Suhren joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and the Sturmabteilung at the same time.[1] He moved over to the SS in October 1931, initially as a volunteer before going full-time in 1934.
SS service
Prisoners of Sachsenhausen, 19 December 1938
Trained by the Wehrmacht under SS supervision he was nevertheless not used as a soldier and instead was stationed at Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1941.[1] By 1942 he was Lagerführer (deputy commandant) at the camp and in May of that year ordered camp LagerältesterHarry Naujoks to hang a prisoner who had been earmarked for execution. Naujoks refused to perform the deed. While Naujoks was able to survive the insubordination, Suhren insisted that he stand beside the prisoner on the gallows (which had been fitted with a winch in order to prolong the execution) and forced a young inmate to perform the hanging.[2]
Ravensbrück
He was later commandant of the women's camp at Ravensbrück concentration camp.[1] His policy upon taking command in 1942 was to exterminate the prisoners through working them as hard as possible while feeding them the least amount of food he could.[3]
As commandant at Ravensbrück, Suhren had to provide inmates to Dr. Karl Gebhardt for experimentation. Suhren initially objected to this, mainly because most of the inmates at the camp were political prisoners, and he complained to the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt about the practice. However the SS command overruled Suhren's doubts and he was forced to apologise to Gebhardt and supply him with the prisoners he demanded.[4] Suhren later said he witnessed experiments that included exposing women to high levels of X-rays in order to accomplish sterilisation.[5]
Near the end of World War II, Franz Göring (SS member) [de] and Benoit Musy approached Suhren to ask him to allow a convoy of women to leave the camp and go into the custody of the Scandinavian Red Cross. Suhren refused the request as it was against superior orders although eventually Göring got the backing of Rudolf Brandt and Suhren was forced to yield.[6]
Surrender and execution
With the Allies just a few miles from the camp Suhren took Odette Sansom, an inmate at Ravensbruck whom he believed to be Winston Churchill's niece due in part to her using the assumed surname of Churchill in the camp, and drove with her to the United States base, hoping that her presence would save him.[7] Sansom had in fact been instructed to adopt the false name and to encourage the presumption of her relationship to the British Prime Minister as she was a spy in the camp and the British felt that if the Germans thought she was Churchill's relative they would want to keep her alive as a possible bargaining tool. Suhren was arrested and detained by the British.[8]
In 1946, Suhren and another man, Hans Pflaum [fr], escaped prison and fled to Bavaria. As a result, they did not attend the Hamburg Ravensbrück trials in 1947. However, in 1949, the two men were recaptured by U.S. soldiers, who extradited them to the French occupation zone.[9] Suhren and Pflaum were both put on trial by a French military court. The trial and appeal took place from February to May 1950. The jury was composed of representatives from the French, Dutch and Luxembourg governments, presided by the chief justice officer of the French zone[10] Several dozen former prisoners were subpoenaed. Suhren and Pflaum were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and executed on 12 June 1950.[11][12]
^Jerzy Pindera, Lynne Taylor, Liebe Mutti: One Man's Struggle to Survive in KZ Sachsenhausen, 1939-1945, University Press of America, 2004, pp. 71-72
^Jack Gaylord Morrison, Ravensbrück: Everyday Life in a Women's Concentration Camp, 1939-45, Markus Wiener Publishers, 2000, p. 243
^Patricia Heberer, Jürgen Matthäus, Atrocities on Trial: Historical Perspectives on the Politics of Prosecuting War Crimes, U of Nebraska Press, 2008, p. 136
^Vera Renouf, Forfeit to War, Trafford Publishing, 2002, p. 303
^Reinhard R. Doerries, Hitler's Last Chief of Foreign Intelligence: Allied Interrogations of Walter Schellenberg, Routledge, 2003, p. 34
^George Lovell, Consultancy, Ministry & Mission, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000, p. 115
^Juliette Pattinson, Behind Enemy Lines: Gender, Passing and the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, Manchester University Press, 2007, p. 157
^Centre des archives diplomatiques de La Courneuve, 1AJ/6339-6344.
^Centre des archives diplomatiques de La Courneuve, 1AJ/6339-6344.
^Finest Hour Curiosities - Peter Churchill: What’s in a Name? Madelin Terrazas, Finest Hour 160, Autumn 2013
^Bernard A. Cook, Women and War: A Historical Encyclopedia from Antiquity to the Present, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 484
fritz, suhren, june, 1908, june, 1950, german, officer, nazi, concentration, camp, commandant, born, 1908, june, 1908varel, kingdom, saxony, german, empiredied12, june, 1950, 1950, aged, baden, baden, west, germanycause, deathexecution, firing, squadcriminal, . Fritz Suhren 10 June 1908 12 June 1950 was a German SS officer and Nazi concentration camp commandant Fritz SuhrenBorn 1908 06 10 10 June 1908Varel Kingdom of Saxony German EmpireDied12 June 1950 1950 06 12 aged 42 Baden Baden West GermanyCause of deathExecution by firing squadCriminal statusExecutedConviction s War crimesCrimes against humanityCriminal penaltyDeathAllegiance Nazi GermanyService wbr branchSchutzstaffelYears of service1931 1945RankSS Sturmbannfuhrer Major Commands heldRavensbruck concentration camp Contents 1 Early years 2 SS service 3 Ravensbruck 4 Surrender and execution 5 ReferencesEarly years EditSuhren joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and the Sturmabteilung at the same time 1 He moved over to the SS in October 1931 initially as a volunteer before going full time in 1934 SS service Edit Prisoners of Sachsenhausen 19 December 1938 Trained by the Wehrmacht under SS supervision he was nevertheless not used as a soldier and instead was stationed at Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1941 1 By 1942 he was Lagerfuhrer deputy commandant at the camp and in May of that year ordered camp Lageraltester Harry Naujoks to hang a prisoner who had been earmarked for execution Naujoks refused to perform the deed While Naujoks was able to survive the insubordination Suhren insisted that he stand beside the prisoner on the gallows which had been fitted with a winch in order to prolong the execution and forced a young inmate to perform the hanging 2 Ravensbruck EditHe was later commandant of the women s camp at Ravensbruck concentration camp 1 His policy upon taking command in 1942 was to exterminate the prisoners through working them as hard as possible while feeding them the least amount of food he could 3 As commandant at Ravensbruck Suhren had to provide inmates to Dr Karl Gebhardt for experimentation Suhren initially objected to this mainly because most of the inmates at the camp were political prisoners and he complained to the SS Reichssicherheitshauptamt about the practice However the SS command overruled Suhren s doubts and he was forced to apologise to Gebhardt and supply him with the prisoners he demanded 4 Suhren later said he witnessed experiments that included exposing women to high levels of X rays in order to accomplish sterilisation 5 Near the end of World War II Franz Goring SS member de and Benoit Musy approached Suhren to ask him to allow a convoy of women to leave the camp and go into the custody of the Scandinavian Red Cross Suhren refused the request as it was against superior orders although eventually Goring got the backing of Rudolf Brandt and Suhren was forced to yield 6 Surrender and execution EditWith the Allies just a few miles from the camp Suhren took Odette Sansom an inmate at Ravensbruck whom he believed to be Winston Churchill s niece due in part to her using the assumed surname of Churchill in the camp and drove with her to the United States base hoping that her presence would save him 7 Sansom had in fact been instructed to adopt the false name and to encourage the presumption of her relationship to the British Prime Minister as she was a spy in the camp and the British felt that if the Germans thought she was Churchill s relative they would want to keep her alive as a possible bargaining tool Suhren was arrested and detained by the British 8 In 1946 Suhren and another man Hans Pflaum fr escaped prison and fled to Bavaria As a result they did not attend the Hamburg Ravensbruck trials in 1947 However in 1949 the two men were recaptured by U S soldiers who extradited them to the French occupation zone 9 Suhren and Pflaum were both put on trial by a French military court The trial and appeal took place from February to May 1950 The jury was composed of representatives from the French Dutch and Luxembourg governments presided by the chief justice officer of the French zone 10 Several dozen former prisoners were subpoenaed Suhren and Pflaum were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity sentenced to death and executed on 12 June 1950 11 12 References Edit a b c Tom Segev Soldiers of Evil Berkley Books 1991 p 72 Jerzy Pindera Lynne Taylor Liebe Mutti One Man s Struggle to Survive in KZ Sachsenhausen 1939 1945 University Press of America 2004 pp 71 72 Jack Gaylord Morrison Ravensbruck Everyday Life in a Women s Concentration Camp 1939 45 Markus Wiener Publishers 2000 p 243 Patricia Heberer Jurgen Matthaus Atrocities on Trial Historical Perspectives on the Politics of Prosecuting War Crimes U of Nebraska Press 2008 p 136 Vera Renouf Forfeit to War Trafford Publishing 2002 p 303 Reinhard R Doerries Hitler s Last Chief of Foreign Intelligence Allied Interrogations of Walter Schellenberg Routledge 2003 p 34 George Lovell Consultancy Ministry amp Mission Continuum International Publishing Group 2000 p 115 Juliette Pattinson Behind Enemy Lines Gender Passing and the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War Manchester University Press 2007 p 157 Centre des archives diplomatiques de La Courneuve 1AJ 6339 6344 Centre des archives diplomatiques de La Courneuve 1AJ 6339 6344 Finest Hour Curiosities Peter Churchill What s in a Name Madelin Terrazas Finest Hour 160 Autumn 2013 Bernard A Cook Women and War A Historical Encyclopedia from Antiquity to the Present ABC CLIO 2006 p 484 Military officesPreceded bySS Hauptsturmfuhrer Max Koegel Commandant of Ravensbruck concentration campAugust 1942 April 1945 Succeeded bycamp liberated Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fritz Suhren amp oldid 1129298186, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
