Josef Schwammberger

Josef Franz Leo Schwammberger (February 14, 1912 in Brixen, in what was the Austro-Hungarian county of Tyrol – December 3, 2004 in Hohenasperg prison hospital in Ludwigsburg) was a member of the SS (Schutzstaffel, military protection unit) during the Nazi era.

During the Second World War, Schwammberger was a commander of various SS Arbeitslager (forced-labor camps) in the Kraków district (late August 1942 until spring 1944). From 1948 until 1987, Schwammberger lived in hiding in Argentina. Finally, in 1987 he was extradited to Germany; his capture cost the German state of Baden-Württemberg just under 500,000 Deutschmark.

At his trial, which lasted nearly a year, (1991 until 1992) Schwammberger denied being guilty of the crimes of which he was charged; he simply admitted that "Ghetto A" was taken to the Przemyśl camp. On May 18, 1992, he was condemned by the Stuttgart regional court (Landgericht) to life imprisonment, which he was to serve in Mannheim. He was found guilty of seven counts of murder and 32 counts of accessory to murder.

The court ruled that on Sept. 21, 1942, which was Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, Mr. Schwammberger sought out and killed a Jewish rabbi in Rozwadów, a crime that Judge Luippold called one of his "most despicable and reprehensible." In addition, the judge found that Mr. Schwammberger was an organizer of a mass execution in the Przemyśl camp on Sept. 2, 1943, in which at least 500 Jewish prisoners were shot by Gestapo soldiers.

In August 2002, the Mannheim regional court declined a parole request due to the unusual cruelty of his offenses; he had been found guilty of carrying out arbitrary murders based on Ethnic hatred racial hatred against Jewish people.

His wife Käthe Schwammberger died in 2003 at the age of 87 in Argentina. Josef Schwammberger himself died in prison on December 3, 2004, aged 92.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center was instrumental in bringing him to justice. Also contributing to the case against Schwammberger, including his extradition from Argentina, was Elliot Welles.

References

Other sources

• "Joseph Schwammberger, 92, Nazi Labor Camp Commander, Dies". The Associated Press. published in The New York Times. December 4, 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/04/obituaries/04schwammburger.html?scp=1&sq=Josef%20Schwammberger&st=cse. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
• Christian, Shirley (March 25, 1990). "Argentina to Extradite Ex-SS Man". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/25/world/argentina-to-extradite-ex-ss-man.html?scp=3&sq=Josef%20Schwammberger&st=cse. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
• Christian, Shirley (July 10, 1988). "NAZI VICTIMS SEEK ARGENTINE JUSTICE". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/10/world/nazi-victims-seek-argentine-justice.html?scp=4&sq=Josef%20Schwammberger&st=cse. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
• Christian, Shirley (September 3, 1989). "Argentine Court Moves to Extradite Ex-Nazi". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/03/world/argentine-court-moves-to-extradite-ex-nazi.html?scp=7&sq=Josef%20Schwammberger&st=cse. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
• "Joseph NAZI COMMANDANT INDICTED BY BONN". The Associated Press. published in The New York Times. August 21, 1990. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/21/world/nazi-commandant-indicted-by-bonn.html?scp=9&sq=Josef%20Schwammberger&st=cse. Retrieved December 22, 2010.