Friedrich Panzinger | |
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| Born | 1 February 1903 |
| Died | 8 August 1959(1959-08-08) (aged 56) |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Sturmabteilung,Schutzstaffel andSicherheitsdienst |
| Years of service | 1933–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Oberführer |
| Commands | Einsatzgruppe A |
Friedrich Panzinger (1 February 1903 – 8 August 1959) was a GermanSS officer during theNazi era. He served as the head of theReich Security Main Office (RSHA) Amt IV A, from September 1943 to May 1944 and the commanding officer of three sub-groupEinsatzkommando ofEinsatzgruppen A (mobilekilling squads) in theBaltic States andBelarus. From 15 August 1944 forward, he was chief of RSHA Amt V, theKriminalpolizei (Kripo; Criminal Police). After the war, Panzinger was arrested in 1946 and imprisoned by the Soviet Union for being a war criminal. Released in 1955, he was a member of theBundesnachrichtendienst (BND; Federal Intelligence Service). In 1959, Panzinger committed suicide in his jail cell after being arrested for war crimes.
Panzinger attended night school and began studying law. He took part in a recruitment test for the police and was admitted as a police officer in the civil service in the Munich Police Directorate in 1919.[1] As a police officer in Bavaria, Panzinger worked withFranz Josef Huber, andJosef Meisinger, both futureSchutzstaffel (SS) officials.[2] He finally completed a law degree in 1932. In the summer of 1933 Panzinger joined theSturmabteilung (SA). He joined theNazi Party with the number 1,017,341.
In April 1937, Panzinger joined the SS with member number 322,118. He was then employed as aKriminalkommissar (Chief Inspector) in the state police headquarters inBerlin. On 29 June 1940 he began working in theSicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police) inSofia,Bulgaria. In August 1940 he assumed the position of Secretary of Section IV A (Enemies) of theGestapo, where his sub-office focused oncommunism, Marxism and enemy propaganda within Nazi Germany until 4 September 1943.[3] Panzinger's office consisted of the following subdivisions:
From 4 September 1943 to 6 May 1944, Panzinger succeededHumbert Achamer-Pifrader as the commander ofEinsatzgruppen A (a mobilekilling squad), composed of three sub-groupEinsatzkommando that oversaw the security police matters in the area ofArmy Group North in theBaltic states andBelorussia. Panzinger's unit carried out the murder of potential opponents and those deemed "racially inferior". During this time, Panzinger was also theBefehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD (Commander of the Security Police and SD) inRiga. Panzinger was assigned to the headquarters of the SD and Gestapo inUkraine.
A reorganization of Amt IV of theReich Security Main Office (RSHA) in March 1944 led to a breakdown of territory divisions between Panzinger and Achamer-Pifrader. While Panzinger took over leadership of sub-office IV A, he also served under Achamer-Pifrader in sub-office IV B. Panzinger's group now stood as follows:
In July 1944, after the20 July plot to kill Hitler, Panzinger was appointed Chief of the Headquarters of the Gestapo, reporting directly to SS-GruppenführerHeinrich Müller. Shortly thereafter, Panzinger was appointed Chief of RSHA Amt V, theKriminalpolizei (Kripo; Criminal Police), also known as theReichskriminalpolizeiamt (RKPA).[4] He held that position until the end of the war.[4] He succeededArthur Nebe, who was denounced and executed subsequent to the failed July assassination attempt on Hitler.[5] He collaborated directly with RSHA chief,Ernst Kaltenbrunner. Panzinger was responsible for the murder ofprisoner of war French generalGustave Marie Maurice Mesny on 19 January 1945 near the village ofNossen.[6]
After the war, Panzinger was arrested in 1946 and imprisoned by the Soviet Union for being a war criminal. In Moscow on 22 March 1952 he was twice sentenced to 25 years of forced labor. As a so-calledNichtamnestierter ("non-amnestied"), he was released in September 1955 and repatriated to then West Germany. He worked for a time on the staff of theBundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Service; BND) underReinhard Gehlen. Later, in 1959, he was employed by a trust company. That same year, after charges were brought against him for the murder of Maurice Mesny, Panzinger committedsuicide by poisoning himself in his cell on 8 August 1959.[7][8]
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