Heinz Lammerding | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 August 1905 |
| Died | 13 January 1971 (aged 65) |
| Known for | Tulle murders Oradour-sur-Glane massacre |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Conviction(s) | War crimes |
| Criminal penalty | Death (in absentia) |
| SS career | |
| Allegiance | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | 
Waffen-SS |
| Years of service | 1933–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Gruppenführer |
| Commands held | SS Division Das Reich |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Heinz Lammerding (27 August 1905 – 13 January 1971) was a German SS officer convicted of war crimes during the Nazi era. During World War II, he commanded the SS Panzer Division Das Reich that perpetrated the Tulle and the Oradour-sur-Glane massacres in occupied France. After the war, Lammerding was convicted in absentia for having ordered the murder of approximately 750 French civilians, but remained protected by Germany after serving a prison sentence there.
War-crimes trial
In 1953, Lammerding was tried in France for war crimes, for ordering two massacres in 1944: at Tulle and at Oradour-sur-Glane. He was sentenced to death in absentia by the court of Bordeaux, but he was never extradited from West Germany[1] nor was he ever sentenced by a German court. According to Danny S. Parker, Lammerding had already been tried in West Germany, convicted of war crimes and had served a prison sentence. He, therefore, was not subject to extradition under the Bonn constitution, much to the consternation of the French. They threatened to send in a commando unit to seize him, as the Israelis did in the case of Adolf Eichmann. However, before this could occur, Lammerding died in 1971 from cancer.[2]
Funeral
His funeral in 1971 turned into a reunion of over 200 former SS personnel.[3]
Awards
- German Cross in Gold on 24 April 1943 as SS-Standartenführer and commander of SS-Regiment "Thule"[4]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 April 1944 as SS-Oberführer and commander of Kampfgruppe "Das Reich"[5]
References
Citations
- ↑ Le maire d'Oradour-sur-Glane : « Il était dénué de toute humanité », Le Parisien, 14 August 2007 (in French)
- ↑ Parker 2014, p. 386.
- ↑ "Oradour: Ort des Schmerzes, 09.06.2014 (Friedensratschlag)". www.ag-friedensforschung.de. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 266.
- ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 490.
Bibliography
- Parker, Danny S. (2014). Hitler's Warrior: The Life and Wars of SS Colonel Jochen Peiper. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306821547.
- Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.