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[[Image:Josias Prinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont 1947.jpg|thumb|left|Waldeck in 1947 at his trial, held at [[Dachau]].]]
[[Image:Josias Prinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont 1947.jpg|thumb|left|Waldeck in 1947 at his trial, held at [[Dachau]].]]
[[Image:Josias Prinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.jpg|right|thumb|Waldeck in April 1947.]]
[[Image:Josias Prinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.jpg|right|thumb|Waldeck in April 1947.]]
He was arrested on 13 April 1945 and sentenced to life imprisonment by an American court at [[Dachau]] on 14 August 1947. The first of the two charges against him was that while he definitely was never in command of it, the mere fact that the [[Buchenwald concentration camp]] was located in his jurisdictional area was considered sufficient evidence to hold him personally responsible for anything that might have happened there. Incidentally, it should be noted that Buchenwald was never identified as a “death camp” by the Dachau court, and that no such charges were laid against the Prince. Ironically, the second of the two charges on which he was found guilty was that he ordered the execution of the Camp Commandant of Buchenwald, [[Standartenführer]] [[Karl Otto Koch|Koch]], after it was discovered that Koch had disgraced both himself and the SS.<ref name=Schutzstaffel>{{cite web|title=Schutzstaffel: The SS|date=|url=http://www.germaniainternational.com/ss25.html|publisher=Germania International|accessdate=18 May 2009}}</ref>
He was arrested on 13 April 1945 and sentenced to life imprisonment by an American court at [[Dachau]] on 14 August 1947.


However, the Buchenwald Camp Trial was highly controversy. Although commonly referred to as "trials," these proceedings were technically not [[Criminal procedure|trials]] because the normal rules of court trials in [[United States|America]] or [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] were not followed. [[Hearsay]] testimony was allowed and most of the prosecution witnesses were paid. Affidavits from witnesses were allowed, which meant that the defense had no opportunity to cross-examine the witness who had signed the affidavit. Interrogators questioned the accused before the proceedings began and established that they were guilty. The accused were charged with participating in a "common plan" to commit war crimes and they were presumed to be guilty until proven innocent. They were not called "defendants" because the burden of proof was on them, not on the prosecution as is customary in a court trial. Many of the accused claimed that they had been [[beaten]] during interrogation.<ref name=Josias>{{cite web|title=Dachau Trials - US vs. Josias Erbprinz zu Waldeck-Pyrmont|date=2001|url=http://www.scrapbookpages.com/DachauScrapBook/DachauTrials/BuchenwaldTrial.html|publisher=Scrapbookpages|accessdate=16 May 2009}}</ref>
The Buchenwald Camp Trial was also highly controversy. Although commonly referred to as "trials," these proceedings were technically not [[Criminal procedure|trials]] because the normal rules of court trials in [[United States|America]] or [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] were not followed. [[Hearsay]] testimony was allowed and most of the prosecution witnesses were paid. Affidavits from witnesses were allowed, which meant that the defense had no opportunity to cross-examine the witness who had signed the affidavit. Interrogators questioned the accused before the proceedings began and established that they were guilty. The accused were charged with participating in a "common plan" to commit war crimes and they were presumed to be guilty until proven innocent. They were not called "defendants" because the burden of proof was on them, not on the prosecution as is customary in a court trial. Many of the accused claimed that they had been [[beaten]] during interrogation.<ref name=Josias>{{cite web|title=Dachau Trials - US vs. Josias Erbprinz zu Waldeck-Pyrmont|date=2001|url=http://www.scrapbookpages.com/DachauScrapBook/DachauTrials/BuchenwaldTrial.html|publisher=Scrapbookpages|accessdate=16 May 2009}}</ref>


[[Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany|Military Governor of Germany]], [[General (United States)|General]] [[Lucius D. Clay]] ordered that the sentences of the Buchenwald Trial be re-examined on the basis of extensive records, and on 8 June 1948, Clay confirmed fifteen of the death sentences and commuted seven, most of the imprisonment sentences were also commuted, including Joasias's whose sentence was commuted to twenty years<ref name=P255>{{citation | last = Stein | pages = 255 }}</ref>. He was taken to [[Landsberg am Lech]] though he only served three years of his sentence before being released in December 1950 for health reasons.<ref name=Wistrich/> He was also granted an [[amnesty]] by the [[Minister President]] of [[Hesse]] in July 1953 which resulted in the fine that had been imposed on him being significantly reduced.<ref name=P266/>
[[Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany|Military Governor of Germany]], [[General (United States)|General]] [[Lucius D. Clay]] ordered that the sentences of the Buchenwald Trial be re-examined on the basis of extensive records, and on 8 June 1948, Clay confirmed fifteen of the death sentences and commuted seven, most of the imprisonment sentences were also commuted, including Joasias's whose sentence was commuted to twenty years<ref name=P255>{{citation | last = Stein | pages = 255 }}</ref>. He was taken to [[Landsberg am Lech]] though he only served three years of his sentence before being released in December 1950 for health reasons.<ref name=Wistrich/> He was also granted an [[amnesty]] by the [[Minister President]] of [[Hesse]] in July 1953 which resulted in the fine that had been imposed on him being significantly reduced.<ref name=P266/>

Revision as of 01:41, 19 May 2009

Josias Erbprinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont
File:Prinzwaldeck.jpg
Military career
AllegianceGerman Empire German Empire (to 1918)
Germany Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Rank
Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS
CommandsHSSPF Fulda-Werra
SS-Oberabschnitt Fulda-Werra
Conflicts
World War I
World War II
AwardsEisernes Kreuz I

Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (In German: Josias Georg Wilhelm Adolf Erbprinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont) - (13 May 1896 - 30 November 1967) was the heir apparent to the throne of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont and a General in the SS. From 1946 until his death he was the head of the Princely House of Waldeck and Pyrmont. After World War II he was sentenced to life in prison at the Buchenwald Camp Trial, later commuted to 20 years, for his part in the "common plan" to violate the Laws and Usages of War in connection with prisoners of war held at Buchenwald concentration camp, but was later released after serving about three years in prison for reasons of ill health.[1]

Early years

He was born in Arolsen at the ruling family's castle, the eldest son and heir of Prince Friedrich of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his consort Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe. He was the nephew of William II, King of Württemberg, and Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen Regnant of the Netherlands. He was also the cousin of Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands. He enlisted in the German Army as a cadet and saw action during the First World War where he suffered serious injuries.[2] At the end of the war his family lost their Principality as Waldeck became a Free State in the new Weimar Republic.

SS and government service

Prinz Waldeck (third from left) at the Deutsches Stadion in Berlin.

After the war Josias studied agriculture and on 1 November 1929 he joined Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party becoming a member of the SS on 2 March 1930. He was immediately appointed adjutant to Sepp Dietrich a leading member of the SS before becoming Heinrich Himmler's Adjutant and staff chief in September 1930.[2]

Josias was elected as the Reichstag member for Düsseldorf-West in 1933 and was promoted to the rank of SS Lieutenant General.[2] He was promoted again in 1939 when he became the Higher SS and Police Leader for Weimar. In this position he had supervisory authority over Buchenwald concentration camp.[3]

Buchenwald first caught the attention of Waldeck in 1943. In glancing over the death list of Buchenwald, Josias had stumbled across the name of Dr. Walter Krämer, a current head hospital orderly at Buchenwald, which he recognized because Krämer had successfully treated him in the past. The Prince investigated the case and found out that Karl Otto Koch, the Camp Commandant, had ordered both Krämer and Karl Peixof, a hospital attendant, killed as "political prisoners" because they had treated him for syphilis and he feared it might be discovered.[4] Waldeck also received reports that a certain prisoner had been shot while attempting to escape. By that time, Koch had been transferred to the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland, but his wife, Ilse, was still living at the Commandant's house in Buchenwald. Waldeck ordered a full scale investigation of the camp by Dr. Georg Konrad Morgen, an SS officer who was a judge in a German court.[5] Throughout the investigation, more of Koch's orders to kill prisoners at the camp were revealed, as well as embezzlement of property stolen from prisoners.[4] It was also discovered that prisoner who was "shot while trying to escape" had been told to get water from a well some distance from the camp, and he was shot from behind, he had also helped treat Koch for syphilis.[6] A charge of incitement to murder was lodged by Prince Waldeck and Dr. Morgen against Koch, to which later added were charged of embezzlement. Other camp officials were charged, including Koch's wife. The trial resulted in Koch being sentenced to death and was executed by firing squad on 5 April 1945.[4] Morgen also did his best to convict Ilse Koch. He was convinced that she was guilty of sadistic crimes, but the charges against her could not be proven. She was imprisoned by German authorities until early 1945.[6]

Adolf Hitler appointed him a member of the Ordnungspolizei in April 1941 and a year later he was appointed High Commissioner of Police in German occupied France.[7] One of his first acts in his new role was to announce that French hostages would be placed on German troop trains so as to discourage sabotage attempts on them.[8] He was made a General in the Waffen-SS in July 1944.[3]

Arrest and later life

Waldeck in 1947 at his trial, held at Dachau.
Waldeck in April 1947.

He was arrested on 13 April 1945 and sentenced to life imprisonment by an American court at Dachau on 14 August 1947. The first of the two charges against him was that while he definitely was never in command of it, the mere fact that the Buchenwald concentration camp was located in his jurisdictional area was considered sufficient evidence to hold him personally responsible for anything that might have happened there. Incidentally, it should be noted that Buchenwald was never identified as a “death camp” by the Dachau court, and that no such charges were laid against the Prince. Ironically, the second of the two charges on which he was found guilty was that he ordered the execution of the Camp Commandant of Buchenwald, Standartenführer Koch, after it was discovered that Koch had disgraced both himself and the SS.[9]

The Buchenwald Camp Trial was also highly controversy. Although commonly referred to as "trials," these proceedings were technically not trials because the normal rules of court trials in America or Great Britain were not followed. Hearsay testimony was allowed and most of the prosecution witnesses were paid. Affidavits from witnesses were allowed, which meant that the defense had no opportunity to cross-examine the witness who had signed the affidavit. Interrogators questioned the accused before the proceedings began and established that they were guilty. The accused were charged with participating in a "common plan" to commit war crimes and they were presumed to be guilty until proven innocent. They were not called "defendants" because the burden of proof was on them, not on the prosecution as is customary in a court trial. Many of the accused claimed that they had been beaten during interrogation.[5]

Military Governor of Germany, General Lucius D. Clay ordered that the sentences of the Buchenwald Trial be re-examined on the basis of extensive records, and on 8 June 1948, Clay confirmed fifteen of the death sentences and commuted seven, most of the imprisonment sentences were also commuted, including Joasias's whose sentence was commuted to twenty years[10]. He was taken to Landsberg am Lech though he only served three years of his sentence before being released in December 1950 for health reasons.[2] He was also granted an amnesty by the Minister President of Hesse in July 1953 which resulted in the fine that had been imposed on him being significantly reduced.[11]

Head of the House of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Coat of Arms of the Princely House of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Josias became head of the House of Waldeck and Pyrmont on the death of his father on 26 May 1946 while under arrest. He died at his estate Schloss Schaumburg in 1967, and was succeeded as head of the house by his only son Prince Wittekind.[11]

Titles and styles

  • His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
  • His Serene Highness The Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Family

Prince Josias married Duchess Altburg of Oldenburg (1903-2001) at Rastede on 25 August 1922 a daughter of the former Grand Duke of Oldenburg, Friedrich August. They had five children.

  • Princess Margarethe (b. 22 May 1923; d. 21 August 2003) married (1972) div. (1979) Count Franz August zu Erbach-Erbach (b. 1925)
  • Princess Alexandra (b. 25 September 1924) married (1949) Prince Botho of Bentheim und Steinfurt (1924-2001)
  • Princess Ingrid (b. 2 September 1931)
  • Prince Wittekind (b. 9 March 1936) married (1988) Countess Cecilie of Goëß-Saurau (b. 1956)
  • Princess Guda (b. 22 August 1939) married (1958) div. (1972) Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Wied (1931-2001); married second (1968) Horst Dierkes (b. 1939)

Summary of his SS career

Dates of rank

Obergruppenführer Josias Erbprinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont

Notable decorations

Notes

  1. ↑ "Dachau Trials - US vs. Josias Erbprinz zu Waldeck-Pyrmont". Scrapbookpages. 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wistrich, Robert S. (1995). Who's Who in Nazi Germany. Routledge. p. 171. ISBN 0415260388.
  3. 1 2 Petropoulos, p. 262 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 Hackett, p. 341 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 1 2 "Dachau Trials - US vs. Josias Erbprinz zu Waldeck-Pyrmont". Scrapbookpages. 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Trial of Ilse Koch". Scrapbookpages. 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Nazi Prince sent to subdue French". New York Times. 1942-04-25. p. 3. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ↑ ""We Are With You"". Time Magazine. 1942-05-04. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ↑ "Schutzstaffel: The SS". Germania International. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Stein, p. 255 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. 1 2 Petropoulos, p. 266 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Sources

  • Petropoulos, Jonathan (2006). Royals and the Reich: The Princes Von Hessen in Nazi Germany. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195161335. {{cite book}}: Check |first= value (help)
  • Hackett, David A. (1997). The Buchenwald Report. Westview Press. ISBN 0813333636.
  • Stein, Harry (2004). Buchenwald concentration camp 1937-1945. Wallstein Verlag. ISBN 3892446954.


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