Gerhard Sommer (24 June 1921 – 2019) was a German SS-''

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of ''Sturmführer'' which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921. ...

'' (second lieutenant) in the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division ''Reichsführer-SS'' who was involved in the massacre of 560 civilians on 12 August 1944 in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

village of

Sant'Anna di Stazzema Sant'Anna di Stazzema, officially Sant'Anna, is a village in Tuscany, Italy. Administratively, it is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Stazzema, in the province of Lucca. History In 1944, it was the site of a notorious Nazi crime against huma ...

. He appeared on the

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educat ...

's list of most wanted Nazi war criminals.

Biography

Sommer was born in Hamburg in June 1921. In July 1933, when he was 12 years old, Sommer became a member of the

Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

(

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

), where he obtained the rank of ''Jungzugführer'' (young platoon leader) in the

Deutsches Jungvolk The ''Deutsches Jungvolk in der Hitlerjugend'' (; DJ, also DJV; German for "German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth") was the separate section for boys aged 10 to 13 of the Hitler Youth organisation in Nazi Germany. Through a programme of outdoor a ...

. On 1 September 1939, at age 18, he joined the Nazi Party

NSDAP 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 ...

and in October enlisted in the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

. Sommer fought in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS ''Adolf Hitler'' in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. He was wounded twice and was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

2nd class. In 1943, Sommer applied for the rank of SS-''Reserveführer''. After training in Proschnitz, he was appointed an SS-''

'' on January 30, 1944. He served as a ''Zugführer'' and later a ''

Kompanieführer ''Kompanieführer'' ("company leader") is a German paramilitary title that has existed since the First World War. Originally, the title of ''Kompanieführer'' was held by the officer commanding an infantry company (most often a ''Hauptmann'' or ' ...

'' in the ''7th Kompanie des II. Bataillons/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 35''. On 19 August 1944, he received the Iron Cross 1st class. Near the end of the war, Sommer served in the

4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands The Volunteer Legion Netherlands ( nl, Vrijwilligerslegioen Nederland) was a collaborationist military formation recruited in the German-occupied Netherlands during World War II. It was formed in the aftermath of the German invasion of the Sov ...

. On 22 June 2005, Sommer and nine other former SS members were convicted by an Italian

military court A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

for the " continued murder with special cruelty" of 560 villagers at

. All ten were sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation payments.Das Massaker von Sant’Anna di Stazzema am 12. August 1944 - Materialiensammlung 1 für eine bundesweite Kampagne zur Anklageerhebung in Deutschland
, May 2006, pp. 12-14/17-19/23-24/30-34 (Pdf 880 KB). In 2002, investigations against Sommer were initiated in Germany, but no criminal charges have yet been brought. Gabriela Heinecke, a lawyer from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

in charge of the "Nebenklage" of the Italian survivors of the massacre continues to be denied access to the records by the German public prosecution department.Flugblatt zu Gerhard Sommer
(Pdf 121 KB) As of May 2006, Sommer was living in a nursing home in Hamburg-Volksdorf, Germany. In May 2015, Sommer was declared unfit for trial due to severe dementia by prosecutors in Germany. In October 2021, it was revealed that Sommer had died in 2019.After killing hundreds of Italian civilians, a brutal SS division evaded justice
/ref>

References

External links

*

* ttp://www.systemkritik.de/bmuhl/forschung/justiz/gerhard_sommer.html Rechtspolitische Initiative zum Fall Gerhard Sommer aus dem Forschungsansatz „Systemkritik: Deutsche Justizverbrechen“*
Das Massaker von Sant’Anna di Stazzema am 12. August 1944 - Materialiensammlung 1 für eine bundesweite Kampagne zur Anklageerhebung in Deutschland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sommer, Gerhard 1921 births 2019 deaths Military personnel from Hamburg Nazis convicted of war crimes SS-Untersturmführer Waffen-SS personnel Germans convicted of war crimes committed in Italy during World War II Hitler Youth members Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class