Emil Haussmann (11 October 1910 – 31 July 1947) was a German SS functionary during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. He was part of Einsatzkommando 12 of Einsatzgruppe D, which perpetrated the Holocaust in occupied Ukraine. Haussmann was charged with crimes against humanity in 1947 in the Einsatzgruppen Trial. Two days after his indictment, Haussmann committed suicide.

Life

Emil Haussmann was the son of an accountant in Ravensburg. He joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in January 1930—three years before the ''

Machtergreifung The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

''—at the age of 19. Haussmann was a grade school teacher. In 1937, he became a full-time employee of the ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

'' (SD), and took over the Southwest, based in the Judenreferat in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. Klaus-Michael Mallmann, Jochen Böhler und Jürgen Matthäus: ''Einsatzgruppen in Polen''. WBG, Stuttgart 2008, p. 39-40. During the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, Haussmann was part of Einsatzgruppe VI. There he was the "right hand man" for Albert Rapp, the leader of the Eins. Commanding this Einsatzgruppe was Erich Naumann, who was later a co-defendant of Haussmann. After the end of hostilities, Haussmann remained with Rapp in Poland; Rapp led the in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. This office coordinated the expulsion of Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews, in

Reichsgau Wartheland The Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, also Warthegau) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Second Polish Republic, Polish territory Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed in 1939 during World War ...

Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia () was an Reichsgau, administrative division of Nazi Germany created on 8 October 1939 from annexed territory of the Free City of Danzig, the Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor), and the Marienwerder (regi ...

, East Upper Silesia and Aktion Zamosc. Haussmann joined Einsatzkommando 12 during the invasion of the Soviet Union, during which he participated in the mass murder of Jews in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Trial and suicide

In 1947 he was one of 24 defendants at the Einsatzgruppen Trial. On 29 July 1947, he received the indictment along with his co-defendants: (1)

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

, (2)

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

, and (3) membership in a criminal organization. Two days later, before the

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the criminal charges against them. In response to arraignment, in some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; i ...

, Haussmann hanged himself in his cell and was removed from the process.''Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10'', Vol. 4: ''United States of America vs. Otto Ohlendorf, et. al. (Case 9: „Einsatzgruppen Case“)''.

United States Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal gove ...

, District of Columbia 1950, p. 24 Thus, he and

Otto Rasch Emil Otto Rasch (7 December 1891 – 1 November 1948) was a high-ranking German Nazi official and Holocaust perpetrator, who commanded '' Einsatzgruppe C'' in northern and central Ukraine until October 1941. After World War II, Rasch was indicte ...

, who was declared unfit for stand trial by medical reasons, were the only defendants at the Einsatzgruppen trial who escaped a sentence.

References

Bibliography

* * * ''Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10'', Vol. 4: ''United States of America vs. Otto Ohlendorf, et. al. (Case 9: „Einsatzgruppen Case“)''. US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia 1950. In: „National Archives Microfilm Publications“, NM Series 1874–1946, Microfilm Publication M936. National Archives and Record Service, Washington 1973. (Emil Haussmann in the indictment: p
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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Haussmann, Emil 1910 births 1947 suicides 1947 deaths Einsatzgruppen personnel Nazis who died by suicide in prison custody SS-Sturmbannführer Prisoners who died in United States military detention Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Holocaust perpetrators in Ukraine People indicted for war crimes People indicted for crimes against humanity People indicted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals Nazis who died by suicide in Germany Suicides by hanging in Germany