The Celle massacre (

euphemistically A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

called ''"Celler Hasenjagd"'', "hare chase of

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

") was a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

inmates that took place in Celle,

Prussian Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, a ...

, in the last weeks of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On 8 April 1945 over 3,000 internees being transported to

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concent ...

were killed in an Allied air raid and subsequent attacks on survivors by SS guards,

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

, and

Nazi party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

officials, as well as members of the public. Some of the perpetrators of the massacre were later tried but all of those convicted for the crime were set free in the early 1950s.

Events

On 8 April 1945, a month before the unconditional surrender of Germany, transports from several concentration camps were hit in an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

. 2,862 Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Dutch, and French nationals from the Drütte camp, a subcamp to the

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

, were forced into freight cars located at the Celle yard en route to the

. This transport had joined others the day before, making the total count around 4,000 men and women. On this transport, many internees died of exhaustion and malnutrition. Höper, Dietrich. “8 April 1945 – Bomben auf Celle” in ''Celler Zündel,'' a monthly municipal magazine, pp. 15–16, issue of April 1985. Available online at http://www.celle-im-nationalsozialismus.de/Texte/Hoeper_Bomben.html . The freight train carrying the internees stopped next to an ammunition train, which exploded during the air raid. In the ensuing inferno, most of the wagons carrying the internees were destroyed and a number of prisoners lost their lives. Buntes Haus e. V. “Die Celler ‘Hasenjagd’ ” in ''Flugblatt zum 60. Jahrestag des Massakers an KZ-Häftlingen'' distributed in Celle on 8 April 2005, the date of the 60th anniversary of the event; available online at http://www.celle-im-nationalsozialismus.de/Texte/buha_2005.html . The surviving prisoners fled either into the town or westward towards the Neustadt wood while SS troops opened fire on them. As soon as the air raid was over, the SS guards, civilians who were members of the local Nazi party, Gestapo members, the fire-brigade and members of the public pursued the fleeing internees. The internees who were caught and survived were detained on the spot near the Neustadt wood. Some 30 persons were executed on suspicion of looting. Most of the surviving internees were marched to Bergen-Belsen, while others were detained at the army's Heide barracks. Of the approximately 4,000 prisoners who had been in Celle on 8 April only 487 survivors reached Bergen-Belsen on the morning of 10 April — the same day British forces entered Celle. Some prisoners may have been shot on the 25 km march to the camp, some died at Heidekaserne military barracks nearby, left to die with no food, water or medication. They were discovered by 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, British 2nd Army, on 10 April.

Aftermath

The

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

liberated Celle on 12 April and launched an investigation into the events of 8 April – 11 April. Their chronicler characterized the Heidekaserne as a "microcosm of Bergen-Belsen". Estimates place the number of "hare hunt" victims at 200–300; the remaining transport prisoners died of other causes. Only 14 military and police personnel and political leaders were tried in the ''Celle Massacre Trial'', which began in December 1947. Seven were acquitted of murder or accessory to murder because of insufficient evidence, whereas four were found guilty as perpetrators and sentenced to between four and ten years in prison. In addition, three were sentenced to death. One of the death sentences was overturned on appeal and the other two were reduced to 15–20 years' imprisonment as part of a

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

issued by the British military governor. All those imprisoned were released by October 1952 for good behaviour. A memorial was inaugurated in Triftanlagen Park in Celle on 8 April 1992 and a copper beech tree was planted. The German word for copper beech means "Blutbuche" (blood beech).

Sources and references

External links

* http://www.celle-im-nationalsozialismus.de/ * Section in the German wiki {{Coord missing, Lower Saxony Nazi war crimes in Germany 1945 in Germany Mass murder in 1945 Massacres in 1945 20th century in Lower Saxony Massacres in Germany April 1945 events 1945 murders in Germany

Events

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

Sources and references

External links