Otto Wächter
Encyclopedia
The Baron Otto Gustav von Wächter (born July 8, 1901 in Vienna
, died August 14 or September 10, 1949, in Rome
, Italy
), was an Austria
n lawyer and later German SS officer and National Socialist official. He was responsible for the persecution of Jews in Austria, and for mass murders in Poland
and Ukraine
where he worked as the governor of the Cracow and Galicia districts under the General Government
. In spite of having escaped trial in Nuremberg, Wächter's responsibilities for said crimes have since been fairly documented.
, from 1930 a member of the Nazi party NSDAP holding high positions in Vienna. From 1933 he was an SS Sturmführer (Second Lieutenant), from 1935 an SS Hauptsturmführer (Captain), from 1938 an SS Oberführer (Senior Colonel), from 1939 an SS Brigadeführer (Major General), and in 1944-1945 an SS Gruppenführer (Lieutenant General) and Police Lieutenant General.
Wächter worked as an attorney in Vienna from 1932 to 1934. He played a leading role in the July Putsch
of July 25, 1934 in Vienna, which led to the assassination of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss
. After the failed Nazi coup Wächter fled to Germany
, and was deprived of Austria
n citizenship. Hitler allegedly thanked him by sending him to Dachau for a while, but Wächter was still an SS officer in October 1934 and got three successive promotions in 1935.
, from May 24, 1938 to April 30, 1939 Wächter held the post of state commissaire in the "Liquidation ministry" under the Nazi governor of Austria Seyss-Inquart
. The "Wächter-Kommission", the government body he headed and which was named after him, was responsible for the dismissal and/or compulsory retirement of all Jewish officials in Austria.
, where in December 1940 he issued a decree organizing the persecution and expulsion of the city's 68,000 Jews. On 3 March 1941 Wächter issued another decree ordering the remaining 15,000 Jews to move into the newly created Ghetto ("Jewish Residence Zone"). According to Holocaust researcher Robin O'Neil
, in 1941 Otto Wächter was among the leading advocates in the General Government
who were in favor of "total Jewish extermination" by gassing. O'Neil adds that «At a meeting in Cracow [with Governor-General Hans Frank
] on October 20, [1941] Wächter commented that "an ultimately radical solution to the 'Jewish Question' is unavoidable".».
. Over half million Jews were living in the district's area when the Germans invaded Ukraine. The mass murder of Jews began under the military occupation, which lasted until 1 August 1941, when the civil administration took over. From that date on 32 ghettos were established in the Galicia district. On August 17, 1942 the planning for the fate of the Jews in the Lvov region of Galicia was being discussed at a conference chaired by Himmler at his own residence, which was attended by Otto Wächter and three other SS officers, namely his fellow Austrian Odilo Globocnik
(the chief of Operation Reinhard
), Fritz Katzmann
, and Losacker. In The Murderers Among Us Simon Wiesenthal
wrote that he saw the Galicia governor, SS Brigadeführer Dr. Otto Gustav Wächter in person in the Lvov Ghetto
(established in August-September 1942), when four thousand elderly Jews were rounded up, including his mother, to be sent to death camps. By the end of 1943 virtually the whole Jewish population had been killed or sent to the Belzec
death camp. According to Mark Aarons
and John Loftus
Wächter's activity in Galicia was such that Wiesenthal rated the governor amongst his most hated of all Nazi escapees.
Wächter was also the proponent for the creation of a Ukrainian unit of volunteers in the German armed forces, whose formation was approved by Himmler after the Stalingrad defeat
. Wächter made the proposal to Himmler on March 1, 1943 and on April 28 the SS Division 'Galicia' was publicly inaugurated. Nearly 100,000 men from western Ukraine volunteered, with 30,000 being accepted. It was a Waffen-SS
unit commanded by German officers. Himmler didn't allow the unit to use the name "Ukrainian", as Wächter had suggested, arguing that the use of the word "Galician" was psychologically and politically unwise.
) to Italy, and stayed there until 1945.
, rector of the Teutonic College of Santa Maria dell'Anima. He lived "as a monk in a Roman monastery", under the false name of Otto Reinhardt, until his death in 1949, thus escaping the Nuremberg Trial, where some of his already documented criminal practices were referred to in his absence. He died in a Roman hospital "in the arms" of Bishop Hudal.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, died August 14 or September 10, 1949, in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), was an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n lawyer and later German SS officer and National Socialist official. He was responsible for the persecution of Jews in Austria, and for mass murders in 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...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
where he worked as the governor of the Cracow and Galicia districts under the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
. In spite of having escaped trial in Nuremberg, Wächter's responsibilities for said crimes have since been fairly documented.
Early member of Nazi party
From 1923 he was a member of the SASturmabteilung
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...
, from 1930 a member of the Nazi party NSDAP holding high positions in Vienna. From 1933 he was an SS Sturmführer (Second Lieutenant), from 1935 an SS Hauptsturmführer (Captain), from 1938 an SS Oberführer (Senior Colonel), from 1939 an SS Brigadeführer (Major General), and in 1944-1945 an SS Gruppenführer (Lieutenant General) and Police Lieutenant General.
Wächter worked as an attorney in Vienna from 1932 to 1934. He played a leading role in the July Putsch
July Putsch
The July Putsch was a failed coup d'etat attempt against the Austrofascist regime by Austrian Nazis, which took place between 25 – 30 July 1934.- Background :...
of July 25, 1934 in Vienna, which led to the assassination of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
. After the failed Nazi coup Wächter fled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and was deprived of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n citizenship. Hitler allegedly thanked him by sending him to Dachau for a while, but Wächter was still an SS officer in October 1934 and got three successive promotions in 1935.
Persecution of Jews after Anschluss
Following the AnschlussAnschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, from May 24, 1938 to April 30, 1939 Wächter held the post of state commissaire in the "Liquidation ministry" under the Nazi governor of Austria Seyss-Inquart
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Arthur Seyss-Inquart was a Chancellor of Austria, lawyer and later Nazi official in pre-Anschluss Austria, the Third Reich and for wartime Germany in Poland and the Netherlands...
. The "Wächter-Kommission", the government body he headed and which was named after him, was responsible for the dismissal and/or compulsory retirement of all Jewish officials in Austria.
Organizes mass murder in Poland
From October 1939, he was the governor of the administrative district of CracowKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, where in December 1940 he issued a decree organizing the persecution and expulsion of the city's 68,000 Jews. On 3 March 1941 Wächter issued another decree ordering the remaining 15,000 Jews to move into the newly created Ghetto ("Jewish Residence Zone"). According to Holocaust researcher Robin O'Neil
Robin O'Neil
Doctor Robin O'Neil is a former police major crimes investigator who worked at the sharp end of major criminal investigations in the United Kingdom and Central Europe. Formerly of Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan and Home Counties Police service, he then took up the challenge of Academia...
, in 1941 Otto Wächter was among the leading advocates in the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
who were in favor of "total Jewish extermination" by gassing. O'Neil adds that «At a meeting in Cracow [with Governor-General Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
] on October 20, [1941] Wächter commented that "an ultimately radical solution to the 'Jewish Question' is unavoidable".».
Continues murder operations in Ukraine
In 1942-1944, following the Nazi occupation of Soviet Ukraine, Wächter was made governor of the new Galicia District of the General GovernmentGeneral Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
. Over half million Jews were living in the district's area when the Germans invaded Ukraine. The mass murder of Jews began under the military occupation, which lasted until 1 August 1941, when the civil administration took over. From that date on 32 ghettos were established in the Galicia district. On August 17, 1942 the planning for the fate of the Jews in the Lvov region of Galicia was being discussed at a conference chaired by Himmler at his own residence, which was attended by Otto Wächter and three other SS officers, namely his fellow Austrian Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Lotario Globocnik was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. He was an acquaintance of Adolf Eichmann, who played a major role in the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust...
(the chief of Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard was the code name given to the Nazi plan to murder Polish Jews in the General Government, and marked the most deadly phase of the Holocaust, the use of extermination camps...
), Fritz Katzmann
Fritz Katzmann
Fritz Katzmann was a SS-Gruppenführer and Polizei leader who perpetrated genocide in Lemberg , Danzig, and the District of Galicia during The Holocaust. Katzmann was responsible for many of the atrocities that were perpetrated in the District of Galicia...
, and Losacker. In The Murderers Among Us Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
wrote that he saw the Galicia governor, SS Brigadeführer Dr. Otto Gustav Wächter in person in the Lvov Ghetto
Lwów Ghetto
The Lvov Ghetto or the Lwów Ghetto was a World War II ghetto set up in the city of Lwów on the territory of Nazi-administered General Government in German-occupied Poland. It was one of the largest Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany after the joint Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland...
(established in August-September 1942), when four thousand elderly Jews were rounded up, including his mother, to be sent to death camps. By the end of 1943 virtually the whole Jewish population had been killed or sent to the Belzec
Belzec extermination camp
Belzec, Polish spelling Bełżec , was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust...
death camp. According to Mark Aarons
Mark Aarons
Mark Aarons is an Australian journalist and author. He was a political adviser to NSW Premier Bob Carr.Aarons was born in Newcastle, New South Wales but was brought up in Sydney. He was educated at Fairfield Boys High School and North Sydney Boys High School.He is the son of the late Laurie...
and John Loftus
John Loftus
John Joseph Loftus is an American author, former US government prosecutor and former Army intelligence officer. He is a president of The Intelligence Summit and, although he is not Jewish, a president of the Florida Holocaust Museum. Loftus also serves on the Board of Advisers to Public...
Wächter's activity in Galicia was such that Wiesenthal rated the governor amongst his most hated of all Nazi escapees.
Wächter was also the proponent for the creation of a Ukrainian unit of volunteers in the German armed forces, whose formation was approved by Himmler after the Stalingrad defeat
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
. Wächter made the proposal to Himmler on March 1, 1943 and on April 28 the SS Division 'Galicia' was publicly inaugurated. Nearly 100,000 men from western Ukraine volunteered, with 30,000 being accepted. It was a Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
unit commanded by German officers. Himmler didn't allow the unit to use the name "Ukrainian", as Wächter had suggested, arguing that the use of the word "Galician" was psychologically and politically unwise.
Transfer to northern Italy
In September 1943, Wächter was sent to Northern Italy as "Chief of the military administration to the plenipotentiary General of the German Wehrmacht in Italy", coincidentally with the transfer of the Operation Reinhardt personnel (including chief exterminator Odilo GlobocnikOdilo Globocnik
Odilo Lotario Globocnik was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. He was an acquaintance of Adolf Eichmann, who played a major role in the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust...
) to Italy, and stayed there until 1945.
Avoids trial for crimes after war
After the war, Wächter found refuge in Rome under the protection of Austrian Bishop Alois HudalAlois Hudal
Alois Hudal was a Rome-based bishop of Austrian descent. He was for thirty years head of the small Austrian-German congregation of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome and until 1937, an influential representative of the Austrian Church...
, rector of the Teutonic College of Santa Maria dell'Anima. He lived "as a monk in a Roman monastery", under the false name of Otto Reinhardt, until his death in 1949, thus escaping the Nuremberg Trial, where some of his already documented criminal practices were referred to in his absence. He died in a Roman hospital "in the arms" of Bishop Hudal.
External links
- aeiou, Encyclopedia of Austria, "Wächter, Otto Gustav" http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.encyclop.w/w014534.htm.
- aeiou, Encyclopedia of Austria, "July Putsch of 1934" http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.encyclop.j/j850961.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en.
- Nuremberg Trial Proceedings, Volume 12 http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/v12menu.htm.
- Axis Biographical Research, page "Generalgouvernment" http://web.archive.org/web/20091028133216/http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/REICH-GOVERNMENT/Generalgouvernement.html and page "SS-Dienstalterliste, Stand vom Oktober 1934" http://web.archive.org/web/20091028181125/http://geocities.com/~orion47/SS-POLIZEI/SS-DAL1934_SS-Stuf.html