by Tim Townsend
198 SS company German Earth and Stone Works: Marsálek and Hacker, Concentration Camp Mauthausen, pp. 9–10.
198 the Wiener Graben quarry: Eckstein, “Mauthausen,” p. 946.
198 as little as sixty pounds: Marsálek and Hacker, Concentration Camp Mauthausen, p. 14.
198 Hundreds more simply froze: Ibid., p. 15.
199 “I saw from my watchtower . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 4, p. 388.
199 version of Josef Mengele: Rising, “On Trail of Most Wanted Nazi.”
200 Guards drove gas vans: Waite, “Gusen (with Gusen II and Gusen III),” p. 901.
200 hundreds of prisoners to Hartheim: “The Concentration Camp System at Mauthausen.” Plaque. Mauthausen Memorial. Mauthausen, Austria.
200 10,000 Hungarian Jews arrived: Waite, “Gusen (with Gusen II and Gusen III),” p. 901.
200 known as the Thunderbolt: Craig, 11th Armored Division: Thunderbolt.
201 Amid the dust and dirt: Steward, Thunderbolt.
201 joined the unit in July 1943: O’Connor, “Monthly Report of Chaplains,” September 1943 to August 1944.
201 his unit’s desert maneuvers: Ibid., January 1944.
201 left Staten Island on the HMS Samaria: Unless otherwise noted, the description of the Eleventh’s march through Europe is drawn from Steward and Craig.
202 asked to be an interpreter: Brian Jordan interview.
203 “when the ground forces . . .”: Technical Manual, TM 16–205: The Chaplain. U.S. Army, July 1944, p. 64.
203 “the troops I serve . . .”: O’Connor, “Monthly Report of Chaplains,” January 1945.
203 forty-six letters of condolence: Ibid., February 1945.
204 He also earned a Bronze Star: Conley, “Award of Bronze Star Medal.”
205 evidence of cannibalism: Eckstein, “Mauthausen,” p. 951.
206 de facto medical personnel: Pike, Spaniards in the Holocaust, p. 242.
207 even the liberators had to be held back: Pike, Spaniards in the Holocaust, p. 240.
207 they slit the guard’s throat: Ibid., p. 242.
208 More than 450 died: Ibid., p. 240.
208 German soldiers were under attack: Ibid., p. 243.
208 “ . . . I conducted burial services . . .”: O’Connor, “Monthly Report of Chaplains,” May 1945.
209 “This unit moved . . .”: Ibid., June 1945.
209 O’Connor told a few friends: Brian Jordan interview.
209 “shares the peril of battle . . .”: Technical Manual, p. 64.
209 He cried nearly every time: Kelley, 22 Cells at Nuremberg, pp. 133–134.
210 a minor brain hemorrhage: Ibid., and Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 139.
210 He was hospitalized: Davidson, Trial of the Germans, p. 321.
210 Kaltenbrunner’s strategy: Ibid., p. 323, Taylor, Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, p. 360, and Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, p. 318.
210 “probably more appalling crimes . . .”: Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, p. 317.
210 “ . . . I have been submitted . . .”: Taylor, Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, p. 362.
210 “ . . . the ugliest defense yet heard . . .”: Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, p. 318.
210 “began to look embarrassed”: Ibid., p. 319.
210 ordered Mauthausen to be surrendered: Davidson, Trial of the Germans, p. 321.
211 “ . . . that I ever saw a gas chamber . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 11, p. 317.
211 brought from the bunker: Ibid.
211 to build Vienna’s sidewalks: Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, p. 318.
211 an armaments factory: Ibid., and Taylor, Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, p. 361.
212 killing everyone in it: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 301.
212 “He used monoxide gas . . .”: Harris, Tyranny on Trial, p. 336.
212 The farmhouses: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 310.
212 the red house and the white house: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 298.
212 could kill about two thousand: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 311.
212 They began operations: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 298.
212 when the gas killed a cat: Ibid., p. 297.
212 four dedicated gas chambers: Ibid., p. 299.
212 supplied corpses: Harris, Tyranny on Trial, p. 338.
212 The heat of the victims’ own bodies: Ibid., and Evans, Third Reich at War, pp. 299–300.
212 “After all of the observations done . . .”: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 303.
213 “ . . . the canisters were pulled up again . . .”: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 300.
213 special fittings for gaskets: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 298.
213 “ . . . always behind in our cremating . . .”: Ibid., p. 304.
213 roughly the population of Dayton, Ohio: 2008 U.S. Census.
213 About 7,000 SS men worked: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 304.
214 many burning pits . . . His example cheered morale: Harris, Murder by the Millions, pp. 46–49.
214 90 percent of those killed were Jews: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 304.
215 Hoess went into hiding: Ibid., p. 743.
215 Franz Lang: Harris, Murder by the Millions, p. 32.
215 Within a month he was sent: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 743.
215 “short, rather heavy set . . .”: Harris, Tyranny on Trial, p. 334.
215 “weak, high voice”: Taylor, Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, p. 363.
215 “I have no such fantasies”: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 315.
215 “ . . . I led a normal family life . . .”: Gilbert, Nuremberg Diary, p. 237.
215 his wife’s garden: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 306.
215 which held concerts and performances: Ibid., p. 304.
215 “A big part of the Polish intelligentsia . . .”: Harris, Murder by the Millions, p. 83.
216 “the order was authoritative . . .”: Harris, Tyranny on Trial, p. 335.
216 “Not justified . . .”: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 296.
216 “it was not always a pleasure . . .”: Gilbert, Nuremberg Diary, p. 238.
217 “playing or joking with one another . . .”: Evans, Third Reich at War, p. 299.
217 “had to appear cold and indifferent . . .”: Ibid., p. 305.
217 “She was very upset . . .”: Goldensohn, Nuremberg Interviews, p. 308.
217 “I never struck any internee . . .”: Ibid., p. 309.
218 “ . . . I never killed anyone”: Ibid., p. 150.
218 An estimated sixty million men: Waller, Becoming Evil, p. 15.
218 “It helps side us . . .”: Vetlesen, Evil and Human Agency, p. 14.
219 “the greatest catastrophes occur . . .”: Waller, Becoming Evil, p. xv.
219 “intellectually normal . . .”: Gilbert, Nuremberg Diary, p. 239.
219 suffering or destruction . . . “the harm we perpetrate . . .”: Waller, Becoming Evil, pp. 12–14.
219 Hoess’s closest friend: Harris, Murder by the Millions, p. 22.
220 “Evil can only exist . . .”: Crowley, “Evil,” p. 495.
220 “spurn God’s goodness . . .”: Kennedy, “Evil, moral,” p. 497.
220 “Does disaster befall a city . . .”: Amos 6:3, NRSV.
220 “either God cannot abolish evil . . .”: McCloskey, God and Evil, p. 1.
221 “ . . . growing existential frustration . . .”: Wray and Mobley, Birth of Satan, p. 3.
221 “I form the light, . . .”: Isaiah 45:7, King James Version.
CHAPTER 9
222 “Justice without kindness . . .”: Zwingli, “An Exposition of the Faith.”
222 Some, led by Goering: Gilbert, Nuremberg Diary, pp. 346–347.
223 “I grew up with . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 16, pp. 235–236.
223 who translated it for Alma: Schirach’s English translation was not quite faithful to Fritzsche’s German original, and he seems to have used his kno
wledge of American colloquialism for Alma’s benefit. Based on a transcription of Fritzsche’s original handwriting by Zieghart Rein provided to me by the Concordia Historical Institute in St. Louis at my request in August 2011, and translated by Ingrid Gustin, an accurate English translation of Fritzsche’s original wording follows. Rein’s transcription of Fritzsche’s original follows that. I chose to quote from Schirach’s translation in the body of this chapter because that is the version that both Henry and Alma Gerecke read in 1946.
Gustin translation:
Mrs. Gerecke.
Dear honorable Lady!
Your husband Pastor Gerecke looked after the accused in the Nuremberg trials as pastor to the signatories. He held this office for the last six months.
It has come to our attention that you, dear lady, after the absence of your husband for many years, have expressed the wish that he return home. We understand this wish very well because we also have wives and children.
But we have a request of you: delay this wish to gather your family at home. Please consider that we at this time cannot do without your husband. In the past few months he has displayed a steady friendship. He has become indispensable for us. Especially in surroundings in which we find prejudice, cold denial and even hatred.
He is for us indispensable, not only as a pastor, but also as the good person that we probably don’t have to describe to his wife.
He simply has become dear to us. It is incomprehensible, that at this juncture of the trial, someone other than him can break through these walls that more than physically surround us spiritually. Please spare him for us. Surely you can bear this sacrifice and we will be grateful.
We wish you and your family the best. God be with you.
Rein transcription:
Frau Gerecke.
Sehr verehrte gnädige Frau!
Ihr Gatte Pastor Gerecke, betreut als Seelsorger die Unterzeichner unter den lutherischen Ange-klagten im Nürnberger Prozess. Er tut dies seit über einem halben Jahr.
Wir haben nun gehört, daß Sie, gnädige Frau, nach der mehr jährigen Abwesenheit Ihres Gatten den Wunsch nach seiner Heimkehr haben. Wir verstehen diesen Wunsch sehr gut, denn auch wir haben frauen und Kinder.
Aber wir haben eine Bitte an Sie: Stellen Sie den Wunsch, ihre Familie wieder zu Haus versammeln, zurück.
Bitte bedenken Sie, daß wir auf ihren Gatten jetzt nicht verzichten können. Er hat uns in den vergangenen Monaten eine so bewegungslose Freundlichkeit gezeigt, daß er für uns unentbehrlich geworden ist, zumal in einer Umgebung in der wir sonst.
Vorurteil, kalte Ablehnung oder sogar Hass finden. Er ist uns unentbehrlich nicht nur als Seelsorger, sondern auch als der gute Mensch—als den wir ihn seiner Frau sicher nicht erst zu beschreiben brauchen.
Wir haben ihn einfach lieb gewonnen. Es ist ausgeschlossen, daß im jetzigen Stadium des Prozesses ein anderer als er noch einmal die Mauern durchbricht, die uns seelisch noch mehr als materiell umgeben. Also bitte lassen Sie ihn uns. Sicher werden Sie dies Opfer tragen—und wir werden Ihnen dankbar dafür sein.
Wir wünschen Ihnen und Ihrer Familie alles gute!
223 “Frau Gerecke”: Fritzsche et al., Letter to Alma Gerecke, 14 June 1946.
224 “I had done a little mild griping . . .”: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
224 “the most incredible letter . . .”: Ibid.
224 “My Dear!”: Henry F. Gerecke, Letter to Alma Gerecke, 18 June 1946.
224 “Our dear Chaplain Gerecke . . .”: Fritzsche et al., Letter to Alma Gerecke.
225 “So I stayed on at Nuremberg . . .”: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
225 “really hadn’t written a word . . .”: “Nuernberg Nazi Leaders Urged St. Louis Chaplain.”
225 Gerecke had committed: Gerecke, “Monthly Report of Chaplains,” December 1945.
225 “ . . . perhaps closer to them . . .”: “Nuernberg Nazi Leaders Urged St. Louis Chaplain.”
225 “became more and more solemn . . .”: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, pp. 316–317.
226 officiated at the wedding: Gerecke, “Monthly Report of Chaplains,” August 1946.
226 inquiries from German clergy: Ibid.
226 Goering claimed prosecutors: TMWC, Vol. 22, p. 364.
226 “I stand up for the things . . .”: Ibid., p. 366.
227 “You most certainly heard . . .”: Manvell cited by Persico. Nuremberg, p. 374.
227 “glazed and dreamy eyes . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 22, p. 370.
227 “a pitiable exhibition . . .”: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, p. 317.
227 tried to get him to stop: Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, p. 302.
227 “ . . . under the greatest son . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 22, p. 373.
228 “will go down in history . . .”: Ibid., pp. 373–375.
228 “Amid the deepest distress . . .”: Ibid., p. 383.
228 “And the reason why I say ‘yes . . .’ ”: Ibid., Vol. 12, p. 13.
229 “ . . . which I must rectify . . .”: Ibid., Vol. 22, p. 385.
229 “ . . . a tremendous spiritual responsibility . . .”: Ibid., p. 384.
230 “ . . . I cannot today cry . . .”: Ibid., p. 405.
230 “shaken to the very depths . . .”: Ibid., p. 396.
230 “ . . . Keitel was used to acting . . .”: Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, p. 259.
231 when Hitler gave him an order: Ibid., p. 308.
231 “You have been at this trial too long . . .”: Ibid., p. 311.
231 could not think of a single time: Gilbert, Nuremberg Diary, p. 228.
231 “truthful and decent . . .”: Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, p. 310.
231 “a weak, if not pathetic, instrument . . .”: Smith, Reaching Judgment, p. 186.
231 “ . . . two fundamental questions . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 22, pp. 376–377.
232 something that approximated respect: Smith, Reaching Judgment, p. 186.
232 “the bravest and most thoughtful . . .”: Taylor, Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, pp. 537–538.
232 “with great dignity . . .”: Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, p. 304.
232 “more honest”: Gilbert, Nuremberg Diary, p. 227.
232 “ . . . disparaging Keitel’s intelligence . . .”: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, p. 176.
233 smuggling them out: Speer, Spandau, p. 8.
233 O’Connor smuggled it: Niklas Frank interview.
233 The epigraph of the manuscript: Frank, In the Shadow, p. 333.
233 peddling it to right-wing: Ibid., p. 332.
233 short exercise walks: Andrus and Zwar, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, p. 142.
233 “It was gratifying . . .”: Gerecke, “My Assignment.”
233 “ . . . before the verdict”: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
233 in nearby homes: Gerecke, “My Assignment.”
234 wives who were scrambling: Hank Gerecke interview, 1 April 2008, and Niklas Frank interview.
234 “I am too emotionally unstrung . . .”: Gerecke, “My Assignment.”
234 “He would not show the victors . . .”: Posner, Hitler’s Children, p. 54.
234 Erich Raeder couldn’t see his wife: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
234 Lawrence had personally: Raeder, My Life, p. 400.
234 The Russians never explained: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
234 without ever charging her: Davidson, Trial of the Germans, p. 391.
234 “that of being my wife . . .”: Raeder, My Life, p. 400.
234 O’Connor smuggled Schirach’s son: Schirach, Price of Glory, pp. 211–212.
234 accompanied the family members: Gerecke, “My Assignment.”
235 “the most ungodly woman . . .”: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
235 escorted her down: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, p. 320.
235 Gerecke had traveled to Sackdilling: Goering, My Life with Goering, pp. 154
–155.
236 was outcast in school: Klaus von Schirach interview.
236 he sent them care packages: Hank Gerecke interview, 4 January 2008 and Niklas Frank interview.
236 “We saw little hands . . .”: Gerecke, “My Assignment.”
237 “They were Katzenjammer Kids . . .”: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
237 Cordula’s earliest memories: Posner, Hitler’s Children, p. 103.
237 tried to make him laugh: Niklas Frank interview.
237 “like an eternal zombie . . .”: Frank, In the Shadow, p. 371.
238 “ . . . killed for nothing”: Niklas Frank interview.
238 “heart-rending” . . . “emotional impact . . .”: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, p. 320.
238 standing on a chair . . . “My golden treasure! . . .”: Posner, Hitler’s Children, p. 198
239 Emmy had urged Edda: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
239 “Got a cigarette?”: Ibid.
239 Andrus had relaxed another rule: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, pp. 318–319.
240 would be extended for another week: Conot, Justice at Nuremberg, p. 492.
240 gave the families more time: Gerecke and Sinclair, “I Walked the Gallows.”
240 an atmosphere of general gloom: Conot, Justice at Nuremberg, p. 492.
240 One thousand extra guards: Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, p. 467.
240 Snipers positioned themselves: Ibid., p. 466.
240 “was at his most absurd . . .”: Taylor, Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, p. 574.
240 “. . . have made a mockery . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 22, pp. 522–523.
241 in a bleak mood: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, p. 321.
241 “if there is ever to be . . .”: Taylor, Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, p. 571.
241 “It is your duty . . .”: Andrus and Zwar, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, p. 142.
241 Lawrence had banned photography: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, p. 321.
242 “Goering persecuted the Jews . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 22, pp. 524–527.
242 “worst shape of any man . . .”: Persico, Nuremberg, pp. 397–398.
242 they took off their headphones: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, p. 322.
242 “ . . . Fritzsche is not guilty . . .”: TMWC, Vol. 22, p. 585.
242 “ . . . the walls of Jericho crumble”: Fritzsche, Sword in the Scales, pp. 323–324.
243 Schacht shook hands with no one: Speer, Spandau, p. 5.
