedeath campsofTreblinkaandMajdanek.On 2 February 1944, Hahn would organize thepublic executionof 300 Polish civilianhostagesin reprisal for theassassinationof SS and Police LeaderFranz Kutscheraby members of thePolish Resistance.In April 1944, he was promoted to the rank ofSS-Standartenführer(Colonel)und Kriminaldirektor.Hahn would also receive the further title ofOberstder Polizei.

During the August–October 1944Warsaw Uprisingby thePolish Home Army,Hahn served with theWaffen-SS,leading abattalionof 700 men in the southern districts of the city and later in the downtown area. He also personally commanded the defense of Warsaw’s heavily fortified government district. Acting on instructions fromHimmler,Hahn ordered themass-killing of Polish civiliansin retaliation for the rebellion. An estimated 5 to 10 thousand men, women and children were shot by the SS, mainly in the ruins of the formerGeneral Inspectorate of the Armed Forces.Following thecapitulation of the uprising,Hahn supervised the deployment of theVerbrennungskommando(Cremation Details); groups of Polish prisoners forced to work clearing bodies and debris from the city's streets. Hahn was awarded theIron Cross, 1st Classfor his service during the uprising.

Later service with the SS

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In November 1944, Hahn departed Warsaw and returned toGermanywhere he was posted to theWestern Front.He was stationed in the town ofCochemand was appointed commander ofEinsatzgruppe Lwhich was attached to theGerman Sixth Panzer Armyduring theBattle of the Bulge.After the failure of the Ardennes offensive, Hahn was transferred toArmy Group Vistulaon theEastern Frontto serve as a delegate for the SiPo and the SD on thegeneral staffofSS-ObergruppenführerCarl Obergduring theVistula-Oder offensive.In February 1945, he was reassigned toDresden,where he briefly served asStabsführer(chief of staff) toSS-GruppenführerLudolf von Alvensleben,theHigher SS and Police Leaderfor theElbe.

Hahn was next appointed Commander of the SiPo and the SD for the city ofWiesbadenin March 1945. However, he was quickly displaced from this position when the city fell to theAlliesand was instead dispatched toMünster,where he took over as Commander of the SiPo and the SD forGau Westphalia-North.Hahn was also tasked with overseeing thesecurity detailforGauleiterAlfred Meyer.During the closing weeks of the war, Hahn and his staff fled toHessisch-Oldendorfto escape theAllied advance.He was taken prisoner by theBritish Armyon 12 April 1945 but successfully escaped from custody shortly afterward.

Postwar life

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Hahn remained in Germany after 1945 and went into hiding inBad Eilsenin theBritish occupation zone,working for several years as a laborer and farmhand. He later moved toWuppertalwhere he worked as asalesmanwith the textile company ofScharpenack & Teschenmacher.He resumed using his real name in 1949. At adenazificationhearing in 1950, Hahn's wife Charlotte falsely claimed toBritish authoritiesthat her husband had been taken prisoner by theRussiansand deported to theSoviet Union,prompting theBritish Armyto close its ongoing war crimes investigation of him.

Afterward, Hahn would go on to pursue a successful postwar career as aninsurance brokerinWest Germany.In 1951 his father-in-law arranged for him to take a position as Deputy Director for Organizational Matters with theHanoverbranch ofKarlsruher Lebensversicherung A.G.He rose to the office of Branch Manager in 1955. Hahn and his family relocated toHamburgin 1958 where he had been hired as head of thelife insurancedivision ofHans Rudolf Schmidt & Co. GmbH.The family settled in a comfortable home in the borough ofBahrenfeld.

Trials and convictions

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Hahn (left) and SS-Rottenführer Thomas Wippenbeck during their trial in Hamburg, 1972

Hahn's identity was uncovered by journalists in 1960. Following an inquiry by theCentral Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes,Hahn was arrested by theWest German federal policefor his suspected involvement in the destruction of theWarsaw Ghetto.He was held by West German investigators for a year, however no charges were brought against him due to insufficientevidenceand he was released in July 1961. Hahn was arrested a second time in December 1965 and held inpre-trial detentionfor two years, but was ultimately released again, owing to his poor health. After his release, Hahn briefly worked for theHamburgbranch ofInvestors Overseas Service.He retired in 1967.

It was not until May 1972 that Hahn was successfully charged with war crimes by theHigher Regional Courtof Hamburg. The now 65-year-old Hahn was found guilty in connection with wartime atrocities committed at thePawiak prisonin Warsaw, namely theexecution of 100 Polish political prisonerswho were shot on his orders on 21 July 1944. Hahn was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June 1973 but petitioned the court for anappealof the verdict. After a two-year review of the trial and the evidence, Hahn's appeal was rejected by theWest German judiciaryand he entered prison in March 1975.

During the appeals process, Hahn was also on trial in a differentWest German court;this case surrounded his alleged role in the deportation of an estimated 230,000 Jews from theWarsaw GhettotoTreblinka.The proceedings opened in October 1974, and Hahn was once more found guilty. On 4 July 1975, he was given a further sentence oflife imprisonment.Suffering fromcancer,Hahn was granted early release from prison in September 1983. He died inAmmersbekon 10 November 1986.[3]

Summary of SS career

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Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

References

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  1. ^abcJosef Wulf,Das Dritte Reich und seine Vollstrecker – Die Liquidation von 500.000 Juden im Ghetto Warschau,Berlin 1961, p. 290
  2. ^Jacek Andrzej Młynarczyk, "Vom Massenmörder zum Lebensversicherer. Dr. Ludwig Hahn und die Mühlen der deutschen Justiz", Andrej Angrick, Klaus-Michael Mallmann (eds.),Die Gestapo nach 1945. Karrieren, Konflikte, Konstruktionen,Darmstadt 2009, p. 136
  3. ^Dan Kurzman,The Bravest Battle: The Twenty-eight Days Of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising,Da Capo Press, 2009, p. 346
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  • Media related toLudwig Hahnat Wikimedia Commons
  • "Bis zum letzten".Der Spiegel(in German). No. 1. 1973.Retrieved29 January2015.
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