Josef Oberhauser (war criminal)
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Josef Oberhauser (born 20 September 1915 in Munich, Germany, died 1979) was the only person to be successfully convicted for war crimes committed at the Belzec extermination camp.
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[edit] Background and career
Josef Oberhauser was born in Munich during World War I. He went on to become an agricultural labourer until he joined the SS in November 1935. Rising through the ranks of the SS, Oberhauser was a member of the "SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" in 1939 and was involved in the Poland campaign. The Polish campaign saw Oberhauser promoted to the rank of SS-Oberscharführer.
[edit] Initial conviction
Josef Oberhauser was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Soviet military tribunal in East Germany for charges relating to euthanasia. He was provided with an amnesty on 28 April 1956. Following his release, Oberhauser served as a casual labourer and waiter in Munich.
[edit] Belzec
Oberhauser had been posted to Belzec from November 1941 until 1 August 1942 as the leader of guard platoon. In 1963 the Belzec trials began and Oberhauser was one of 8 defendants charged with war crimes committed there. On 30 January 1964, all of the defendants bar Oberhauser were acquitted due to the collapse of the prosecution case but re-arrested shortly thereafter. Oberhauser appeared before the court again in January 1965. He was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years and 6 months imprisonment. Oberhauser was released after serving half of his sentence. He died in 1979. Oberhauser was unwillingly filmed for Claude Lanzmann's documentary Shoah, released in 1985.
