Eberhard Herf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 20 March 1887 |
| Died | 30 January 1946 (aged 58) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Occupation | SSOrder Police commander |
| Organization | Order Police |
| Known for | Commander ofPolice Regiment North Chief of Order Police inMinsk |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Motive | Nazism |
| Conviction | War crimes |
| Trial | Minsk Trial |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Eberhard Herf (20 March 1887 – 30 January 1946)[1] was a German police official andwar criminal during theNazi era. He commandedPolice Regiment North andOrder Police units inMinsk, Belarus. Following the war, Herf was convicted in theMinsk Trial and executed.
From June to October 1941, Herf commandedPolice Regiment North that perpetrated mass murder in theHolocaust in theArmy Group North Rear Area. He was subsequently appointed the commander of the Order Police inMinsk, the capital ofSoviet Belarus (Kommandeur derOrdnungspolizei (KdO) Minsk). In this capacity, he directed mass murder of the Jews in theMinsk Ghetto. Herf reached the rank of general in theOrder Police. Later on in his career, Herf wrote to theReich Security Main Office to request a transfer. He said he wanted "to get out of the East, since, to be honest, I've had enough."[2][3]
At the end of the war, Herf was taken prisoner by the Soviet Forces. He was tried in theMinsk Trial, awar crimes trial held in front of a Soviet military tribunal in 1945–1946 in Minsk. The tribunal heard the case against 18 German military,SS, and police officials accused of crimes committed during theoccupation of Belarus.[4] Alongside twoWehrmacht generals, Herf was the highest-ranking official of the occupying force on trial.[5] The trial started in December 1945 and concluded in January 1946, with the sentence pronounced on 29 January.[6] All 18 defendants were convicted; 14, Herf among them, were sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging on 30 January 1946.[5]