Edwin Graf Rothkirch und Trach (1 November 1888 - 29 July 1980) born in Militsch, was a German general during

World War II 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 opposing ...

who commanded

Army Group Centre Rear Area Army Group Centre Rear Area () was one of the three Army Group Rear Area Commands, established during the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union. Initially commanded by General Max von Schenckendorff, it was an area of military jurisdiction beh ...

and later an army corps. As a

show jumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...

, he took part in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Career

Rothkirch und Trach commanded

starting in 1943. Between 18 April and 27 October 1944, he was ''

Wehrmachtbefehlshaber The () was the German chief military position, in countries occupied by the Wehrmacht which were headed by a civilian administration. The main objective was military security in the area, and command the defense in case of attack or invasion. Th ...

Weißruthenien'' (Military commander in Belarus). In November 1944, he was appointed to command the LIII Army Corps. On 6 March 1945 Rothkirch, still commanding officer of LIII Corps, wandered into U.S. lines and was taken prisoner west of Coblenz, Germany. He was interned at Trent Park, an English prison camp in North London for high-ranking German officers.

Knowledge of the Holocaust

While stationed in General Government, Rothkirch und Trach became aware of mass shootings by the SS (Schutzstaffel). In its review of ''Soldaten'' ("Soldiers") by historian

Sönke Neitzel Sönke Neitzel (born 26 June 1968) is a German historian who has written extensively about the Second World War. He is editor of the journal ''German History in the 20th Century'' and has written several books such as ''Soldaten: On Fighting, Ki ...

and social psychologist

Harald Welzer Harald Welzer (born 27 July 1958, Wedemark) is a German social psychologist. He studied sociology, psychology and literature at the University of Hannover. He has been a professor of transformation design at the University of Flensburg since 201 ...

(a book based on secret recordings of German POWs by the Allied intelligence), Der Spiegel reports:

"Many Wehrmacht soldiers became witnesses to the Holocaust because they happened to be present or were invited to take part in a mass shooting. In one cell conversation, army General Edwin Graf von Rothkirch und Trach talks about his time in the General Government town of
Kutno Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County. Dur ...
: ''"I knew an SS leader pretty well, and we talked about this and that, and one day he said: 'Listen, if you ever want to film one of these shootings? …I mean, it doesn't really matter. These people are always shot in the morning. If you're interested, we still have a few left over, and we could also shoot them in the afternoon if you like."'' It takes some sense of routine to be able to make such an offer. The fact that the people involved did not try to keep their activities a secret demonstrates how much the perpetrators took for granted the "mass shootings of Jews," as one of the POWs in Trent Park called it."Jan Fleischhauer (April 08, 2011),
Rape, Murder and Genocide: Nazi War Crimes as Described by German Soldiers
'. Retrieved on Nov 9, 2015

Rothkirch und Trach died in 1980.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothkirch und Trach, Edwin Graf von 1888 births 1980 deaths People from Milicz People from the Province of Silesia Prussian nobility German Army generals of World War II Generals of Cavalry (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Gold German Cross Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany