Heinz Barth (15 October 1920 – 6 August 2007) was a mid-ranking member in 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 ...

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

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a convicted

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

who was responsible for the

Oradour-sur-Glane massacre On 10 June 1944, four days after Normandy landings, D-Day, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi-occupied France was destroyed when 642 civilians, inclu ...

of 1944. Barth was the only SS officer involved in the Oradour massacre to have been judged. He was found guilty by an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

court in 1983. Awarded a "war victim" pension in 1991 (which later became a wide-ranging controversy and led to changes in German law regarding war or disability pensions for World War II war criminals) by the reunified German government, he was released in 1997 and died in 2007.L'"assassin d'Oradour-sur-Glane" est mort à l'âge de 86 ans
''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' (with AFP), 14 August 2007

Military and SS career

In 1938, he joined the

National Socialist Motor Corps The National Socialist Motor Corps (, NSKK) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that officially existed from May 1931 to 1945. The group was a successor organisation to the older National Socialist Automobile Corps (, NS ...

, taking motorised para-military training. 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 ...

on 9 November 1939, on the anniversary of the

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and other leaders i ...

with Party #7,844,901. Barth enlisted in the military police, where he was made an officer. The 1983 East German court found that Barth participated, as a member of security police battalion, in execution of 92 Czech civilians during martial law in summer of 1942 in

Klatovy Klatovy (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Administr ...

and

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

. He was also one of those who, in June 1942, took part in the killing of adult men and women in Ležáky, according to the historian Eduard Stehlík from the Military History Institute in Prague. Barth joined the SS on 10 February 1943 (n°458037) with the rank of ''

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of '' Sturmführer'', which had existed since the founding of the SA in 192 ...

'' (Second Lieutenant) and was assigned to the SS-Kraft Pioneers detachment. On 15 January 1943, he was moved to the 10th SS Panzer Division ''Frundsberg'', later to the 3rd SS Division ''Totenkopf'', and then, in October 1943, to the Eastern Front in the 2nd SS Division ''Das Reich''.Michael Williams, ''In a Ruined State''
Chapter III
He led a section in the 3rd company, 1st battalion of the 4th ''

Panzergrenadier (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning ''Armoured fighting vehicle, "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is the German language, German term for the military doctrine of mechanized infantry units in armoured fo ...

'' regiment ''Der Führer'' of the division. In 1944, he became part of Adolf Diekmann's brigade, being under the direct command of Otto Erich Kahn. He then took part in the June 1944

by leading the group which led the men of the village into a barn and commanding the fire. During his 1983 trial, he testified to having personally shot roughly twelve to fifteen times into the crowd. He also confirmed that the massacre of 642 civilians (the whole village, including more than 200 children) had no military objective.

Trial and conviction

After the end of the war, Barth returned to his hometown in

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

in the then

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. According to the AFP, he returned under a false name. He was tried in France ''in absentia'' on 12 February 1953, and sentenced to death for

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s. Identified and arrested on 14 June 1981 in

Gransee Gransee () is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 20 km south of Fürstenberg/Havel, and 55 km northwest of Berlin. An important monument in the centre of town is the cast-iron and stone Memorial to ...

, following an extensive investigation by the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

, Barth was tried in 1983 in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

for war crimes. The prosecutor, Horst Busse, said he did not seek a death sentence since Barth had fully cooperated throughout the investigation. Busse instead requested a life sentence for Barth, calling him "a relentless officer and a cold-blooded, merciless executor of fascist violence." Barth was the only SS officer to have been judged for the massacre. He claimed he was only following orders, and said he would've been court-martialed had he not obeyed. The defense was rejected by Busse. While on the witness stand, Barth started sobbing and expressed shame over the massacre.

"I am ashamed that as a young man I took part in these operations in occupied countries and I hope such things can never happen again. The statesmen living today must take care that such a thing never happens again."

Other Nazi officers involved had taken refuge in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

(such as General Lammerding, commander of the ''Das Reich'' divisionL'Allemagne verse une pension à un tueur d'Oradour
''

L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...

'', 13 May 1995 ) and had not been judged. Lammerding took up residence in Bad Tölz. Barth was released in 1997 reportedly in consideration of his age and health and for having "expressed remorse". At the time of his release, Barth said he felt guilty, but that he had "paid long enough."Mort d'Heinz Barth, "l'assassin d'Oradour-sur-Glane"
''

L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...

'', 14 August 2007

Controversy

Controversy arose because of the 800 mark pension Barth had been receiving as a wounded veteran for his lost leg since 1991, following

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

. In 2000, a tribunal in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

canceled the pension with the argument that a war criminal should not be granted a pension. In 2001, the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

enacted a law stripping war criminals from obtaining disability compensation. Barth's death was announced on 14 August 2007 by a priest in Gransee. However, the priest would only say that he died within the last few days of cancer, and did not disclose the place or exact date of his death.Heinz Barth, former SS officer, dies
''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

'' (with

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

), 14 August 2007

Nazi hunter A Nazi hunter is an individual who tracks down and gathers information on alleged former Nazis, or SS members, and Nazi collaborators who were involved in the Holocaust, typically for use at trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against hum ...

Serge Klarsfeld Serge Klarsfeld (born 17 September 1935) is a Romanian-born French activist and Nazi hunter known for documenting the Holocaust in order to establish the record and to enable the prosecution of war criminals. Since the 1960s, he has made notable ...

commented that "the man responsible of this horrible crime n Oradour-sur-Glane the one who had authorised its execution, General Heinz Lammerding, who lived in the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

, died unpunished.French: ''"le principal responsable de ce crime affreux ommis à Oradour celui qui avait autorisé son exécution, le général Heinz Lammerding, qui vivait en République fédérale d'Allemagne, oitmort impuni"'', quoted i
L'"assassin d'Oradour-sur-Glane" est mort à l'âge de 86 ans
''

'' (with AFP), 14 August 2007

References

External links

Nazi war criminal dies in Germany

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

obituary, 14 August 2007 *
Kriegsverbrecher Barth gestorben
''

Der Tagesspiegel (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington, D.C., and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, since reunificati ...

''
Ex-SS Officer Confesses To Massacre in France
''

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 ...

'' *
"Ich habe befohlen: 'Feuern!'"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barth, Heinz 1920 births 2007 deaths Deaths from cancer in Germany German amputees German mass murderers German people convicted of crimes against humanity German prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Military history of France during World War II National Socialist Motor Corps members Nazis convicted of war crimes Oradour-sur-Glane massacre People from Gransee Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg Nazis sentenced to death in absentia by France Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by East Germany SS-Obersturmführer Waffen-SS personnel