Gerhard Bast | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | (1911-01-12)January 12, 1911 |
| Died | March 9, 1947(1947-03-09) (aged 36) |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Motive | Nazism |
| Conviction | Negligent manslaughter |
| Criminal penalty | 4 months imprisonment (not served) |
| Details | |
| Victims | Hundreds |
Span of crimes | July 1941 – 1945 |
| Country | Belarus,Czechoslovakia,Germany,Lithuania,Poland, andUkraine |
| Targets | Jews andPartisans |
| SS career | |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1931–1945 |
| Rank | Sturmbannführer |
| Unit | Einsatzgruppe B Einsatzgruppe D Einsatzgruppe H |
| Commands | Sonderkommando 7a Sonderkommando 11a |
Gerhard Bast (January 12, 1911 – March 9, 1947) was an Austrian lawyer, aSturmbannführer in theGestapo and a leader of a task force of theEinsatzgruppen. After the war, Bast attempted to flee toSouth America. Shortly before leaving, he decided to visit his family in Austria. Before reaching theBrenner Pass, however, the smuggler transporting Bast abruptly decided to rob and murder him.
Gerhard Bast, the son of attorney Rudolf Bast, grew up in a German nationalist household.[1][2] In 1912, the family moved toAmstetten. Bast studied at the high school in Wels. After graduation, he studiedjurisprudence at theUniversity of Graz, where he was a member of theBurschenschaft (student fraternity) "Germania Graz".[3] He graduated law school in 1935 with his doctorate. In October 1931, he became a member of theNazi Party (member number 612,972) and shortly thereafter joined theSS (SS Number 23,064). After graduation, Bast worked at the county court inSt. Pölten, but lost his job shortly afterwards due to his membership of theNazi Party. He then worked in the law office of his father, who was an enthusiastic national socialist.[2]
After theGerman Reich'sAnschluss with Austria, on March 20, 1938, Bast joined theSicherheitsdienst (SD) and Gestapo. Bast was first deployed in Graz, where he in early 1940 became the head of the department forcombat and investigation of enemies. In August 1940, Bast moved to the Gestapo in Koblenz; then from January 1941, he headed the state police control center in Linz on behalf ofHumbert Achamer-Pifrader. In the SS, he achieved the position of Sturmbannführer and was also promoted to the government council. From July 1941, he was the leader of the Gestapo inMünster. In this position, he was heavily involved in the deportation of Jews out of Germany and took part in the executions ofPolish forced laborers.[2][4]
From November 1942 to December 1942, he was leader of Sonderkommando 11a inEinsatzgruppe D and led the murders of Jews.[5] In January 1943, Bast was transferred toLinz, where he led theGestapo.[6] In November 1943, Bast accidentally killed a young hunter while hunting. He was convicted of negligent manslaughter and sentenced to 4 months in prison. However, as he could "prove his worth" on theEastern Front, Bast did not have to serve his sentence, yet suffered a severe blow for his NS career as he was ordered, as punitive measure, into the field and away from his desk job if he wished to stay within the SS system.[1]
From June 1944 to October/November 1944, Bast was leader of Sonderkommando 7a in "Einsatzgruppe B". Later, he was deployed with his special unit in the "Einsatzgruppe H" under lead of "BdS (Commander of the security police and SD)Pressburg" to fight partisans.[5] According toMartin Pollack, illegitimate son of Bast's, the latter "was sent with his men into the city [Warsaw], heavily armed and in civilian clothes, to liquidate, as he put it himself, whoever they came across – unarmed civilians, insurgents or otherwise, men and women. He showed no mercy".[7] From Poland Bast's battalion moved to Slovakia, where they committed other war crimes: "In the small village ofBully (Donovaly) [sk], members of the Special Command [Sonderkommando] 7a found a group of Jews hiding in the hut of a poor farmer's wife. My father ordered them to be shot – along with the woman who had given them shelter" (Pollack).[7]
Bast obtained the following awards:War Merit Cross I and II class with swords,Ostvolk Medal II class in silver, as well as an armed forces cross (Heeressiegeskreuz) III class with swords. He was referred to as anAlter Kämpfer.[4]
At the end ofWorld War II, Bast disappeared under a false name. In disguise as a farmhand and lumberjack, he found accommodation and employment at a farm in South Tyrol. In March 1947, he wanted to return to his family inInnsbruck and asked the help of a smuggler to assist him in passing through the guardedBrenner Pass. Before reaching the Brenner Pass, however, the smuggler robbed and killed Bast, shooting him three times. In 1949, a court inBolzano convicted the smuggler of murder and robbery and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.[2]
The Austrian author Martin Pollack is the illegitimate son of Gerhard Bast. Pollack wrote the book: "Der Tote im Bunker. Bericht über meinen Vater", that was published in Vienna in 2004.[2]
