Eduard Strauch (17 August 1906 – 15 September 1955) was a German Nazi SS functionary, commander of Einsatzkommando 2, commander of two Nazi organizations, the Security Police (German:

Sicherheitspolizei The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...

), or Sipo, and the Security Service (German:

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 ...

, or SD), first in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

– then called White Russia or White Ruthenia – and later in Belgium. In October 1944, he was transferred to the militarised branch of the SS, the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

. Strauch was convicted for

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

in the Einsatzgruppen Trial and sentenced to death. Extradited to Belgium, he was again convicted and sentenced to death. However, Strauch was not executed since he was supposedly mentally ill. He died in a Belgian hospital in 1955.

Life

Born in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Do ...

, Strauch first studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at the universities of Erlangen (now Erlangen-Nuremberg) and

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

, but changed his course of studies and graduated with a degree in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

. On 1 August 1931, he joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

(membership no. 623.392) and SA. On 1 December 1931, he became a member of the Nazi SS organization (membership no. 19.312). As of December 1934 he began working for the SD.

Crimes against humanity

At the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June,1941, Strauch assumed command of a unit of 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 im ...

. Strauch led Einsatzkommando 2, part of Einsatzgruppe A, which from 4 November 1941 was under the command of

Franz Walter Stahlecker Franz Walter Stahlecker (10 October 1900 – 23 March 1942) was commander of the SS security forces (''Sicherheitspolizei'' (SiPo) and the ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD) for the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' in 1941–42. Stahlecker commanded ''Ein ...

. On 30 November 1941, he participated, with 20 men under his command, in the murder of 10,600 Jews of Riga in the Rumbula forest near the city.Einsatzgruppen judgment, at 563-567 As a reward for this "service" he was promoted to commander in Sipo and the SD and transferred to

. In July 1943, the Nazi general commissioner for White Russia reported on having had a conference with the "extremely capable ..chief of the SD, SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. jur. Strauch", who had caused "the liquidation of 55,000 Jews in just the past 10 weeks alone." Strauch had difficulties within the SS. SS-Obergruppenführer

Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski Erich Julius Eberhard von dem Bach-Zelewski (born Erich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski; 1 March 1899 – 8 March 1972) was a high-ranking SS commander of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State" ...

, himself a perpetrator of the genocide, described Strauch as "the worst human I ever met in my life". Strauch's promotion to

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 ...

was denied. On 31 May 1944, he was appointed Sipo and SD commander in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. In October 1944 Strauch was transferred to the SS military branch the

Trial and conviction

Despite an effort to sham mental illness, Strauch was convicted by the Nuremberg Military Tribunal in the Einsatzgruppen Trial for having a key role in the Rumbula and a number of other mass murders in Eastern Europe. On 9 April 1948, Presiding judge Michael Musmanno pronounced the tribunal's sentence on Strauch: Unlike his co-defendants

Otto Ohlendorf Otto Ohlendorf (; 4 February 1907 – 7 June 1951) was a German SS functionary and Holocaust perpetrator during the Nazi era. An economist by education, he was head of the (SD) Inland, responsible for intelligence and security within Germ ...

and Paul Blobel, Strauch did not hang. Instead, he was handed over to authorities in Belgium, where he had committed other crimes, for trial. He was once more convicted and sentenced to death, but this sentence likewise was never carried out since the Belgians were convinced that he was indeed mentally ill. Strauch died in custody on 15 September 1955 in a hospital in

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...

, Belgium.Eduard Strauch, biography and photo at Olokaustos.org

Notes

References

also available at ttp://www.mazal.org/NMT-HOME.htm Mazel library(well indexed HTML version)

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauch, Eduard 1906 births 1955 deaths Military personnel from Essen People from the Rhine Province Nazi Party politicians SS and Police Leaders SS-Obersturmbannführer Einsatzgruppen personnel Sturmabteilung personnel Young German Order members Holocaust perpetrators in Belgium Holocaust perpetrators in Latvia Holocaust perpetrators in Belarus German people convicted of crimes against humanity People convicted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals German prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by the United States military Prisoners sentenced to death by Belgium Nazis who died in prison custody Waffen-SS personnel Lawyers in the Nazi Party Prisoners who died in Belgian detention