Festungshaft (English:fortress confinement;[1] Latin:custodia honesta,lit. 'honorary custody') was a privilegedcustodial sentence in Germany from the 16th century until 1970. It also existed in some neighbouring territories and states.
Fortress confinement was a sentence which was generally seen as not conferringdishonour; it granted the sentenced person wide-ranging liberties, and carried no obligation topenal labour.[2]
Notable prisoners in fortress confinement includeAugust Bebel,Adolf Hitler,Karl Liebknecht andWerner von Siemens.
The concept ofFestungshaft began to develop during the 16th century inGerman military andcriminal justice.[2] It was based on the idea of theius commune that the punishment of an offender should differ based on theirstanding in the social hierarchy, the reasoning being that conferring the same sentence would be harsher on a noble person than on a commoner.[2] The precise origin of theFestungshaft concept is, however, not known. The German legal scholar Thomas Krause reasons that a military connection seems likely, because many prisoners in fortress confinement weremilitary officers.[2]
As a separate type of custodial sentence, it was only known in some territories of theHoly Roman Empire (e.g., in theKingdom of Prussia and theElectorate of Saxony), while in other territories only the monarch could impose this privileged type of sentence.[2]
With the end of the formal privileges of nobility in criminal justice, fortress confinement was no longer a sentence for the nobility and other persons of high social rank in theGerman Empire (1871–1945), but was mainly used as a sentence for participating induels andcrimes of a political nature, which were both not seen as generally dishonourable.[2] For duels, fortress confinement was the only type of custodial sentence possible (sections 201–210 of theReichsstrafgesetzbuch [Reich Criminal Code]). In 1913, for example, 155 persons were sentenced to fortress imprisonment; of those, 154 were sentenced for participating in a duel while one offender was sentenced for a political crime. In 1924 – after the conclusion ofWorld War I – 362 persons were sentenced to fortress confinement; of those, 51 received the sentence for partaking in a duel, while the rest were sentenced for crimes with a political element.[3]
TheReichsstrafgesetzbuch of 1871, the criminal code of the German Empire, laid down the basic rules for fortress confinement in its section 17:
Die Festungshaft ist eine lebenslängliche oder eine zeitige. Der Höchstbetrag der zeitigen Festungshaft ist funfzehn Jahre, ihr Mindestbetrag ein Tag. Wo das Gesetz die Festungshaft nicht ausdrücklich als eine lebenslängliche androht, ist dieselbe eine zeitige. Die Strafe der Festungshaft besteht in Freiheitsentziehung mit Beaufsichtigung der Beschäftigung und Lebensweise der Gefangenen; sie wird in Festungen oder in anderen dazu bestimmten Räumen vollzogen.
Fortress imprisonment is either lifelong or temporary. The maximum term of temporary fortress imprisonment is fifteen years, the minimum term is one day. Where the law does not expressly threaten fortress imprisonment as lifelong, it is temporary. The punishment of fortress imprisonment consists in deprivation of liberty with supervision of the prisoners' occupation and way of life; it is carried out in fortresses or in other premises designated for this purpose.
— Section 17 of theReichsstrafgesetzbuch[4]
Under theReichsstrafgesetzbuch,Festungshaft was in practice[a] the most lenient type of a custodial sentence, the other being – decreasing in harshness –Zuchthausstrafe [de] (correctional sentence),Gefängnißstrafe (prison sentence) andHaft (custody).[6] IfFestungshaft was the custodial sentence, the sentenced person could not lose their civilian rights of honour.[7]
The more granular rules for fortress confinement were contained in sections 166–184 of theGrundsätze über den Vollzug von Freiheitsstrafen (Principles on the Execution of Prison Sentences) of 7 June 1923.[8][3] Under these liberal rules, enacted during the time of theWeimar Republic (1918–1933), some German territories (e.g.,Prussia,Saxony, andHamburg) allowed their prisoners in fortress confinement to freely visit the city and persons outside the prison without supervision.[9] Other privileges included that the prisoners were not searched when they began their sentence, that they could drink beer and wine, and that they could receive visitors in their prison cells.[10] The prisoners did not have to wearprison uniforms in fortress confinement.[1]
The liberal rules of 1923 were revised in 1932, when the newGrundsätze für den Vollzug der Festungshaft (Principles on the Execution of Fortress Confinement) of 9 August 1932 were promulgated in theReichsgesetzblatt (Reich Law Gazette).[11][3] These rules cut back on some of the liberties prisoners in fortress confinement enjoyed.[10]
After the end ofWorld War II, fortress confinement was renamed toEinschließung (confinement) in October 1953, and abolished altogether in April 1970.[2]
The most notable prisoner in fortress confinement was probablyNazi Party leaderAdolf Hitler, the later dictator ofNazi Germany. After his failedcoup d'état, the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, he was sentenced forhigh treason to five years in fortress confinement. The proceedings before thePeople's Court of Bavaria (Bayrisches Volksgericht) were presided over byGeorg Neithardt, who had far-right views and sympathies for the putschists.[13][14]
Hitler started his sentence inLandsberg Prison on 1 April 1924, and was released early – in under nine months – on 20 December 1924.[15] His confidantErnst Hanfstaengl described the life of the prisoner in lavish terms: "[I] walked into adelicatessen. There was fruit and there were flowers, wine and other alcoholic beverages, ham, sausage, cake, boxes of chocolates and much more."[12] Hitler received more the 300 visitors while in fortress confinement.[13][15] He wrote the first part ofMein Kampf ('My Struggle') while imprisoned in Landsberg.[15]
Other notable prisoners in fortress confinement include:
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