I am sure many on this forum our aware of the story of the Wereth 11. However does anybody have any information of the murder of 2 US Army officers in Bleialf on December 17th, that might also have been members of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion? Thanks-Steve
-
-
In a first search I found the following hint in wikipedia:
US 013 [Bearbeiten]
Beginn des Prozesses: 4. Juli 1945
Der Angeklagte, Mitglied der Wehrmacht (2. Bataillon, 293. Regiment, 18. Volksgendarmerie-Division) erschoss am 20. April 1945 zwei US-Soldaten, die sich mit Hunderten anderen Kriegsgefangenen auf dem Marsch in ein Kriegsgefangenlager bei Bleialf befanden. Die beiden Soldaten wurden willkürlich ausgewählt, da sie „jüdisch“ aussahen. Der Angeklagte sollte soll nach der Exekution „Juden haben kein Recht, in Deutschland leben zu dürfen“ gerufen haben.
Der Angeklagte und dessen Urteil
Curt Bruns, (Todesstrafe) - death penalty
Gerdan -
Translation
Gerdan,
Thank you for finding this. I used an online translator, is this close?
US 013 [work on] Beginning of the process: 4. July 1945 The accused, member of the armed forces (2nd battalion, 293. Regiment, 18. People county constabulary division) shot on 20 April 1945 two US soldiers, who were with hundreds of other prisoners of war on the march into a war camp with Bleialf. The two soldiers were arbitrarily selected, since they looked Jewish „“. The accused should not is after the execution „Jews to have right, in Germany to live to be allowed “to have called. The accused and its judgement Curt Bruns, (death penalty) - death penalty GerdanComment
-
ZT692
in general the translation is OK. One thing I want to make a bit clearer:
The accused Curt Bruns should have called/shouted after the execution: " Jews do not have the right to life in Germany!"
GerdanComment
-
Dachau War Crimes Trials
Gerdan,
I have found the official web site to the war crimes trial of Bruns, see below. Thank you for helping me uncover this crime. I am still trying to identify what 2 American officers were shot by Bruns.
Nazi Crimes on Trial
'Dachau Trials'
Trials by U.S. Army Courts in Europe 1945 - 1948
File Number: US013
Review Date: 450420
Case Number: 6-56 (US vs. Curt Bruns)
Crime Category: War Crimes
Accused:
Bruns, Curt - Death Sentence
Court: Military Commission at Duren, Germany 450407
Country where the crime had been committed: Germany
Crime Location: Bleialf
Crime Date: 441220
Victim: POW’s
Nationality: American
Agency: Wehrmacht, 2nd Battalion, 293rd Regiment, 18th Volks- Gendarmerie Division
Subject of the proceeding: The accused, commander of the 2nd Battalion, ordered the shooting of two American soldiers, who were singled out from among a group of several hundreds of American POW's on a forced march to a camp in Bleialf. The victims were selected allegedly because they were of Jewish origins. Prior to the execution, the accused made the statement that "Jews have no right to live in Germany"Comment
-
I think the only way to know the names of these two poor victims is to have a look into the original files (National Archives).
GerdanComment
Comment