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IIEADQUAnTmS PRISONM OF WARE}ICLOSURE NUI,IBER526 APO 782

15 vctober 1945

SL,BJrICT; Recelpt for German prlsoners.

I0 : Aneri can Provos t lv.larshal, Rome Area, irl?OUSA

1. Receiveci i.nt; n1y custody on prlsoners this d.ate, the folrowing from lst Lt HAROLDH. irGAL:

Gen. Saenser Gen. ZANGEN // / / fi77i r)i",i7 rii)f,ib r

J. L. HU].-IHRtr,Y 1st Lt., lnfanrry Securlty Officer

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} f^ GesneraEexecaated! First Nazi general convicted as war criminal, Gen' A;6"- oostjer dies before Yank firiqg squad- at of A;;;;;, Italy. His sf ilns-('6urder without trial ls -q.-".l.uti oss men." White marker pinned over liPP b;.tl.;;; teart (above) directs bullets ' ' ' and for burial' ;;;*t (right) are stuffed into a sa-ck p.Ecei'te.ttfor Nuernberg' -ruled that Nazis b,:i"i-."t ex- tttutti.red on "orclers from Hitler" were not iotio -AP onerateci. WircPhotos THE NE\\' YORK TII,IES, SUNDAY, J,$, FIRIN0 $0UAD SHOT BY FIRTNGSQUAD LEADEN EXECUTE$DO$TLER SEIZE - :irst German Staff General Condn Dies for Having Ordered which was Executionof Americans most of i Hitler.l As I report€ BY }trLTON BR,ACKEE representati\ 'fivri. I 3y wtrel.s to Trr NDw YoRx I States Forc AVERSA, ItalY, Dec' 1-Gen. lTheatre herr \nton Dostler of the German Gen- lmer jobs as rral Steff Corps. died in a. mlsty Ruhr steel I morning before the: )it here this effects of ai :iiles of a tw'elve-man United' ;tr.tes Army firing squad. w'ithinr ments, had iris last minutes he heard oncel production more, as part of tie inexorable lawi plants. The' oi tfre ociasion, the names of thei and shared b filteen American soldiers executedi mont" chairl at his order near La SPezia onl t}re Friedricl .\Iarch 26, 1944. I Dostler died courageouslY. fhel sen, who h young lieutenant who read thel earlier, that charges was so rushed and uPsetl be adequatel. that he mispronounced nearlyl within three y"^llCl:t-\-l every word. The equally Gen. Anton Dostler The rankir tenant who gave the command I A$octltcdA$ocl!tcd Prdr,prdr, 19,t519,15 an-l- mation of ti "fire" later showed terrible Klinkenburg, -guish in and around his eYes. l.- tried the csse privaqgly con- of Vereining Butthedoomedmanstrodeinasllhat cartel wilh l .if be were to preside at a solemniceded that it had "hairline" as- and qdded tJra[ franldy, be mund, and t lceremony. .q.sire was being ropediPegts '1m- Hoerder'Hue ito the stake he spoke strorlgly theland his colleagues had had piain heleasy" mornents ever since' subsidlaries. Ithree words tlsf it was ber of the l planned spelk lmust have !o fro-ml Btdgway Doplorer Posltlon wag on the 'Es Lebe D.,eutsch-l Ithe beglnning: u",lt. cu:r- uatta"i*, B. Ridgw-ay, steel a'ad'rc i*ld^*-t"gg $u"^9,"jT,-t a? a* lnew Arnerrcan theaLre commander, cluding .Re h'"u deproredtbe re- Goering. imiil b.,ii"ri" he in}reritedfrom Gen' ', -Incomo lGerman chaplain,";;iiJ',;;ni-*itiiIi"-|1tln.l: r't-""^c*i"],11ry::tj{*v I f i-r'iilio*ph-: T' McNarnev of flnallv l;;;'ilile;'th"'p.i"""!" rhe matter to the Brldsh ag llast steps,said nostter iri';'i'1':l!i},i:j:t*F come had wordsafter his formal l*::_d^l^1"* j"-;f*in-"'"u-u ume perhaps tlre Relchriarks luEterance'. - lbest eonfirmation thaiDostler re- 1937, 880,00( gy"-TJ rll' protecrionin 1943. | ..L"_..'"il,'r to uoa':"^jII;;i*a-tnu'iurr.sr legal l:-1111{- Tj-TI--t::rr lcame from his own I'ips,-according The Briti: [uf,p_'_tt+,Y.l,Tlitlt,t^t'_"'o ..^_-^ lto Lieut. alter tVwllii of Topeka-,come repres I l'lrscLleufenan[ Jonn l(. -\Iagno-lKan. Lieutenant wyllie wai as-idends frorr I!i1t9-"-,f-t?.i1.,9:",T^" flYa3"Iil;La t"i"iior.ater theprisoner well as fron lcommand t]r&r'enoeq Unton TSrltT.t,lj;lpe"rsonalty during his tast iays. Siler lecution of a Cerman s..-.,-,,-.-.-; | .,He said that he believed that which high lFrowlng out ol *ot:- tu^?t ,liltti" trial coutd have been more just was erecte{ l9:q! .A;-I'- l]:l::.T:: 3'^^.Tilr,:' harring his witnesser here," Aryanizatic British also burg's wea largely thrr ldiscussion in the Irlediterranean slave labor llL^-)-,. *,,^L ^, if af r naf rrra holdings or quered cou strong sup his fanati, production Also cor,. have is a rvitness.Irajor lValter Sc _lx::',"1.i"'.ili'.,"iiJ'jo"ilt',;"",:"Tllx:.:r^:^o:,'u.-1 board of aiciano nor a..rew h;;.-'.;i; ;;: Ili;j""'i:*rl"""f;,;' and head c -i..T111u._*."_'?.rjl!t-"-1r^.:r]".1":11:l;;;.0"'to'I tr€tq wds 4 .LLre ;:il"i;"n?iii o"":;";:';::i I record to c".o"nyGermany burbut orriciarsofficials ment who the facts in the case ar tween the regnrar Army men rt rapiai| .uil;1tnut" :"t::"t *t*:1- and the ir down to one issue: * supplied i "1,i{t^tt"u:o^'loavies-:-".'::-::: Gets the order of Lenin Ithe general rank responsible for a I 90urces a lviola"tion of the taw3 of war if nel WASHINGTON. Dec. 1 GP)- well as m l.o*n,il, ii in folowinS explicitlJoseph E. Dav:es, former Ambassa- nitions. l;;;;;" ;^; ;;^;;;- ldor to Russia, received the Order "';A;o;;;;" placed in of Lenin at a ceremonl I ii-" ini, case meant-ii I _lt _S.. in France , rrom Xitt"t himself tni""Sh - i Sovtet .Embassv last - ligh! -Tl imedrum directing that:nessed by members, f-lit]I of an order "f :lt- l"cnemv" soldiers o,-r".iUl- i and embissy off icials' The aw-a,rd It""i",iir.lr"l'u.rliii'in."",,t'-tc- lrnesb€ w'asprL'senied bv Kikolai Y' ry9- vikor" }llnls[er\Iinister uounselor,Counselor' rq(tor rrrrn-!s "-O;;l;lisummarilycrr;r marilv e:iecuted. lvll{o\"I ..successfut ."'"..', *iri.. an tmpor_l activities" in contrib- i t3n'. a.ssrgnm!'nthere. unsolicit!,lly utin8.. to ilre strength?l^tlC .,gl - "- ;.". ' rh.1r r'i. :rier,.ll'; relations bttivecn the , -..!-.-ia ,,.nd the ,riif

HEADIUARTETiS 2L8TH qUAiilE$,n"9TEii BN a,rc 782, U. S. AriMr

12 October L9/r5

SiJBfuCT : Escort for GerrranPrisoners ('llar Criminals )

TO 'Ihe CornnandfutgOff:.cer 35}6fi il,i Truc,.. CompanY tt?Oir?82t U.S. arny

1. In accordance with telephcnic instructj-ons, CornmancihgOfficert auxlllary r'roops, Bi South, you will fr-rrnish fcur (/*) r{ guarcis under ohi.lge oi or," (1) commissl.onedofficsr to transport two (e) Gernan Gene:als ',vi+"nesses (;;ar Crlninals) their defense counsels, if present, and nurnbering approxi:nataly el$ht (8) pe::sons. These persons 111 be receipte

2. lhe following instructions and prec:utions will prevail:

a. Germ".nGenerals 'n'il1 occupy one truck, acconpanleo by gr"ard and their defense counsel (also a German General), if Nhe latter ls trai-s porteq.

b. i'lo witress, nor other persons nlll be peraltted on the tmckt nor to converse with theso ti"o at any time.

c. AII witnesses, approximately e1$ht persons, nill occuFy second rruck, uncier guard..

,1. Folloning the secono truck ^ I/t. ton truck rill- cgrry .rn:erican officer and txo guaris.

e. In case of escape pursuit;iIL be madeby giards accomcanylng .rnorican offlcer. Gr:ards on trucks with prisoners uill noi leave trucks, but guar

f. A thlrd iruck, 2-I/2 ton nill sssqn:-an]noveu.ent for use only in case of failure of a tmcK.

g. l,,ovement niIl be corcpleted arrlving daylight hours on Saturdayt t4 uctober I9L5. -rffi .r*ry^s.. v- v.s 2r. Lieut.folonel, Ci'JS ding liE.til,Jl.tsrrTEi.S 35}6'fi .rUg.'Ti.hi".'5Tl,n IRUCI CO;l${f AFOf?82 U.;. AiSiI 1.4r,ctober L9lr5

SUB.iitm: Escort for Ger"nan Oenorals (llar Cr:nlnsls)

Ili : The Connandlng Offlcer 2L8rh+u sn (u) LPOi'62, U.5. arlnf

'rlth l. rrt 0,,'00boura I left i'lupleo tlrree 2|-ton_Gi'10-vehlclao, one irons at 1Ur5 bours. Jeop and fogr gr:ards ard a:'rived at approxlrately 2. I lent tc the nona Allled A:'ea Colnnarrdlleadqqfrters and tas sent frcn thers to the f rovogt aarahal, RAAC,arulvj-ng there at apprulmtely 1215 hours, Tho:"e I nst the C.0. of tbe American lf,llltary Polloc Bead- quartors who auggested thst ny sen te fed at a G.I. resteulant rhllc he nade ths nocesaar)' cr:'Sngoments. I rag ). .t I3I5 hours at thtj $iricrloan Mltltrry Pollce lleqdqu$terg CSDIC, told that I ras io llct up Goneral iialnger and General langen at the Cftf (giftlr-h) rhlch rss l cated rt the outsklrts of r1me. Captaln Sau derg reloased the tnc Generals to me upon recelpt. at apProx- 4. I rcturned to the Ar:erlcan [,illtary Po11ce Headqr"rrterc grlaoners lmately L{rCChours lhereupon General Dostlor and slx other Ger:nsn rere released to mo upon recelPt.

I1eft,(oDC 8t a,,proxirately t43C hours rrtth tbs flrst tnrck 5. prlgoners cnr:ying three Generals sr:d onc gr.:arti, the ne;ct truck Oa:rylng Slx truck and one-guard, ny Jeep followlng rlth tro ;"ardo, and the cner6ency behind m€ gs er lnstructions

6. I ar:iv,,d at tho Pliri )26 at al,proxi.mteJ-y IB25 borrrs.rnd lst -leut'. J.L. Ilunphrey, Security Officer, eceived tbe prlsoners ftop uo.

7. Securlty orriers nerc etrlctly ccu llEd rltlt. t.' l, I )J<-e,}'_lL/./- IIARO^DH. SEGAL lst Llcut., QXO 0onnandlng On Page2 of theBoston Globe, dated August2,1996, the headlineover an Associated Pressstory said "Nazi found not guilty of war Crimes".The locationof the storywas Rome,ltaly andthe first paragraphstated, "A militarycourt freed former SS Capt. Erich Priebkeyesterday, ruling that he wasjust followingorders when he helpedmassacre 335 Italiancivilians in Nazi-occupiedRonre. Relatives of the victimsscreamed and wept in the tiny courtroomas the verdictwas announced in oneof the lastNazi war crimestrials". The massacretook placcin 1944.

When I readthat story,my mind flashedback 51 yearsago. I escorteda GermanGeneral to a prisonin Aversa,ltaly wherehe wasnot freedfor following orders,but wasexecuted for killing l-5American Officers and enlisted rnen following orders from Adolph Hitler.

World War II wasover in ltaly on May 7, 1945.I wasan officerof the3-507th Truck Conrpany,one of four Truck Companilsof the70th QM Mobile Battalion,who performed worthilyfrom April, 1943when we landedat Oran,French Morocco, through the North AfricanCampaign, Sicilian and ltalian Campaigns. Ourjob wasto haulsupplies like Ordnance,Fuel, Troops from Portsto Depots,from thoseDepots to forwardDepots to keepup with the movingFront. Our fraternitybrothers in the French-GermanTheater wcrcgiven the glamorous name of "RcdBall Express"and were publicized in a movic calledthe "Red Ball Express"in 1952.

Whenthe War ended,we weremoved back to bivouacin a smalltown outsideof Naples. As pointswere totaled to determinethose who would be goinghome, attrition set in to replacethe Officers and Enlisted men. Sometime after September lst, I wastold to take overthe 3-506th'Iruck Cornpany. Activities had slowed down andrequests for convoys hadbeen recluced. At thattirne I wasa lst l-,ieutenant.

On October12,1945.1 received a communicationfrom the Headquartersof the248th QM Battalionordering me to Rome. I wasto pick up threeGerman Generals (War Criminals) pluseight German enlisted men and non-commissioned officers and bring them to a Prisonerof War Campat Aversa,near Naples.

I wastold to bringthree2l12ton GMC trucksand a Jeep.The leadtruck would corrtain the GermanGenerals and an armedguard. The secondtruck would contain the German enlistedmen and two armedguards. Following the two truckswould be me in a Jeep,with a driverwho would weara sidearmand two armedguards in the backseat and I would be armedas well with a sidearm.Following us would be a third truckfor useonly in caseof failureof oneof thetrucks. We wereto leaveearly enough in the morningand return to Avcrsabefore nightfall. In caseof escape,pursuit would bc nradeby guards accompanyingAmerican Officer. Guardson truckswould staywith remainingprisoners.

I leli Naplesat 7 O'Clockthe lbllowing morningwith the threetrucks,-jeep and guards and arrivedat the RomeAllied Area CommandHeadquarters and wassent from thereto the ProvostMarshall, RAAC, arrivingthere at approximatelyl2l5 hours.The C. O. of the AmericanMilitary PoliceHeadquarters suggested that my men be fed while he ntadethe necessaryarrangements. At l3l5 hours,I wastold to pick up GeneralsSaenger and Zangenat a Prisonero1'War Camp, which I did. At anotherCamp I pickedup General Dostlerand eight Germanenlisted men. At eachOffice I signedreceipts for the men by name,where a word wasadded prior to the identification,which was "live". In other words,I'd betterdeliver live Prisonersof War to Aversa.There were still manyFascist sympathizersand supportersin ltaly and it wasdifficult to determinewhat lay aheadfor me on the way back. The key individualof the entiregroup was GeneralAnton Dostler.

Accordingto YANK, The Army Weekly, datedOctober 26,1945 two AmericanOfficers and l3 Enlistedmen left Corsicaon PT Boats,Their purposewas to blow up a railroad tunnelon the mainsupply line to theGerman front 4OO miles away at Cassinoand Anzio. The menwere not heardfrom, nor did theyreturn. After VE Day,the OSSfound the l5 bodiesin a se.aside_grave,with theirhands bound behind them. put to deathby a German li ring squad,in violationof the (]enevaConvention forbiddine execution of Jniformed cncmysoldiers takcn prisoner.

The execution,without trial, was ordered on the basisof a fuehrerbefel(Command of AdolfHitler) of "extermination--withoutmercy---on general principle of all foundbehind German lines and which threatened court martial for.officers who disobeyed."The trial wascarefully watched by virtuallythe entireworld press,since the issue--whetherall Naz.iwar.crimes may beattributed to Hitler aloneand whether "obeying - ordersfront above" is a valid defensefor illlegalacts of war--wastested in ltaly for the first tinrc".--Yankmaglzinc. Later,l tbundthat the execution datc had been postponed to allow M1jo1Frederick Roche, prosecutor in thecase, to takethe trial recordsiodermany, prior to the Nurembergprosecutions where, again, the questionwould be raisedas to who wouldbe responsible.

As I headedSouth from Rometo Aversa,outside of NaplesI didn'tknow the circttnrstancessurrounding the eventual execution of Generalf)ostler. All I knewwas that I hadbetter bring a "Live", in person,General Dostler, to the POW Campand I hadno idea of what lay aheadof me duringthe four hourride South.

After abouttwo hours,we stoppedfor a Nature'srespite. I let the prisonersoff the trucks andformed a perimeterwith my guardsaround the prisoners. One of theGerman enlisted menin fracturedEnglish told me he hada requestfiom GeneralDostler, who stoodby himself,aside front theothers. He wasstightly paunchy, 'l'he but carriedhimself erect. I had all his personalefl-ects with me in thejeep. enlistedman said the General recently receivedzr letter lrom his daughterand did not havethe opportunity to readit. Mighti give it to him. I wcnt to thejecp, took the bagthat had his peisonaleffects and gave it-to hiir. His eyesntisted when I did, he said"'l'hank you" in Germanand walked a lew pa""r o*ay andread the letter. He finishedit, put theletter back into the bag,returned the bag to me, thankedme again.saluted, I returnedthe salute,and by thistlme, everyone was rdady to continue. lnformationwas filtering from Germanyabout the concentration camps and the hideous commandsof Hitlerto exterminatethe Jewish population along with RomanCatholics and Protestantswho opposedthe contlagration and Holocaust that resulted in themost terrible crimein the Historyof Civilization.I knewthat many soldiers and Offlcers in theGerman arrnywere not necessarilyNazis.

WasGeneral Dostler? | sawan old-fashionedPrussian soldier who would follow ordersto hisdeath. Did I loatheand hold him in contemptbecause I was an Americanand a Jew'?I h-ada job to do. I wasgiven an order.Bring him, alive, to a prisonin Aversa,ltaly.He showedemotion as a fatherwhen he readthe letterfrom his daughterthen shut it ofi and becamean Officerin the Germanarmy again. I gavethe order to mountup. Thatwas my job andthose were my orders.

Backon the trucksthey went andwe proceeded.I keptlooking at the sidesof hills,was Yary aswe went aroundcurves, through small towns and villages, til we got to Aversa. We arrivedat the Prisonerof War Enclosureat 1825hours or about4 hoursafter we left Rome.I turnedthe prisoners over to lst LieutenantHumphreys who signedreceipts for me for them.

Finally,I receivedmy ordersto comehome. lt wasduring the latterpart of October,194-5. I hadbeen overseas two anda half years,and not rotated,as was the rule duringWorld War ll. We wereoverseas for the "durationplus six months".Upon discharge I was givena pleasantsum of moneyfor theoverseas temr. I visitedrelatives in New York City the latterpart of Novemberand first partof December.On Sunday,December 2,1945,1 picked up the New York Times andread that GeneralAnton Dostlerwas executed the day before,in front of a twelveman LJnitedStates Army firing squad.The Timeswent on to saythat General Dostler died courageously. His lastwords were, "l give my life to my countryand my soulto God."

"Theyoung lieutenant who readthe charges was so rushedand upset that he mispronouncednearly every word. The equallyyoung lieutenant who gavethe command "fire" latershowed terrible anguish in andaround his eyes."

As I readthis story in the New York SundayTimes on a streetin Manhattanon December 2,1945,I wonderedif I hadn'tbeen sent home a monthearlier, would I havebeen the Lieutenantwho would haveread the charges or would I havebeen the Lieutenant who would havegiven the order to "fire" andthen walked to the bodyand given the coup de srace. Suchare the vasariesof War.

EPTLOQLIE

Suchare the inequitiesof War. GeneralAnton Dostlerwas found guilty by an Allied CouftsMartial in ltaly andexecuted for usingthe defense that he followedorders by . Filiy oneyears later, SS Capt . using the samedefense, for a similar offenseis acquittedby an ltaliancourt in ltaly.The Nurenbergtrials established that Hitler'sorders did not exoneratethe crirninal. What happenedin the intervening-51 years thatcaused the ltalianCourt to find theaccused innocent'J Only onecourt could be right. Whichone'l

EPILOQUEII

Italy'shighest Court, The Courtof Cassation,ordered a retrialfor Erich Priebke.They agreedwith prosecutorsthat the lead judge in theoriginal military trial wasbiased in favor of the defendant.On July n, lgW, a militarycourt convicted Mr. Priebke.On March8, 1998,he wassentenced to life imprisonment.On November17, 1998,he wasfinally jailed afterltaly's highest court rejected his lastditch appeal against a life sentencefor takingpart in the country'sworst World War ll atrocity.