Harry Haffner
Encyclopedia
Harry Haffner was a German
lawyer and the last Judge-President of the Nazi People's Court.
Haffner was born in Uslar
, Lower Saxony
. He graduated in law in 1926 and worked as a prosecutor. He joined the Nazi Party and SA
on 1st May 1933, he was then Head of Staff at the federal National Socialist German Jurists of NSV
. In 1934, he was appointed a prosecutor in Celle
, in 1936 he was appointed senior prosecutor to the Prosecutor General of Kassel
and in 1938, he was a representative of the General Prosecutor in Hamm
. On 1st January 1944, Haffner became the General Prosecutor of Katowice
in occupied Poland
where the Auschwitz concentration camp
fell within his remit - he visited the camp on 28th June 1944.
On 12 March 1945 following the death of Roland Freisler
in an air raid he succeeded him as the last Judge-President of the Volksgerichtshof People's Court. He held this office until 24 April 1945 when the court finally ceased its activity only two weeks before the German surrender.
From 1946 he lived under the name of Heinrich Hartmann in the town of Sontra
where he ran a shop with his wife. In 1953 he turned himself in to the authorities in Kassel
and the prosecutor made his past public, but the investigations against him were dismissed. He died in Hornberg
aged 69.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
lawyer and the last Judge-President of the Nazi People's Court.
Haffner was born in Uslar
Uslar
Uslar is a town and a municipality in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, in the south-western part of the district of Northeim, and in the south of the hills of Solling forest which are part of the Weser Uplands.Uslar is located on the German Framework Road....
, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. He graduated in law in 1926 and worked as a prosecutor. He joined the Nazi Party and SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
on 1st May 1933, he was then Head of Staff at the federal National Socialist German Jurists of NSV
National Socialist People's Welfare
The Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt , meaning "National Socialist People's Welfare" was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was established in 1933, shortly after the NSDAP took power in Germany...
. In 1934, he was appointed a prosecutor in Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
, in 1936 he was appointed senior prosecutor to the Prosecutor General of Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
and in 1938, he was a representative of the General Prosecutor in Hamm
Hamm
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
. On 1st January 1944, Haffner became the General Prosecutor of Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
in occupied Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
where the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
fell within his remit - he visited the camp on 28th June 1944.
On 12 March 1945 following the death of Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
in an air raid he succeeded him as the last Judge-President of the Volksgerichtshof People's Court. He held this office until 24 April 1945 when the court finally ceased its activity only two weeks before the German surrender.
From 1946 he lived under the name of Heinrich Hartmann in the town of Sontra
Sontra
Sontra is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.The air spa of Sontra is known as Berg- und Hänselstadt, with Bergstadt referring to the time when there was bituminous shale mining in town, and Hänselstadt to the town’s former membership in the Hanse...
where he ran a shop with his wife. In 1953 he turned himself in to the authorities in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
and the prosecutor made his past public, but the investigations against him were dismissed. He died in Hornberg
Hornberg
Hornberg is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, 35 km southeast of Offenburg, and 25 km northwest of Villingen-Schwenningen.-External links:...
aged 69.