Willy Paul Franz Lages (5 October 1901 – 2 April 1971) was the German chief of the

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

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

during 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 ...

. From March 1941 he led the so-called ''Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung'' (Central Bureau for the Jewish Emigration). As such, he was complicit in the mass deportations of 70,000

Dutch Jews The history of the Jews in the Netherlands began largely in the 16th century when they began to settle in Amsterdam and other cities. It has continued to the present. During the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the ...

to the

concentration camps 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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and occupied

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Lages also directly ordered multiple executions, including that of

Hannie Schaft Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft (16 September 1920 – 17 April 1945) was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II. She became known as "the girl with the red hair" ( nl, text=het meisje met het rode haar, german: text=das Mädchen mit d ...

. After the war, a court in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

found Lages guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to death in 1949. His sentence was confirmed in 1950. However, Lages was never executed since

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. S ...

, who had become increasingly reluctant to authorize death sentences, refused to sign his death warrant. This was opposed by the Dutch Cabinet, and there were large public protests against the possibility of amnesty for Lages. However, in 1952, Lages's sentence was commuted to life in prison. Langes was imprisoned in

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

, along with Joseph Kotalla,

Ferdinand aus der Fünten Ferdinand Hugo aus der Fünten (17 December 1909 – 19 April 1989), widely known as Fünten, was an '' SS-Hauptsturmführer'' and head of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Amsterdam during the Second World War. He was responsible for ...

and (the group). In 1966, he was released from prison for humanitarian reasons on the grounds of his failing health. The decision taken by the minister of justice Ivo Samkalden provoked a public outcry. Lages received medical treatment in

after which he lived for another five years in

Braunlage Braunlage () is a town and health resort in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony in Germany. Situated within the Harz mountain range, south of the Brocken massif, Braunlage's main business is tourism, particularly skiing. Nearby ski resorts inclu ...

(Harz).

References

*
David Barnouw and Gerrold van der Stroom, "Who betrayed Anne Frank?", Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lages, Willy 1901 births 1971 deaths SS-Sturmbannführer 20th-century controversies Holocaust perpetrators in the Netherlands Gestapo personnel Prisoners sentenced to death by the Netherlands Nazis convicted of war crimes