Erich Ehrlinger (14 October 1910 – 31 July 2004) was a member of 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 ...

(number: 541,195) and SS (number: 107,493). As commander of Special Detachment (''Sonderkommando'', also known as ''

Einsatzkommando During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intellect ...

'' or EK) 1b, he was responsible for mass murder in the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. He was also the commander of the

Security Police Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutio ...

(SiPo) and the Security Service (SD) for central

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

as well as a department chief in the

Reich Security Main Office The Reich Security Main Office ( , RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and , the head of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The organization's stat ...

(''Reichssicherheitshauptamt'' or RSHA). He eventually rose to the rank of SS-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically an NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geograph ...

''.

Youth and education

Ehrlinger was the son of the mayor of Giengen an der Brenz, a small town in southwestern Germany, in what is now the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

. In 1928 he completed high school (''

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 ...

'') in Heidenheim, then studied law in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. There in 1931 he joined the SA and continued at Tübingen. The nationalist and

xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

atmosphere at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

(already by 1931 there were no longer any Jewish professors there) fit in well with his later legal career in the SD, the RSHA, and the ''

Einsatzgruppen (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imp ...

''. Ehrlinger was not only active at the university. According to his SA certificate of good conduct, "Ehrlinger was one of the few Tübingen-connected students, who even before the seizure of power put himself regularly where he was needed with the propaganda or other service."

Nazi career

After he completed an SA leadership training course in 1934, Ehrlinger gave up his legal career and became a full-time SA functionary. He was the leader of an SA sport school at Rieneck Castle and then a "Training Chief" ("Chef AW" for ''SA-Ausbildungswesen''). In May 1935, Ehrlinger was accepted into the SD. By September 1935, he had been assigned to the main office of the Berlin SD. Ehrlinger was with the SD in 1938 during the Nazi takeover in

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 in April 1939 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Crimes during World War II

Ehrlinger was with the headquarters staff of '' Einsatzgruppe IV'' during the

German 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 ...

in September 1939. In August 1940 he went to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

for the buildup of 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 ...

forces there under his later chief, Franz Walter Stahlecker. In April 1941, he took over leadership of Special Commando (''Sonderkommando'') 1b, which was part of ''

Einsatzgruppe A (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the impl ...

'', of which Stahlecker was overall commander. After the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June 1941, Ehrlinger's unit, 70 to 80 men strong, followed behind

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

in the Baltic states and the area south of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Ehrlinger led the mass murder of Jews behind the front, in particular in the ghettos of Kovno, Dünaburg and Rositten. For example, on 16 July 1941, the SD entered Dünaburg. Ehrlinger reported that " of now the EK 1b has killed 1,150 Jews in Dünaburg." Ehrlinger himself oversaw these shootings, euphemistically called "actions", as a "hardened SS perpetrator who stood at the shoot pit and led the killers in the shooting." In December 1941, after the completion of the work of ''Einsatzkommando 1b'', Ehrlinger was promoted to commandant of the Security Police and SD (''Kommandeur der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD'' or KdS) for central Russia and Belarus, where under his orders many executions were carried out. In September 1943 Ehrlinger was promoted to SS-''

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

'' (colonel) and went to

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

where he succeeded Curt von Gottberg 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 ...

for '' Generalbezirk Weißruthenien''. He became the liaison man of SD chief

Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was an Austrian high-ranking SS official during the Nazi era, major perpetrator of the Holocaust and convicted war criminal. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a ...

to the commanding generals of the security troops of

Army Group Center Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

, as well as taking over the offices of '' Einsatzgruppe B'' chief and Commander of the Security Police and the SD ('' Befehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD'' or BdS) for central Russia and Belarus. There he was involved with the murder of the remaining Jews of Minsk. In 1944, Ehrlinger returned to Berlin. On 1 April 1944, he became chief of Department I (Personnel) in the

(''Reichssicherheitshauptamt'' or RSHA), replacing Bruno Streckenbach. In November 1944 Ehrlinger also became a special delegate from Ernst Kaltenbrunner to SS chief

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 ...

Post-war

At the end of the war, Ehrlinger disguised himself as a Wehrmacht NCO and gave himself up to the British forces under a false name. After a few weeks as a POW, Ehrlinger was released and made his way to the

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

area. He made contact with his family, but did not provide his whereabouts. In 1947, his wife discovered him under an assumed identity living with another woman with whom he was about to have a baby. They reached an agreement that Ehrlinger would continue to support the family, which he did until 1952. By then Ehrlinger was using his real identity and making a comfortable living. Ehrlinger decided to reduce the alimony payments, making his wife concerned that he was about to emigrate and prompting her to denounce him to the police. Thus alerted, the authorities still took 6 years to arrest him. Ehrlinger was finally arrested in December 1958. Ehrlinger was convicted in a 1961 trial in connection with 1,045 cases of murder and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.Bryant (2014), p. 28 The case was appealed and eventually returned to the public prosecutor's office. His sentence was officially remitted in 1969, four years after he was released from prison.

References

Sources

* Bryant, Michael. ''Eyewitness to Genocide: The Operation Reinhard Death Camp Trials, 1955-1966'', Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2014 * Ezergails, Andrew, ''The Holocaust in Latvia 1941-1944: The Missing Center'', * * Stadlbauer, Peter, ''Eichmanns Chef: Erich Ehrlinger. Exzellente SS-Karriere und unterbliebene strafrechtliche Sühne.'' Eine Fallstudie, unveröffentl. Magisterarbeit, Wien 2005 * Wildt, Michael, ''Generation der Unbedingten – Das Führungskorps des Reichssicherheitshauptamtes.'' Hamburger Edition, Hamburg 2003, * Wildt, Michael, ''Erich Ehrlinger - Ein Vertreter „kämpfender Verwaltung“.'' In: Klaus-Michael Mallmann, Gerhard Paul: ''Karrieren der Gewalt. Nationalsozialistische Täterbiographien.'' Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2004, .

External links

*
Biography and photograph of Ehrlinger
*
Vorlesung von Prof. Michael Wildt über die Tübinger Exekutoren der Endlösung (Ehrlinger u.a.) ''Videoaufzeichnung''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrlinger, Erich 1910 births 2004 deaths Einsatzgruppen personnel People of Generalbezirk Weißruthenien Holocaust perpetrators in Belarus Holocaust perpetrators in Estonia Holocaust perpetrators in Latvia Holocaust perpetrators in Lithuania Holocaust perpetrators in Russia Kovno Ghetto People from Heidenheim (district) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Reich Security Main Office personnel SS and police leaders SS-Oberführer Nazis convicted of war crimes Prisoners and detainees of Germany