Friedrich Panzinger (1 February 1903 – 8 August 1959) was a German SS officer during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. He served as the head of 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 ...

(RSHA) Amt IV A, from September 1943 to May 1944 and the commanding officer of three sub-group ''

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 ...

'' of ''

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 ...

'' A (mobile killing squads) 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 ...

. From 15 August 1944 forward, he was chief of RSHA Amt V, the ''

Kriminalpolizei ''Kriminalpolizei'' (, "criminal police") is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria, and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany, the Kripo was the criminal polic ...

'' (Kripo; Criminal Police). After the war, Panzinger was arrested in 1946 and imprisoned by the Soviet Union for being a war criminal. Released in 1955, he was a member of the ''

Bundesnachrichtendienst The Federal Intelligence Service (, ; BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Federal Chancellery of Germany, Chancellor's Office. The Headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service, BND headquarters is ...

'' (BND; Federal Intelligence Service). In 1959, Panzinger committed suicide in his jail cell after being arrested for war crimes.

Biography

Panzinger attended night school and began studying law. He took part in a recruitment test for the police and was admitted as a police officer in the civil service in the Munich Police Directorate in 1919. As a police officer in Bavaria, Panzinger worked with Franz Josef Huber, and Josef Meisinger, both future ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'' (SS) officials. He finally completed a law degree in 1932. In the summer of 1933 Panzinger joined the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'' (SA). He joined 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 ...

with the number 1,017,341. In April 1937, Panzinger joined the SS with member number 322,118. He was then employed as a ''Kriminalkommissar'' (Chief Inspector) in the state police headquarters in

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 ...

. On 29 June 1940 he began working in the ''

Sicherheitspolizei The often abbreviated as SiPo, is a German term meaning "security police". In the Nazi Germany, Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agency, security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of ...

'' (SiPo; Security Police) in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. In August 1940 he assumed the position of Secretary of Section IV A (Enemies) of the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, where his sub-office focused on

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

, Marxism and enemy propaganda within Nazi Germany until 4 September 1943. Panzinger's office consisted of the following subdivisions: *IV A 1 (

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

and subsidiary organizations, war crimes, illegal and enemy propaganda): *IV A 2 (Sabotage defense, counter-sabotage, political-police officer defense, political forgery): *IV A 3 (Reactionaries, opposition, legitimism,

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

, emigration, treacherous affairs and opposition): *IV A 4 (Protection service, assassination attempts, monitoring, special order, investigation squad): From 4 September 1943 to 6 May 1944, Panzinger succeeded Humbert Achamer-Pifrader as the commander of ''

'' A (a mobile killing squad), composed of three sub-group ''

'' that oversaw the security police matters in the area of

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 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

Belorussia 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 ...

. Panzinger's unit carried out the murder of potential opponents and those deemed "racially inferior". During this time, Panzinger was also the '' Befehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD'' (Commander of the Security Police and SD) in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. Panzinger was assigned to the headquarters of the SD and Gestapo in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. A reorganization of Amt IV of the

(RSHA) in March 1944 led to a breakdown of territory divisions between Panzinger and Achamer-Pifrader. While Panzinger took over leadership of sub-office IV A, he also served under Achamer-Pifrader in sub-office IV B. Panzinger's group now stood as follows: * IV A 1 (Opposition): Panzinger * IV A 2 (Sabotage): Horst Kopkow * IV A 3 (

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

): SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Walter Huppenkothen * IV A 4 (Ideological opponents): SS-''Obersturmbannführer''

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

* IV A 5 (Special cases): SS-''Standartenführer'' and government director Rudolf Mildner * IV A 6 (Index, files, protective custody): SS-''Sturmbannführer'', government and police superintendent Dr. Emil Berndorff In July 1944, after the

20 July plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...

to kill Hitler, Panzinger was appointed Chief of the Headquarters of the Gestapo, reporting directly to SS-''

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire d ...

'' Heinrich Müller. Shortly thereafter, Panzinger was appointed Chief of RSHA Amt V, the ''

'' (Kripo; Criminal Police), also known as the '' Reichskriminalpolizeiamt'' (RKPA). He held that position until the end of the war. He succeeded Arthur Nebe, who was denounced and executed subsequent to the failed July assassination attempt on Hitler. He collaborated directly with RSHA 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 ...

. Panzinger was responsible for the murder of

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

French general Gustave Marie Maurice Mesny on 19 January 1945 near the village of

Nossen Nossen (; , ) is a town in the Meißen (district), district of Meissen, in Saxony, Germany. It is located 80 km southeast of Leipzig. The town is dominated by a large Renaissance castle. Nossen is best known for its proximity to a motorway j ...

Post-war arrest and suicide

After the war, Panzinger was arrested in 1946 and imprisoned by the Soviet Union for being a war criminal. In Moscow on 22 March 1952 he was twice sentenced to 25 years of forced labor. As a so-called ''Nichtamnestierter'' ("non-amnestied"), he was released in September 1955 and repatriated to then West Germany. He worked for a time on the staff of the ''

'' (Federal Intelligence Service; BND) under Reinhard Gehlen. Later, in 1959, he was employed by a trust company. That same year, after charges were brought against him for the murder of Maurice Mesny, Panzinger committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

by poisoning himself in his cell on 8 August 1959.Sebastian Weitkamp: ''Kopfschuss in der Dämmerung''
SPIEGEL Geschichte, 16 November 2008, retrieved 19 June 2020.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panzinger, Friedrich 1903 births 1959 suicides 1959 deaths Einsatzgruppen personnel Gestapo personnel Holocaust perpetrators in Belarus Holocaust perpetrators in Latvia Lawyers in the Nazi Party Military personnel from Munich Nazis who died by suicide in Germany Nazis who died by suicide in prison custody People of the Federal Intelligence Service Police of Nazi Germany Prisoners who died in German detention Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class SS-Oberführer Sturmabteilung personnel Suicides by poison Suicides in West Germany