Gerhard Friedrich Ernst Flesch | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Flesch in 1942 | |
| Born | (1909-10-18)18 October 1909 Posen, Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | 28 February 1948(1948-02-28) (aged 38) Kristiansten Fortress, Norway |
| Criminal status | Executed by firing squad |
| Conviction | War crimes |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 340+ |
Span of crimes | 1939 – March 1945 |
| Country | Poland andNorway |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) |
| Years of service | 1936–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Obersturmbannführer |
| Commands | Einsatzkommando 2/VI |
Gerhard Friedrich Ernst Flesch (8 October 1909 – 28 February 1948) was a GermanSS functionary during theNazi era. AfterWorld War II, he was tried, found guilty and executed for his crimes, specifically thetorture andmurder of members of theNorwegian resistance movement.[1]
Flesch was anOberregierungsrat and held the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel). He was born inPosen, Province of Posen, German Empire. Flesch became a member ofNazi Party (NSDAP) in 1933. In 1934, he obtained his law degree and by 1936 was a member of theGestapo, whenReinhard Heydrich appointed him over a unit to control the religious sects of Germany. In 1938, Flesch took part in the German march into theSudetenland, and in 1939, in the annexation ofBohemia andMoravia. Later he was appointed political adviser toGauleiterFritz Sauckel inThuringia.
After the outbreak of the war in September, 1939, Flesch became leader ofEinsatzkommando 2/VI inPoznań (German:Posen). Between 20 and 23 October 1939, the 14 Einsatzkommando that he commanded executed 275 Poles in the Greater Poland region near Poznań who were named as Polish patriots by Wolfgang Bickerich, the Lutheran pastor in Leszno, who had kept a list before the German invasion of Poland in 1939. They included political leaders, teachers, police officers, Catholic priests, workers, and farmers, and included scouts as young as 18. This was the start ofOperation Tannenberg organized byReinhard Heydrich which was meant to eliminate Polish leaders in the parts of Poland annexed to Germany.[2] Flesch's men shot more than 40 more people in November 1939.[3]
In 1940, Flesch joined the3rd SS Division Totenkopf in their march into France.[citation needed] He had a position asRegierungsrat (Executive Council, government advisor), and was an SS-Sturmbannführer (major) in April 1940, when he was assigned toNorway. His first job in Norway wasKommandeur derSiPo und desSD inBergen (theSicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service) was primarily the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party, where theSicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police) was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo (secret state police) and the Kripo (criminal police) between 1936 and 1939. Thereafter, they became departments of theReich Security Main Office (RSHA). On 11 October 1941, Flesch was appointedKommandeur der Sicherheitspolizei und des Sicherheitsdienst inTrondheim. AsKommandeur of the district, he was also chief ofFalstad concentration camp outside Trondheim and the prisons in Trondheim. He was promoted to the rank ofObersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) and received the title ofOberregierungsrat. Flesch's immediate superior wasHeinrich Fehlis. On 8 May 1945, he fled from Trondheim with a gold bar in his luggage. He was caught and sent back with a police escort on the train and during which he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape.[4]
Flesch was known for being a notorious torturer, and ordered the execution of many members of theNorwegian resistance movement without any trial. After World War II, in 1946, he was tried for the many cases of torture and murder. He was charged with a series of war crimes committed in Norway; seven instances of ordering the murders of a total of 37 prisoners, albeit four of those targeted were not killed, five instances of torture (verschärfte Vernehmung: "enhanced interrogation") and one instance of withholding medical treatment resulting in death.[5] Flesch was found guilty of ordering 25 murders, 21 of which were carried out, all counts of torture, and the withholding medical treatment charges. He was sentenced to death byexecution by firing squad. Flesch appealed to the Supreme Court of Norway on procedural grounds and that the sentence was too harsh; however on 12 February 1948 his appeal was rejected.[5] The sentence was carried out at midnight atKristiansten Fortress on 28 February 1948. Right before the order was given to fire, Flesch shouted "Heil Hitler!"
