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== Arrest, trial, and execution ==
== Arrest, trial, and execution ==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-E0311-0010-003, Oberstes Gericht, Fischer-Prozess, Aussage, Fischer.jpg|thumb|Horst Fischer (at the board), 11 March 1966]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-E0311-0010-003, Oberstes Gericht, Fischer-Prozess, Aussage, Fischer.jpg|thumb|Horst Fischer (at the board), 11 March 1966]]
After the war, he carried on with his medical career in the [[German Democratic Republic]] for 20 years. He got married, had four children, and lived life as a middle-class citizen. Although Fischer kept his crimes a secret, he reportedly believed that enough time had passed that he would not be punished for his crimes. It is suspected that East German authorities might not have actively searched for Fischer since East Germany had a severe shortage of physicians and the police were reluctant to reveal their inexperience in hunting down war criminals. Fischer was arrested and charged with crimes he committed in Nazi concentration camps in September 1965. East German prosecutors hoped to use his case to expose members of [[IG Farben]] for their roles in [[the Holocaust]]. Fischer was the highest-ranking concentration camp doctor ever to stand trial before a German court.<ref name=":1" />
After the war, Fischer carried on with his medical career in the [[German Democratic Republic]] for 20 years. He got married, had four children, and lived life as a middle-class citizen. Fischer practiced medicine in the countryside under an alias.<ref>{{Cite web |title=East Germany Reports Execution of Auschwitz 'selection' Physician |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/east-germany-reports-execution-of-auschwitz-selection-physician |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}</ref> Although Fischer kept his crimes a secret, he reportedly believed enough time had passed that he would not be punished for his crimes. However, he was arrested and charged with crimes he committed in Nazi concentration camps in September 1965. East German prosecutors hoped to use his case to expose members of [[IG Farben]] for their roles in [[the Holocaust]]. Fischer was the highest-ranking concentration camp doctor ever to stand trial before a German court.<ref name=":1" />


The trial started on March 10, 1966, focused mainly on I.G. Farben and its collaboration with the [[SS]]. The case was tried directly by the [[Supreme Court of East Germany|GDR Supreme Court]]. To describe the crimes which Fischer was charged with, the prosecution sometimes directed the judges to Fischer's own statements and sketches of the camps. On several charges in which the evidence was weaker, the prosecutor was forced to rely on Fischer's own statements. His personal records and sketches were also used as evidence. The trial lasted roughly a week, and Fischer was found guilty of crimes against humanity. The panel ruled that he should be executed. After the Chairman of the State Council [[Walter Ulbricht]] refused clemency, Fischer was executed by [[guillotine]] in [[Leipzig]] on 8 July 1966. His remains were cremated, and he was buried in an unmarked grave.<ref name=":1" />
The trial started on March 10, 1966, focused mainly on I.G. Farben and its collaboration with the [[SS]]. The case was tried directly by the [[Supreme Court of East Germany|GDR Supreme Court]]. To describe the crimes which Fischer was charged with, the prosecution sometimes directed the judges to Fischer's own statements and sketches of the camps. On several charges in which the evidence was weaker, the prosecutor was forced to rely on Fischer's own statements. His personal records and sketches were also used as evidence. The trial lasted roughly a week, and Fischer was found guilty of crimes against humanity. The panel ruled that he should be executed. After the Chairman of the State Council [[Walter Ulbricht]] refused clemency, Fischer was executed by [[guillotine]] in [[Leipzig]] on 8 July 1966. His remains were cremated, and he was buried in an unmarked grave.<ref name=":1" />

Revision as of 04:12, 17 July 2022

Horst Fischer
Fischer at his trial in March 1966
Born
Horst Paul Silvester Fischer

(1912-12-31)31 December 1912
Died(1966-07-08)8 July 1966 (aged 53)
Cause of deathExecution by guillotine
OccupationPhysician
Known forBecoming the last person executed to be executed by guillotine in East Germany
Criminal statusExecuted
Children4
MotiveNazism
Conviction(s)Crimes against humanity
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims75,000+
Span of crimes
November 1942 – 1945
CountryGerman-occupied Poland
Location(s)Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp
Monowitz concentration camp
Target(s)Prisoners
Date apprehended
September 1965

Horst Paul Silvester Fischer (31 December 1912 – 8 July 1966) was a German medical doctor and member of the SS, executed by guillotine in East Germany for crimes committed at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War II.[1] Among other atrocities, Fischer was convicted and sentenced to death for his complicity in the murders of at least 75,000 people by participating in selection processes.

Early life

Fischer was born and orphaned and grew up with relatives in Dresden and Berlin. He joined the SS in 1933, and the Nazi Party four years later. After attending medical school at the University of Berlin, Fischer received his medical degree in 1937.

War crimes

He was transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau in November 1942. By 1945, he was one of the camp's highest ranking physicians. From November 1943 to September 1944, he was also the main camp doctor in the infirmary of the Monowitz concentration camp.[2]

During his time at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, Fischer was complicit in the murders of tens of thousands of prisoners by performing selections at the ramp, in the prison hospital, on the roll-call grounds, in the barracks as well as among the work units. He also supervised the gassing of the victims he chose for death and the subsequent disinfections. Fischer also permitted the use of the flogging of prisoners at least 71 times.[2]

Arrest, trial, and execution

Horst Fischer (at the board), 11 March 1966

After the war, Fischer carried on with his medical career in the German Democratic Republic for 20 years. He got married, had four children, and lived life as a middle-class citizen. Fischer practiced medicine in the countryside under an alias.[3] Although Fischer kept his crimes a secret, he reportedly believed enough time had passed that he would not be punished for his crimes. However, he was arrested and charged with crimes he committed in Nazi concentration camps in September 1965. East German prosecutors hoped to use his case to expose members of IG Farben for their roles in the Holocaust. Fischer was the highest-ranking concentration camp doctor ever to stand trial before a German court.[1]

The trial started on March 10, 1966, focused mainly on I.G. Farben and its collaboration with the SS. The case was tried directly by the GDR Supreme Court. To describe the crimes which Fischer was charged with, the prosecution sometimes directed the judges to Fischer's own statements and sketches of the camps. On several charges in which the evidence was weaker, the prosecutor was forced to rely on Fischer's own statements. His personal records and sketches were also used as evidence. The trial lasted roughly a week, and Fischer was found guilty of crimes against humanity. The panel ruled that he should be executed. After the Chairman of the State Council Walter Ulbricht refused clemency, Fischer was executed by guillotine in Leipzig on 8 July 1966. His remains were cremated, and he was buried in an unmarked grave.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Horst Fischer". Wollheim Memorial. Goethe University.
  2. ^ a b "Nazi Crimes on Trial". www.expostfacto.nl. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  3. ^ "East Germany Reports Execution of Auschwitz 'selection' Physician". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2022-07-17.

Further reading

  • Dirks, Christian (December 2005). Die Verbrechen der anderen: Auschwitz und der Auschwitz-Prozess der DDR. Das Verfahren gegen den KZ-Arzt Dr. Horst Fischer (in German). Schoeningh Ferdinand. ISBN 3506713639.