Friedrich "Fritz" Schubert ( el, Φριτς Σούμπερτ; 21 February 1897,
Dortmund – 22 October 1947,
Heptapyrgion) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
-speaking
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
NCO
Oberfeldwebel
(OFw or OF) is the fourth-lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force.
History
The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old arm ...
(Sergeant) of the Nazi
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
. As head of the ''Jagdkommando Schubert'', a semi-independent
paramilitary force he terrorized the civilian population during the
Nazi occupation of Greece in
World War II
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 opposing ...
and he committed numerous atrocities in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
and
Macedonia.
Tried by a special court for war criminals in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, he was found guilty over the killing of over 250 civilians, sentenced 27 times to death and executed.
Earlier life
Few details of Schubert's pre-WWII life have been verified. Some Cretans believed that Schubert was born as Petros Konstantinidis ( el, Πέτρος Κωνσταντινίδης) (the name he used when he was arrested by the Greek Police), son to a rich
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
merchant in
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
and a Turkish mother and emigrated to Germany at a young age. There, he joined the
National Socialist Party and became a dedicated Nazi.
However, it is verified that Schubert was German, born in
Dortmund in 1897.
During
WW I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
He served in the
Imperial German Army, and possibly fought in Turkey. He claimed that he was decorated with the
Iron Crescent
The Gallipolli Star is a military decoration awarded by the Ottoman Empire. It was known as the Ottoman War Medal ( tr, Harp Madalyası) or the Iron Crescent (from German ''Eiserner Halbmond'', in allusion to the Iron Cross). It was instituted b ...
medal and he was proudly displaying it. In 1918 he possibly returned to Dortmund and became machine fitter (machinen monteur). He returned to Turkey in 1920s, where he worked for the Turkish authorities.
Schubert in 1925 married an Italian woman in Smyrna and emigrated in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
where he stayed for about fifteen years. He became a member of
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
in January 1934 and after the outbreak of WW II, Schubert returned to Dortmund, Germany.
In April 1941 when Germany invaded Greece he joined the
Ersatzheer
The Replacement Army () was part of the Imperial German Army during World War I and part of the Wehrmacht during World War II. It was based within Germany proper and included command and administrative units as well as training and guard troops. I ...
, he was trained as a military interpreter (he already spoke Greek, Turkish, Italian and Arabic) during April and May 1941 and was promoted to
Unteroffizier
() is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.
Austria
, also , is the collective name to ...
(corporal) in June 1941.
As a Wehrmacht non commissioned officer
Schubert made his first appearance on Crete in summer 1941 as military interpreter to the Local German Command (Ortskommandatur) in
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
under
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Alexander Andrae
Alexander Andrae (27 April 1888 – 3 April 1979), whose first name is often mistakenly given as ''Waldemar'', was a German military officer from Kösling, Upper Silesia. Initially pursuing an Army career, he then joined the security police and ...
commander of occupied Crete. Possibly during August 1941 he was transferred to the Regional German Command (Kreiskommandatur) in
Rethymno
Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...
.
In autumn 1941 Schubert was transferred again to
Heraklion
Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...
to the
Abwehr (counter-espionage) detachment under the command of Greek speaking
major Hartmann (first name unknown). As he could speak Turkish and had a strong Turkish accent when speaking Greek, Cretans nicknamed him "the Turk".
Major Hartmann organized the first armed group of pro-Nazi Cretans mainly from the Tzoulias family in the village of
Krousonas. Despite the fact that Schubert took part in war crimes, there is no evidence that he was involved in the
Krousonas pro-Nazi group until June 1942 when he took command. Schubert recruited several convicted Greek criminals and others pro-Nazi Cretans from
Krousonas.
In April 1943 Schubert was transferred to
Feldgendarmerie Local German Command 981 (Ortskommandatur) in Chania subordinate to
Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) Herbert Glebin.
The relations between Schubert and Hartmann became more and more strained and Hartmann ordered the imprisonment of Schubert to the Agia prison outside
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
. Schubert was released by orders of
generalleutnant
is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...
(lieutenant general)
Bruno Braeuer commander of occupied Crete who was convicted and executed as a war criminal after the war. Bruno Braeuer gave Schubert (now an
oberfeldwebel
(OFw or OF) is the fourth-lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force.
History
The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old arm ...
(sergeant)) complete freedom of action to suppress the resistance answering to no one. In September 1943 the Schubert group was officially established as ''
Jagdkommando
The Jagdkommando (German for ''Hunting Commando'') is the Austrian Armed Forces' Special Operations group.
Role
The duties of this elite unit, like its counterparts such as the United States Army Special Forces, are chiefly counter-terrorism an ...
Schubert'' also 'National Detachment for Chasing Criminals/Communists' el, Εθνικό Απόσπασμα Καταδίωξης Κακοποιών/Κομμουνιστών, (ΕΑΚΚ) in eastern Crete.
The ''
Jagdkommando
The Jagdkommando (German for ''Hunting Commando'') is the Austrian Armed Forces' Special Operations group.
Role
The duties of this elite unit, like its counterparts such as the United States Army Special Forces, are chiefly counter-terrorism an ...
Schubert'' was an anti-communist militia group intended to capture local
resistance fighters and those who helped them. The soldiers were dressed in Italian and the officers in
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
uniforms and became known among Cretans as the ''Schuberai'', ''Schubertiani'' or '' Schuberites'' ( el, Σουμπεραίοι, Σουμπερτανοί, Σουμπερίτες). They were notorious for their sadistic practices during attacks against civilians that involved beating, torture, shootings and the destruction of numerous villages in Crete and Makedonia (e.g.,
Oropedio Lasithiou, Rodakino,
Kali Sykia,
Kallikratis, etc.). Even today, calling someone a ''Schuberitis'' is considered in Crete to be a serious insult synonymous to treachery and cruelty.
These events had enraged the
local resistance fighters and the British agents and made them want to eliminate the ''Schuberai'' at all costs. Soon, Schubert's unit lost its effectiveness as it could not operate away from his base without the escort of a large Wehrmacht protective force. It is also possible that German officers in Crete were enraged because Schubert's practices were too cruel even for the standards of Nazi Germany.
Hence, in January 1944 Schubert was ordered by Bruno Brauer to leave Crete.
The men of his group were given the choice to stay in Crete or follow him to Macedonia. About half of his men were transferred to Macedonia to reinforce the
collaborationist battalion of
Georgios Poulos (a.k.a. ''Poulos Verband'').
[Mazower, Mark. ''Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941–44'', Yale University Press, 1995.] While in Macedonia, Schubert's group continued their hideous activities, being responsible for the massacres of
Chortiatis
Chortiatis ( el, Χορτιάτης) is a suburb and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 Kallikratis local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylaia-Chortiatis, of which it is a municipa ...
and
Giannitsa
Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece.
The municipal unit Gian ...
, among others.
When the German Army retreated from Macedonia in October 1944 Schubert and 70 of his men also retreated to Yugoslavia and stayed there for a few months. Schubert arrived in Vienna in February 1945 and before the Red Army captured the city he went to
Schwaz
Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley.
Location
Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch a ...
in west Austria. When the US army arrived to Schwaz, Schubert and his mistress impersonated Greek displaced persons and were placed in a camp in Innsbruck awaiting transfer to Greece.
After World War II
Schubert attempted to return to Greece because he wanted to be with his mistress or because he had no choice. On 5 September 1945 he arrived in
Eleusina
Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...
military airport on board a plane repatriating ex-
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 simpl ...
prisoners back to Greece from
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, under the false name Kostantinos Konstantinidis (Κωνσταντίνος Κωνσταντινίδης). When he was interrogated by Greek Police officers, the answers he gave were unsatisfactory and vague and was kept in custody for further examination. When he was in custody he was recognized as Friedrich Schubert by various witnesses and prosecuted for war crimes.
On August 5, 1947 he was found guilty of 271 murders and several other crimes including arson, burned numerous villages, rapes, murder of women and children in cold blood, spoils of war, and thefts. For these, Schubert was convicted 27 times to death and several thousand years of imprisonment. He was executed by firing squad in
Eptapyrgio,
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
on October 22, 1947.
See also
*
Security Battalions
The Security Battalions ( el, Τάγματα Ασφαλείας, Tagmata Asfaleias, derisively known as ''Germanotsoliades'' (Γερμανοτσολιάδες) or ''Tagmatasfalites'' (Ταγματασφαλίτες)) were Greek collaborationist ...
Notes
External links
*
Chortiatis massacre from German Wikipedia«Jagdkommando Schubert» Η αιμοσταγής δράση του «Σώματος Κυνηγών» του Σούμπερτ στην Κρήτη
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schubert, Friedrich
1897 births
1947 deaths
German mass murderers
Crete in World War II
Nazis convicted of war crimes
20th-century executions by Greece
Nazis executed in Greece
People executed for war crimes
Nazis executed by firing squad
Military personnel from Dortmund
Executed people from North Rhine-Westphalia
German occupation of Thessaloniki
Executed mass murderers