Ex-Nazis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about former Nazis; for active groups, see: Neo-Nazism.
The title of ex-Nazi refers either to those few who were once Nazis and resigned from the party, or more often to those who belonged to the party at the time when the Nazi party was declared illegal and was disbanded upon the victory of the Allies. Many of the latter group had to go through a process of denazification and some were subjected to the Nuremberg process, while others managed to escape trial, in particular through the ODESSA organization.
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[edit] Prominent ex-NSDAP Members
It must be remembered that under the cult of personality of Nazi Germany, many people joined the Nazi party in order to maintain a certain level of social standing. Thus many influential people became members of the NSDAP, even many who did not believe in Nazi ideals. Having said that, there were a number of politically, culturally, and economically influential post-war personalities who were active Nazis during the Third Reich. The following is a list of influential people who were NSDAP members. Needless to say, the level of some individuals’ party participation is still a matter a controversy.
[edit] West Germany
- Martin Fellenz, former member of the SS, member of the FDP liberal party after the war, arrested in June 1960.
- Friedrich Flick, industrial leader and billionaire.
- Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer and author; member of the SS during the war.
- Martin Heidegger, philosopher.
- Herbert von Karajan, conductor, joined the NSDAP in 1933 in Salzburg, Austria, five years before the Anschluss.
- Kurt Georg Kiesinger, NSDAP later CDU and Chancellor of Germany.
- Alfred Krupp, NSDAP and SS sponsorship, industrialist involved in weapons; steel; and slave labor-sentenced to 12 years and loss of all his property; pardoned by North American High Commissioner John J. McCloy in 1953 and all of Krupp's property restored to him.
- Theodor Maunz, specialist of public law, then minister of Education and Culture in Bavaria.
- Theodor Oberländer, NSDAP member, later became Refugee Minister under Konrad Adenauer.
- Franz Schönhuber, Waffen-SS, later chairman of the right-wing Die Republikaner party.
- Hanns-Martin Schleyer, member of the SS, later employer representative, kidnapped and murdered by Red Army Faction.
- Albert Speer, architect, sentenced to 20 years in prison at Nuremberg, became a noted author on Third Reich history.
- Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, NSDAP member, soprano singer.
- Fritz Thyssen, NSDAP member since 1931, steel industrialist.
[edit] United States of America
- Wernher von Braun, SS Major; NSDAP membership; NSFK; Rocket scientist of both the Nazi rocket Vergeltungswaffen or "revenge weapons" program and later NASA.
- Arthur Rudolph, NSDAP membership; same entry as Wernher Von Braun above-except for SS rank and NSFK membership.
[edit] Members Who Resigned
- Hermann Rauschning, conservative and reactionary who resigned from the NSDAP and fled Germany and became a bitter opponent of Nazism.
- Otto Strasser, politician and left-wing NSDAP member who rejected some of Adolf Hitler's ideas and more moderate economical tendencies. He subsequently attempted to form his own faction within the Nazi Party and ended up living in exile during Hitler's regime.
[edit] Living Nazis
This is a list of NSDAP members that are still alive and presumed/considered war criminals. Due to the fact that there have been many Nazis living as fugitives since that time, the fate of many remain unknown, see below:
[edit] Known to be alive
- Herta Bothe, Aufseherin who served at both Stutthof and Bergen Belsen during the war.
- Luise Danz, Aufseherin at various camps, including Płaszów, Majdanek, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Malchow. Was brought to trial in 1996 but was dismissed due to her age.
- Erich Priebke, Hauptsturmführer of the SS he participated in the Ardeatine massacre in Rome, on March 24, 1944 where he had a hand in the deaths of 335 Italian civilians.
- Søren Kam, Member of the DNASP the Danish Nazi Party, not NSDAP, who fled from Denmark to Germany after the war, and is now a German citizen. On September 21, 2006, Kam was detained in the German town of Kempten. He is wanted in Denmark for the assassination of Danish newspaper editor Carl Henrik Clemmensen in Copenhagen in August 1943.
[edit] Believed to be alive
These people have not been confirmed to be alive, but believed by some to be.
- Alois Brunner - Believed by some to live in Brazil or Syria under alias Dr. Georg Fischer. Responsible for the deaths of 14,000 Jews.
- Lorenz Hackenholt.
- Aribert Heim a.k.a. 'Dr. Death' - Believed to live in Spain until October 2005, at which time he possibly relocated to Denmark. As of May 2006, he was believed to be in Chile.
- Heinrich Müller - Believed to have died in Fuhrerbunker, but subject to many conspiracy theories about his possible survival.
[edit] External links
- http://www.kriegsreisende.de/relikte/org-gehlen.htm (german)
- http://www.wsws.org/de/2001/apr2001/wehr-a21.shtml (german)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Blowback: America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War, Christopher Simpson
- The Encyclopedia of World War II Spies, Peter Kross, Barricade Books, 2001.
- "CIA's Worst-Kept Secret" Consortiumnews.com, May 16, 2001.
- Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage, Norman Polmar & Thomas Allen, Random House, 1997.
- Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency, W. Thomas Smith, Facts on File, Inc., 2003
