
Erich Steidtmann (November 15, 1914 – July 25, 2010) was a Nazi SS officer believed to have been involved in the liquidation of the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the ...
, the largest single revolt by the Jews during
the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, the bulk of which occurred from April 19 until May 16, 1943, ending when the resistance was crushed by German troops under the direct command of
Jürgen Stroop
Jürgen Stroop (born Josef Stroop, 26 September 1895 – 6 March 1952) was a German SS commander and perpetrator of the Holocaust during the Nazi era, who served as SS and Police Leader in occupied Poland and Greece from 1942-1943 (in Poland) an ...
. Efforts were being undertaken by German prosecutors in the months before his death to prosecute Steidtmann for his involvement in war crimes.
Early life
Steidtmann was born on November 15, 1914, in
Weißenfels
Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle.
His ...
and joined the
SS on June 1, 1933. In 1942, as commander of a police unit, the Third Battalion of Police Regiment 22, Steidtmann guarded trains used for the deportation of
Polish Jews
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
from the
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...
to the
Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Mas ...
. His unit remained in the ghetto through 1943, where it would have been involved in the liquidation of the Ghetto under Gen. Jürgen Stroop in which 55,000 people were killed or sent to the death camps. Though Steidtmann had denied that he was involved in the events in the Warsaw Ghetto, witnesses placed him there. He was later assigned to Police Battalion 101, which was involved in the November 1943 "
Harvest Festival
A harvest festival is an annual Festival, celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different ...
" in which Jews in camps near
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
were systematically shot and killed. Steidtmann also claimed not to have been in the area during the killings in Lublin, saying he had been on leave, but letters he had written at the time provided evidence that he was present.
[Hevesi, Dennis]
"Erich Steidtmann, Ex-Nazi Officer in Inquiry, Dies at 95"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', July 31, 2010. Accessed August 1, 2010.
Steidtmann was captured by British forces after the conclusion of the war, but was not tried. He became a police officer in
Essen
Essen () 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 Dortmund, as well as ...
, but was dismissed for misconduct in 1956. He then became a driving instructor in
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. Steidtmann had been questioned on a number of occasions during the 1960s, but had never been charged with any crimes.
[
]
Later life
In 2007, an autobiography written by a German woman stated that she had had an affair with Steidtmann during the war, and Steidtmann filed a libel suit against the author, Lisl Urban, arguing that his "honor had been besmirched". In mounting its defense, the book's publishers Joachim Jahns contacted the Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...
's staff in Germany, which found evidence that Steidtmann had earlier admitted to being involved in the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In April 2007, the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung
The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...
'' printed a letter that included a military code that showed he had been in Lublin during the massacres there. German prosecutors initiated efforts to confirm his presence in Lublin during the period in question.[
While the investigation was in progress, Steidtmann died of a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
at age 95, on July 25, 2010. Dr. Efraim Zuroff
Efraim Zuroff (; born August 5, 1948) is an American-born Israeli historian and Nazi hunter who has played a key role in bringing Nazi and fascist war criminals to trial. Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center office in Jerusalem, is th ...
of the Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed his frustration with Steidtmann's death and the general difficulties in bringing suspected Nazi war criminals to justice more than six decades after the end of World War II, saying "I sometimes say that I am the only Jew in the world who prays for the health of Nazi war criminals".[ Zuroff noted that the Center would never have become involved in the investigation if Steidtmann had not brought attention to his case by filing the libel suit and that "had the prosecutors done their job properly in the sixties, he would not have escaped justice".][via ]Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...
"Former Nazi Officer Dies Unprosecuted"
, ''Baltimore Jewish Times
The ''Baltimore Jewish Times'' is a weekly newspaper aimed at the Jewish community of Baltimore.
History
The newspaper was founded in 1919 by David Alter, and at one time it was the largest Jewish publication in the country.Dechter, GadFoxy Mee ...
'', July 28, 2010. Accessed August 1, 2010.
References
Sources
*Joachim Jahns, ''Der Warschauer Ghettokönig'', Leipzig 2009,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steidtmann, Erich
1914 births
2010 deaths
SS-Hauptsturmführer
German police officers
Holocaust perpetrators in Poland
People from Weißenfels
People from the Province of Saxony
Stroop Report
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom
Waffen-SS personnel