Heinz Röthke (19 January 1912 – 14 July 1966) was a German SS-''

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...

'' of

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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 States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and 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 ...

. Röthke was 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 ...

Jewish expert in Paris, and, as such, was in overall charge of the concentration camp in

Occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

as well as of the deportation of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, between 1940 and 1944, 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 ...

Biography

Röthke first studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

then Law, graduating with a

doctorate of law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. During the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, he initially served as a (military administration counselor) in Brest, before becoming deputy of Theodor Dannecker, the principal architect of the Jewish Question, in spring 1942. He took over from Dannecker as chief of the Department for “Jewish Affairs” on 2 July of the same year. Under his supervision, Jewish women, children, and elderly started to be sent to camps in addition to men. Röthke served in this role until August 1944. Serge Klarsfeld ''French Children of the Holocaust''. New York University Press, 1996, p. 1,823 His assistants were Ernst Heinrichsohn and Horst Ahnert. On 6 March, he wrote in a memorandum: In 1945, Röthke was found guilty of

war crimes 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 hos ...

by a French tribunal and sentenced to death ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

''. He escaped to West Germany, where he resumed his career as a lawyer and lived undisturbed in

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

. In October 1961, he received a monthly pension from the

Free State of Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total land area of Germany, and with over 13.08 million ...

. Röthke died a natural death in July 1966 in Wolfsburg.

References

Bibliography

* *

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was conce ...

: ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich''. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007. . * Bernhard Brunner: ''Der Frankreich-Komplex: die nationalsozialistischen Verbrechen in Frankreich und die Justiz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2004, * Israel Gutman (Hrsg.): ''Enzyklopädie des Holocaust - Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden'', Piper Verlag, München/Zürich 1998, 3 Bände, * * * * Ahlrich Meyer: ''Täter im Verhör. Die „Endlösung der Judenfrage“ in Frankreich 1940–1944'', WBG, Darmstadt 2005, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothke, Heinz 1912 births 1966 deaths Lawyers in the Nazi Party Reich Security Main Office personnel SS-Obersturmführer Holocaust perpetrators in France Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Nazis sentenced to death in absentia by France