Erich Priebke

Erich Priebke
Eric Priebke in Roma, Italy
Birth date	29 July 1913(1913-07-29)
Place of birth	Hennigsdorf, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	11 October 2013 (aged 100)
Place of death	Rome, Italy
Allegiance	National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Schutzstaffel
Rank	SS-Hauptsturmführer
Unit	Gestapo
Awards	Honour Sword of the Reichsführers-SS Wound Badge

Erich Priebke (29 July 1913 – 11 October 2013) was a Germa hotel trade specialist, cuisinier, translator and officer of the in WWII.

In 1996, he was convicted of alleged "war crimes" in Italy, for participating in the reprisal at the Ardeatine caves in Rome on 24 March 1944. 335 Italians (mostly criminals from jail) were executed there as atonement for a terror attack that had claimed the lives of 34 South Tyrolian policemen (another eight police soldiers died in the following days) from the 11th Company/III. Bataillon/SS-Polizeiregiment "Bozen" (a military police battalion from South Tyrol) and of several Italian civilians. Priebke was one of those who was held responsible for this legal mass execution. After the defeat of National socialist Germany, he got help to flee to Argentina where he lived for over 50 years.

In 1991, Priebke's participation in the Rome execution was denounced in Esteban Buch's book. In 1994, 50 years after the anti-German Massacre on the Via Rasella and the ordered response by the SS, Priebke felt he could now talk about the incident and was interviewed by an American ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson. This woke the revenge hunger of Jews and their lackeys, and led to his extradition to Italy and a trial which would last more than four years.

Life

Priebke during his leader training

Erich Priebke with his wife Alicia at a Schulz family carnival party in Argentina

Erich Priebke during is first trial in 1996

Priebke grew up with his uncle and maternal aunt after his parents died. He was a trained hotel manager and worked in various hotels in Europe (including the Savoy Hotel in London and on the Italian Riviera) until 1935. He had been a member of the NSDAP since 1933 (membership number 3,280,478). When he returned to Germany in 1936, on the recommendation of a cousin, he became an interpreter and translator for Italian in the Gestapo press office. He was soon promoted to civil servant (Beamter) and taken over into the Gestapo's criminal investigation service, where he was responsible for contact with other police services, especially with fascist Italy. On 1 January 1938, he was promoted to Kriminalassistent-Anwarter i. V. and in 1940, after graduating from the SS leader school (Führerschule) to Kriminalkommissar. He subsequently worked in Office IV (“research and combat against enemies”) at the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA).

WWII

He was transferred to Rome by Reinhard Heydrich after the commander of Rome's security police and SD, Herbert Kappler, requested an employee. Priebke saw himself as “number two” behind Kappler. From February 1941, Priebke worked at the German embassy in Rome as a liaison officer with the Italian police, ultimately with the rank of SS-Hauptstürmführer. He experienced the Massacre on the Via Rasella and was involved in the bloody response. After Rome was evacuated, he served in Brescia. In May 1945 in Bozen, he became a British prisoner of war (POW).

A free man

Priebke managed to escape from a British prison camp in northeastern Italy (Deutsches Hauptquartier Bellaria) on 31 December 1946. The guards got so drunk at their New Year's Eve party that Priebke was able to cut the barbed wires unnoticed. After he had escaped, he lived with his family (wife and sons) in Sterzing, South Tyrol. His wife Alice and their two sons already lived there since 1943. The British only noticed long afterwards, that he was gone. During this time, Priebke received on 13 September 1948 a second baptism by a local priest.

At the beginning he lived in fear of criminal prosecution, "but no one ever looked for me there," Priebke recalled at his trial fifty years later. Former South Tyroleans SS comrades assisted Priebke in looking for accommodation; In Sterzing, Priebke also returned to Christian faith and was “re-baptized” as a Catholic. The population in South Tyrol remained very pro-German even after 1945.

After his time in South Tyrol (until October 1948), he went to Vatican City in Rome to find protection. Bishop Alois Hudal, a main participant in the Vatican's ratlines (escape routes), was accustomed to making false travel documents for German officials who were persecuted and hounded by the Allies, and he supplied Priebke with a falsified visa to travel to Argentina (then led by Juan Perón).

He initially worked as a head waiter at the state-owned Hotel Catedral in Bariloche for several winters. In 1954, he moved to the Hotel Bella Vista, which was run by a Swiss couple. At the beginning of the 1960s, Priebke opened his own delicatessen store. At the end of the 1980s, Priebke was a representative of the entire German community in Bariloche and at the same time a board member of the Capraro German School.

In the spotlight

In 1994, reporter Sam Donaldson filmed a report about Priebke for the ABC Television news magazine Primetime Live. Priebke spoke openly about his role in the war. He also explained his actions by saying that he followed orders from the Gestapo chief of Rome, SS-Obersturmbannführer (equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel) Herbert Kappler. When testifying after the war, Kappler explained that Priebke had been ordered to make sure that all the victims were brought to the caves and executed, and to check the list of people who were to be killed.

The trials

The extradition of Priebke

Donaldson's news report showed how openly Priebke could live in Argentina, and how little remorse he felt for his actions. This caused strong reactions by revenge-hungry Jews. Argentine authorities arrested Priebke. Because of his old age and poor health, he was at first not imprisoned, but rather held under house arrest at his home in Bariloche, where he had lived since 1949.

The extradition of Priebke had several delays - his lawyers used tactics like demanding all Italian documents be translated to Spanish, a process which could have taken two years. The Argentine court eventually denied the process, but appeals and other delays caused the extradition case to take more than a year. His lawyers made arguments that the case was expired since murder cases expire after 15 years.

In March 1995, after nine months of delays, the president of the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was promised by, among others, the Argentine president Carlos Menem, that the case would soon be closed, and that Priebke was to be transferred to Italy by the end of the month. In spite of these promises, the Supreme Court of Argentina decided that the case was to be transferred to the local court in Bariloche where the case was originally brought up. This opened the possibility for years of delays from future appeals, while Priebke could live at his home.

In May 1995, an Argentine federal judge accepted the Italian demand for extradition on the grounds that cases of crimes against humanity could not expire. But there were more appeals and rumours that the court might change the ruling. In August of the same year, it was judged that Priebke was not to be extradited because the case had expired. To put pressure on the Argentine government, Jewish ruled Germany demanded extradition the same day. The Italian military prosecutor, Antonio Intelisano, argued that FN agreements which Argentina was signatory to, expressly state that cases of alleged war criminals and crimes against humanity do not expire.

After seventeen months of delays, the Argentine supreme court decided that Priebke was to be extradited to Italy. He was put on a direct flight from Bariloche to Ciampino, a military airport close to the Ardeatine caves, where the executions had been carried out many years earlier.

Priebke in court

In court, Priebke declared himself not guilty. He did not deny what he had done, but he denied any moral or crimonal responsibility. The Italian terrorists, who were behind the attack on the young South-Tyrolian soldiers, were the criminals – not according to Priebke or "the Germans", but according to the internatiol law of armed conflict/war (Kriegsvölkerrecht). The order came directly from Adolf Hitler, his supreme commander, and it was a legitimate punishment. During the trial it became clear that Priebke had personally shot two Italians. This was also in his testimony from 1945 before he managed to escape.

Priebke was found not guilty, for the reason of acting under legitimate orders. On 1 August 1996, orders were given for the immediate release of Priebke. The Italian minister of justice later told the public that Priebke might be arrested again, depending on whether or not he was going to be extradited to Germany, where he was to be charged with murder. The courts were blocked by primarily Jewish demonstrators for over seven hours after Priebke's trial.

The judges voted two against, one for, sentencing the 83 year old Priebke for taking part of the reprisal action, which he himself had freely admitted. There were strong reactions from family members of the victims, who claimed that the judges put no value on human lives. Shimon Samuels, the leader of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a propaganda speech that with this ruling, Italy was permitting crimes against humanity.

The appeal

The case was appealed by the prosecutors. The day after, Germany asked Italy to keep Priebke imprisoned until their demand to have him extradited was processed, as they wanted him put on trial for the murders of two people that he had personally shot. Outside the courthouse there were demonstrations.

The Court of Cassation voided the decision of the first trial in 1997, ordering a new trial for Priebke due to further Jewish pressure. He was sentenced to 15 years. These were reduced to 10 years because of his age and alleged ill health. Furthermore, in March 1997 it was decided that Priebke could not be extradited to Germany. The reason for this was that he was now going through a trial which was for the same things that Germany wanted him tried for. He was not to be tried for the same crime twice.

A week before Easter, the pretrial prisoner moved from the Regina Coeli prison to the monastery for house arrest. The 17 Franciscans around Father Andrea Stefani patiently accepted the march of the carabinieri in the vineyards. The monks made room at the head of the table in the dining room for their guest, who prayed with them and whom they called "Brother Erich."

In March 1998, the Court of Appeal condemned him to life imprisonment, together with Dr. phil. Karl Hass, another former member of the SS. The decision was upheld in November of the same year by the Court of Cassation. Because of his age, Priebke was put under house arrest.

Priebke's appeals

Priebke denied any responsibility, and therefore appealed the case. At the appeals it was decided that Hass and Priebke had committed cruel murders of the first degree and that they should be put away for life. Priebke himself stated correctly that he was the victim of intense hatred, and that he was blamed for all atrocities done during World War II.

"I gave Argentina 50 years of my life, and they don't want me. [...] I fought for Germany during the war, now they want me put to trial for obeying orders."

Priebke said in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung on 3 May 2000:

“The Wiesenthal Centers were the masterminds of the orchestration that is taking place against me today.”

Priebke appealed the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where he stated he had no choice but to obey Hitler's orders. On 20 March 2004, over 100 people gathered in a room of the Centro Letterario in Trieste to show their support for the Priebke, who was still under house arrest. Priebke’s wife, Alice, née Stoll, even led a public rally in Rome demanding her husband’s pardon and release from house arrest.

On 12 June 2007, he received authorization to leave his home for working reasons, to work at his lawyer's office in Rome. This led to angry protests from revenge-hungry Jewish groups and the judge's decision was overturned. In 2003, Senator Antonio Serena (National Alliance) argued that Priebke should have been pardoned by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, arguing that Priebke was suffering from "cruel and pointless behaviours" from a "Jewish lobby that spreads hate".

At the beginning of June 2007, Priebke's lawyer ensured that he was allowed to move freely in Rome with restrictions and notification to the police. Amos Luzzatto, a leading representative of the Jewish community, accused the court of trying to avoid Priebke's prison sentence. On 19 June 2007, the relaxation of the house arrest was withdrawn. Priebke's defense attorneys argued on his behalf that he acted out of order, which his accusers denied. Priebke's old age and poor health are also cited by critics of the procedure as reasons for a possible pardon or amnesty. In October 2010, relaxation of the house arrest was granted again.

As of 2011, his health has been reported to be fading and he has been confined to his apartment, but he still maintained a lively correspondence with patriots all over the world, for example with the Deutschherrenklub in Berlin. A number of Italian conservative figures defended Priebke on the grounds that he was only acting to obey orders: Italian journalist Indro Montanelli, who had lost two friends in the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine, nonetheless wrote a private letter to Priebke that was later published in Il Giornale on 2013 by Fausto Biloslavo, arguing that he was only following orders; similar points of view were expressed by Vittorio Feltri, Giampiero Mughini, Vittorio Sgarbi, Guido Ceronetti, Anna Maria Ortese and Massimo Fini.

Death

Priebke died in Rome on 11 October 2013, at the age of 100, from natural causes. His last request, that his remains be returned to Argentina so he could be buried alongside his wife, was denied by the Argentinian government. His hometown in Germany also refused to take his body, over fears that his place of burial could become a pilgrimage site for nationalists. The Diocese of Rome had refused Giachini’s request to allow a funeral to take place in a church or chapel.

Father Florian Abrahamowicz offered to hold the funeral ceremony for Erich Priebke in the city of Albano Laziale. During the funeral service, the police prevented clashes from breaking out between sympathizers and the invading antifa mob. The funeral eventually took place, albeit without the presence of any of his relatives, because his family was unable to enter the city due to the leftist rioting and menace. Eventually, the coffin containing Priebke's body was seized by the Italian authorities, taken to a military base near Rome and then buried "in a secret location" as his lawyer and confidant Paolo Giachini stated. Giachini said the agreement "satisfie[d] the family and ethical and spiritual requirements."

Family

In 1938, Priebke married his fiancée Alice Stoll (1913—2004) from Berlin. They had two sons:

• Jörg "Jorge" (b. 1940)
• Ingo (b. 1942)

Trivia

• Erich Priebke was played by Brook Williams in the 1973 propaganda movie Massacre in Rome.

• In The Scarlet and the Black (1983), Kenneth "Ken" Colley played SS-Hauptsturmführer Hirsch, a fictional character representing Erich Priebke

• On his 90th birthday in July 2003 there was a public celebration in Priebke's honor. Clashes broke out in front of Priebke's house in Rome,

• In 2007, two stamps printed by the Post of Finland, sent by Erich Priebke to his son, caused some quarrel in Argentina. In Finland, it is possible to buy stamps with one's own picture on them, and according to the post officials, nobody knew that the man in the image was Priebke.

• In June 2007, Erich Priebke had his work permit revoked by an Italian magistrate after a day of protests. The magistrate cited that Priebke had failed to adequately communicate his movements. He was supposed to be working in his lawyer's offices as a clerk and a translator, given his knowledge of German, Spanish, English and French languages. The issue of a work permit to Priebke sparked outrage, particularly in the Italian Jewish community.

• In June 2010, Erich Priebke was discussed as the right-wing NPD's candidate for the office of Federal President (Bundespräsident).

• On 24 July 2013, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica published a video in its online edition that showed Priebke walking through Rome with a companion and two bodyguards.

Awards and decorations

• SA Sports Badge (SA-Sportabzeichen) in Gold
• SS-Ehrendegen
• Sudetenland Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938)
• Wound Badge (Verwundetenabzeichen 1939) in Black
• Ulrich von Hutten Medal (Ulrich-von-Hutten-Medaille) in 2007

External links

• Erich Priebke commemoration website (Archive)
• Interview with Erich Priebke by Antonella Ricciardi, 3 July 2004 (Archive)
• Remembering evil - Reason.com
• The Massacre at the Ardeatine Caves, 24 March 1944
• Italians protest outside Priebke's office in July 2007

Codoh

• Reprisals and Orders From Higher Up
• SSPX Burial of Nazi War Criminal Erich Priebke Met with Protestors