Odilo Globočnik
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globocnik (21 April 1904 – 31 May 1945) was a
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 ...
official from
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and a perpetrator of
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. A high-ranking member of the SS, Globocnik was the leader of
Operation Reinhard Operation Reinhard or Operation Reinhardt ( or ; also or ) was the codename of the secret Nazi Germany, German plan in World War II to exterminate History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied ...
, the organized murder of around one and a half million Jews, mostly of Polish origin, during the Holocaust in the Majdanek,
Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...
, Sobibór and
Bełżec Belzec (English: or , Polish: , approximately ) was a Nazi German extermination camp in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland. It was built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to ...
extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
s. Historian Michael Allen described him as "the vilest individual in the vilest organization ever known". Globocnik killed himself shortly after his capture and detention by British soldiers.


Early life

Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globočnik was born on 21 April 1904 in the Imperial Free City of
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, then the capital of the
Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (, , , , ) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. It consisted of three regions: the Margraviate of Istria in the south, Gorizia and Gradisca in the north, and the Imperial Free City ...
administrative region of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
(now in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
). He was the second child of Franz Globočnik, a Slovenian cavalry
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in the
Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
. Because Globocnik was a leading Nazi official, and perpetrator of not only the Holocaust but the ethnic cleansing of millions of Poles and other Slavs, historians have been interested in accounts of Globočnik's Slavic ancestry – his surname is Slovenian – with his father being Slovenian while his mother was half- Serbian and half- Croatian. His father was unable to save enough money required to get an officer's marriage permission and had to leave the service. As was the practice at this time, he was given a job in the Imperial and Royal Mail. Odilo's mother Anna, née Petschinka, was born in Versecz,
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
(now
Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...
,
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
); she was half- Serbian and half- Croatian. In 1914, the family left Trieste for Cseklész, where Franz Globočnik was recalled to active duty after the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The same year, Globočnik joined the army, via a military school. The war ended his military education prematurely. He moved with his family to Klagenfurt in
Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
. There as a teenager, he joined the pro-Austrian volunteer militia fighting Slovene volunteers and, later, the Yugoslav Army during the Carinthian War (1918–19). In 1920, he worked as an underground propagandist for the Austrian cause during the Carinthian Plebiscite. He later enrolled at the Höhere Staatsgewerbeschule (a higher vocational school for mechanical engineering), where he passed his
Matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...
(the Austrian equivalent of the German
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
) and graduated with honours.Michael D. Miller & Andreas Schulz: Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945, Volume 1 (Herbert Albrecht - H. Wilhelm Hüttmann), R. James Bender Publishing, 2012, p. 245, . He worked as a porter at the railway station, among other jobs, to help financially support his family. Globočnik first became politically active in 1922, when he became a prominent member of pre-Nazi Carinthian
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
organisations and was seen wearing a
swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...
. At the time, he was a building tradesman, introduced to his job while engaged to Grete Michner. Her father, Emil Michner, had talked to the director of KÄWAG (''Kärntner Wasserkraftwerke'' AG), an electricity distribution company of Carinthia, and secured Globočnik a job as a technician and construction supervisor.


Slavic ancestry

After he entered politics, Globočnik faced ridicule from the German and international media for his Slavic surname and ancestry, in light of the Nazis' ( including Globočnik's) extreme racism against Slavs. Globočnik would assiduously maintain that he was of "Germanic ancestry". Slavs were considered sub-human (''
Untermenschen ''Untermensch'' (; plural: ''Untermenschen'') is a German language word literally meaning 'underman', 'sub-man', or ' subhuman', which was extensively used by Germany's Nazi Party to refer to their opponents and non- Aryan people they deemed ...
'') in the Nazi racial taxonomy and eventually subjected to slave labour and
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
by Nazi Germany. He said that his paternal grandfather was an "Aryan" who was "culturally Slavicized", but maintained his "Germanic blood". Historians have often dismissed this as a ruse. This interpretation depended on a distinction between the " Windisch" and "Slowenen", introduced by Martin Wutte in a 1927 book. "Windisch" were considered of German blood and therefore also "worthy" of "Re-Germanization", and the Slovenes, who were Slavic and therefore, in NS parlance, to be exterminated. In his 2004 biography of Globočnik, historian Gregor Joseph Kranjc devoted the entire first chapter to the debate concerning Globočnik's ancestry. He says that Globočnik was ridiculed by other Nazis for his surname. p. 47. However, with Globočnik having a powerful and high-ranking ally such as
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
, he was protected from other Nazis, and Himmler defended him by claiming that he was of
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
origin and that his surname was a result of "Slavicization," which was consistent with Himmler's
Lebensborn ''Lebensborn e.V.'' (literally: "Fount of Life") was a secret, SS-initiated, state-registered association in Nazi Germany with the stated goal of increasing the number of children born who met the Nazi standards of "racially pure" and "heal ...
programme that kidnapped tens of thousands of Slavic children for forced Germanization under the justification that such children are the result of ancient Aryans. The DNA studies conducted by the Blavatnik Institute at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
as part of the
John Templeton Foundation The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a Philanthropy, philanthropic organization founded by John Templeton in 1987. Templeton became wealthy as a Contrarian investing, contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in relig ...
Human Atlas project has ironically demonstrated in 2019 that the Slavic population were, in reality, descended from the Yamnaya population, once called Aryans, more directly than the Germanic peoples, as carriers of the Y-haplogroup R1a chromosomal variation, as is found among the Brahmin in India and the upper classes of Persia. In 2004, historian Joseph Poprzeczny argued in his biography of Globocnik that the story might have been credible, citing Austro-Hungarian census data from 1910 indicating that the Globočniks were ethnic Germans. However, this claim is dubious as Austro-Hungarian censuses did not record ethnicity from its inhabitants but rather native languages to exaggerate how much German was spoken and subsequently downplay non-German languages and ethnicities within the Empire, which meant that the Globočniks may have just been German-speaking Slavs, especially considering they were living under Habsburg rule and their proximity to Austria. At the time of his birth, the Slovene Lands were ruled directly from
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and divided into parts of the duchies of
Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...
and
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
and the
Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (, , , , ) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. It consisted of three regions: the Margraviate of Istria in the south, Gorizia and Gradisca in the north, and the Imperial Free City ...
.


Nazi Party and SS career

In August 1933, Globočnik was arrested for the first time, for his attempt to contact imprisoned Nazis in Klagenfurt. In the same year, he became a member of the Austrian SS. He was arrested due to his public support for 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 ...
(NSDAP), as he had become a member of the party in 1931 while he was in Carinthia. Although he was arrested four times between 1933 and 1935, he served just over a year in jail on various political charges.
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
intervened on his behalf, after two years of arguments between Globočnik and the authorities. His first documented activity for the NSDAP occurred in 1931 when he was documented as distributing propaganda for the party. By then, he had nearly abandoned his work as a building tradesman, and attached himself very closely to the NSDAP. He was assigned to develop a courier and intelligence service for the NSDAP, which channelled funds from the
German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...
into Austria. In June 1933, in Vienna, Jewish jeweller was killed when a bomb was thrown at his shop. This was among the earliest murders in Austria attributable to the Nazis, and a number of historians believe that Globočnik was involved in the attack. Globočnik joined the ''
Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...
'' (SS) on 1 September 1934. His devotion to the Nazi cause paid off, as he was quickly promoted in the party apparatus in Austria. He became a Deputy ''
Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...
'' briefly in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and then in Carinthia between January and May 1933. He was appointed as the head of the party intelligence apparatus in Carinthia, serving from 1934 to 1936. From September 1936 to May 1938, he served as the Chief of Staff of the National Leadership of the Austrian Nazi Party under Hubert Klausner. Globočnik was a key player in the usurpation of the Austrian government by the Nazis. With the ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
'', Nazi Germany annexed Austria on 12 March 1938. He was rewarded with an appointment as a State Secretary in the Nazi government, established by Chancellor Arthur Seyss-Inquart on 15 March. At the parliamentary election of 10 April, he was elected as a Nazi deputy to the '' Reichstag'' from the newly renamed Ostmark. Next came his appointment as ''
Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...
'' of
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
on 22 May 1938 by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
.
In his early tenure as ''Gauleiter'', Globočnik espoused Nazi anti-Jewish philosophy: "I will not recoil from radical interventions for the solution of Jewish questions." Later that same year he opened Vienna's first anti-Semitic political exhibition, which was attended by 10,000 visitors on the first day. Prominent at the exhibition and received enthusiastically by the public was the film, ''" The Eternal Jew"''.
Early gestures of accommodation to the new government by Cardinal Innitzer did not assuage the Austrian Nazi radicals, foremost among them being Globočnik. Mark Mazower; ''Hitler's Empire – Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe''; Penguin; 2008; ; pp. 51–52 He launched a crusade against the Church, and the Nazis confiscated property, closed Catholic organisations and sent many priests to Dachau. Anger at the treatment of the Church in Austria grew quickly, and in October 1938 the first act of overt mass resistance to the new regime took place. A rally of thousands left Mass in Vienna chanting "Christ is our Führer", before being dispersed by police. A Nazi mob ransacked Cardinal Innitzer's residence, after he denounced Nazi persecution of the Church. Globočnik was relieved of his posts and stripped of his party honours on 30 January 1939, when it was discovered that he was involved in illegal foreign currency speculation. As punishment, Himmler transferred Globočnik to the
Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...
, in the rank of junior sergeant (Unterscharführer), where he served with SS Standarte "Germania" during the
Polish campaign 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 Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...
. Himmler liked Globočnik and recognised his value. In late 1939, Globočnik was pardoned, promoted to SS-''
Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in ...
'', and assigned to
Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
province.


Crimes in occupied Poland

On 9 November 1939, Himmler appointed Globočnik as
SS and Police Leader The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (''Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the o ...
in the
Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
district of the
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
territory. After the initially disappointing party career, Globočnik now had a second chance in the ranks of the SS and the police. On 16 February 1940, Globočnik declared: "The evacuated Jews should feed themselves and be supported by their countrymen, as these Jews have enough
ood The Ood are an alien species with telepathic abilities from the long-running science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future (circa 42nd century). The Ood are portrayed as a slave race, natura ...
If this does not succeed, one should let them starve." In the following years, Globočnik was responsible for: #'Liquidating' the
Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...
, which contained about 500,000
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, the largest
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
community in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and the second-largest in the world after
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. # Liquidating the Białystok Ghetto, which had strongly resisted German occupation. #Resettling a large number of
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
under the premise of '
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
'. #Implementation and supervision of the Lublin reservation, to which 95,000 Jews were deported, with its adjacent network of forced labour camps in the Lublin district. He was also in charge of over 45,000 Jewish labourers. Globocnik is reported to have taken great joy in killings and organizing killings of Jews, stating that, in Höss' rendition, Globocnik "wanted to be in the forefront with his exterminations" even when transportation capacities did not allow for it and then he "carried out executions at his own discretion"


Extermination camps

There are indications that Globočnik, along with a chief accomplice Christian Wirth, may have originated the concept of the
extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
and industrialised murder, and suggested the concept to Himmler. At a two-hour meeting with Himmler on 13 October 1941, Globočnik received verbal approval to begin construction of the
Belzec extermination camp Belzec (English: or , Polish: , approximately ) was a Nazi German extermination camp in occupied Poland. It was built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all Polish Jews, a major p ...
, the first such camp in the
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
.
Christopher Browning Christopher Robert Browning (born May 22, 1944) is an American historian and is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). A specialist on the Holocaust, Browning is known for his work documenting the ...
. ''The Origins of the Final Solution'', pp. 359–360.
Shortly beforehand, in September 1941, Globočnik had been visited by
Philipp Bouhler Philipp Bouhler (11 September 1899 – 19 May 1945) was a German senior Nazi Party functionary who was both a (National Leader) and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP. He was also the SS official responsible for the euthana ...
and Viktor Brack, the top officials in the Fuhrer Chancellery responsible for the ''
Aktion T4 (German, ) was a campaign of Homicide#By state actors, mass murder by involuntary euthanasia which targeted Disability, people with disabilities and the mentally ill in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-WWII, war trials against d ...
'' "euthanasia" program, which had been using gas chambers disguised as shower rooms to execute many of its victims. On or about 1 October 1941, Globočnik wrote a memorandum to Himmler containing proposals for actions against the Jews "of a security policy nature," and the 13 October meeting was held to discuss this memorandum and related subjects. Peter Longerich. ''Heinrich Himmler'', p. 547. A colleague's contemporaneous letter reflects Globočnik's state of mind at the time of the 13 October meeting: Globočnik said it was necessary to undertake a "cleansing of the entire eneral Governmentof Jews and Poles" and was "full of good and far-reaching plans" to achieve this objective. There are indications that Globočnik may have begun a crude experimental gassing facility in the woods near Belzec shortly before his mid-October meeting with Himmler. At the 13 October 1941 meeting with Himmler, Globočnik proposed exterminating the Jews in assembly-line fashion in a concentration camp, using gas chambers. On 14 October 1941 – the day after he had met with Globočnik – Himmler held a five-hour meeting with
Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...
to discuss "executions", following which other extermination camp gassing sites were built. Days later, Himmler forbade all further Jewish emigration from Reich territory "in view of the forthcoming 'Final Solution' to the Jewish question." The gassing facilities that Globočnik established at Belzec soon after his 13 October meeting with Himmler were designed by T4 programme personnel assigned to him. They used carbon monoxide, as the T4 programme had done. Before it became an extermination camp, Belzec had been part of Himmler's and Globočnik's Burggraben project. The construction of three more death camps,
Sobibor Sobibor ( ; ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), ...
and Majdanek in the Lublin district and
Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...
at
Małkinia Górna Małkinia Górna is a large village in Ostrów Mazowiecka County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Małkinia Górna. Małkinia is a railway junction. There, the main line between Warsaw an ...
, followed in 1942. Globočnik was complicit in the extermination of more than 1.5 million Jews of Polish,
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
, Dutch, French,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
, Slovak, German, Portuguese, Turkish, Spanish and
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n origin, as well as a smaller number of non-Jews, in the death camps under his control. He exploited Jews and non-Jews as slave labourers in his own forced labour camps. He was responsible for seizing the properties and valuables of
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
ed
inmates A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...
while in charge of
Operation Reinhard Operation Reinhard or Operation Reinhardt ( or ; also or ) was the codename of the secret Nazi Germany, German plan in World War II to exterminate History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied ...
. Although other arms of the Nazi state were also involved in the overall management of the greater concentration camp system, Globočnik had control over the ''Aktion Reinhard'' camps, and any orders that he received came directly from Himmler. From 1942 to 1943, he also oversaw the beginning of the
Generalplan Ost The (; ), abbreviated GPO, was Nazi Germany's plan for the settlement and "Germanization" of captured territory in Eastern Europe, involving the genocide, extermination and large-scale ethnic cleansing of Slavs, Eastern European Jews, and o ...
, the plan to expel Poles from their lands and resettle those territories with German settlers (see Zamość Uprising). On 9 November 1942, Globočnik was promoted to ''SS-
Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire d ...
'' and ''Generalleutnant der Polizei''. On November 4, 1943, Globocnik reported to Himmler from
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
that he had concluded Operation Reinhard, as of October 19, 1943, and that all camps had been dissolved. He also sent a final report. In his reply, Himmler thanked Globocnik and expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the great and unique services he had rendered to the entire German people in carrying out "Operation Reinhard."


Activities in Italy

After the
Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...
, Globočnik was appointed as
Higher SS and Police Leader The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police ('' Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the ...
of the Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral of Italy on 13 September 1943. Klee, Ernst: ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945?'', p. 187. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Zweite aktualisierte Auflage, Frankfurt am Main 2003 After the completion of
Operation Reinhard Operation Reinhard or Operation Reinhardt ( or ; also or ) was the codename of the secret Nazi Germany, German plan in World War II to exterminate History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied ...
in Poland, he was sent to
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, his hometown. Having looted assets stolen from Holocaust victims at death camps in
occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...
, Globočnik went to Italy with a number of his men who had taken part in '' Aktion Tiergarten 4'' including
Franz Stangl Franz Paul Stangl (; 26 March 1908 – 28 June 1971) was an Austrian police officer and commandant of the Nazi extermination camps Sobibor and Treblinka in World War II. Stangl, an employee of the T-4 Euthanasia Program and an SS commander ...
from
Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...
and Franz Reichleitner from
Sobibor Sobibor ( ; ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), ...
. A few days after 8 September 1943 (when the Armistice between Italy and the Allies signed on 3 September had come into force), Christian Wirth arrived in Trieste. Together, they converted an old rice mill on the outskirts of the city into a detention centre complete with a
crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...
, known as Risiera di San Sabba (in Slovene: ''Rižarna''). At San Sabba, thousands of
Italian Jews Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...
, partisans and other political dissidents were interrogated, tortured and murdered under the direction of these men after the 1943 downfall of
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
and the German takeover of the country. In Slovene Littoral, Slovene Partisans were fought both by Germans and by the Littoral Home Guard, which was also under Globočnik's direct command. It provided Germans with lists of locations of Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation hideouts and suspicious individuals (described as ''propagandists''). With the advance of Allied troops, Globočnik retreated into Austrian Carinthia and finally went into hiding high in the mountains near Weissensee, still in the company of his closest staff members.


Death

Globočnik was tracked down and captured by a British armoured cavalry unit on 31 May 1945 in
Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
, Austria. A unit from the 4th Queen's Own Hussars, found him on the Möslacher Alm, a mountain in the
Eastern Alps The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Main chain of the Alps, Alpine divide, and down the Liro (Como), Liro River to Lake Como in the south. ...
, with seven other wanted Nazis: Georg Michalsen, Friedrich Rainer, Ernst Lerch, Hermann Höfle, Karl Hellesberger, Hugo Herzog and Friedrich Plöb. Globočnik was taken to Paternion in Villach-Land District to be interrogated. However, before he was questioned, Globočnik committed suicide by biting on a
cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
capsule. His body was taken to be buried in a local churchyard, but the priest reportedly refused to have "the body of such a man" resting in consecrated ground. A grave was dug outside the churchyard, next to an outer wall, and the body was buried without ceremony. Contemporary photographs of Globočnik's corpse and reliable reports, such as the ''Regimental Diary and Field Reports'' of the 4th Queen's Own Hussars, detailed the circumstances of his capture and suicide. Some speculated that his death came at the hands of either partisans or a Jewish revenge squad, or that he was turned over alive to US intelligence by the British. The latter claim is based on an "official US document signed by US CIC S/A Operations Officer Andrew L. Venters, dated 27 October 1948, ''more than three years after his supposed death"''. However, this document was exposed as a forgery in the 1980s by the investigative writer and historian,
Gitta Sereny Gitta Sereny, CBE (13 March 192114 June 2012) was an Austrian-British biographer, historian, and investigative journalist who became known for her interviews and profiles of infamous figures, including Mary Bell, who was convicted in 1968 of ...
; she gives all details in a long article in ''The Observer'' newspaper."Spin Time For Hitler", ''The Observer'', London, 21 April 1996.


Portrayal in media

Globočnik is a key antagonist in the Robert Harris alternative-history novel ''
Fatherland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic nation ...
''; in the book set in 1964, a character based on Globocnik is still alive and a top SS official. In the 1994 television film adaptation, Globočnik was played by John Shrapnel. In the
Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...
alternate-history novel '' In the Presence of Mine Enemies'', set in 2010, a former Reichskommissar for Ostland Affairs called Odilo Globočnik (likely an analogue rather than the historical figure) is briefly installed as Führer in an SS-backed ''coup d'état'' against the reformist Heinz Buckliger; after the coup fails due to popular opposition, Globočnik is lynched.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Globocnik, Odilo 1904 births 1945 deaths 1945 suicides Austrian assassins Austrian mass murderers Austrian Nazi propagandists Austrian people of Croatian descent Austrian people of Serbian descent Austrian people of Slovenian descent Austrian Waffen-SS personnel Austrian war criminals Einsatzgruppen personnel Ethnic Slovene people Gauleiters Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Military personnel from Trieste Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church Nazis who died by suicide in Austria Nazis who died by suicide in prison custody Operation Reinhard People from Austrian Littoral Nazi assassins Nazis convicted of crimes Prisoners and detainees of Austria Prisoners who died in British military detention Recipients of German pardons Sonderabteilung Einsatz R personnel SS and police leaders SS-Gruppenführer Suicides by cyanide poisoning Vienna in World War II