NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Erich von dem Bach

Erich von dem Bach, born Erich von Zelewski and also known as Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski (March 1, 1899 - March 8, 1972), was a Nazi official and a member of the SS (in which he reached the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer). Image File history File links Erich_von_dem_Bach. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... LÄ™bork (Kashubian/Pomeranian: LÃ£bÃ³rg; German Lauenburg) is a town (town 1341) on the rivers Leba and Okalica in Middle Pomerania region, north-western Poland with some 37,000 inhabitants. ... Historic Pomerania (outlined in yellow) on the background of modern country borders. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with usâ€) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Official language(s) German Minor language(s) Polish (Posen, Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Elsass-Lothringen) Government Constitutional Monarchy - First Kaiser Wilhelm I... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Munich (German: MÃ¼nchen, (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern). ... Von (generally in small case only as von) is a German preposition which approximately means of or from. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The infamous double-sig rune SS insignia. ... SS-ObergruppenfÃ¼hrer Erich von dem Bach-Zalewski SS-ObergruppenfÃ¼hrer patch SA-ObergruppenfÃ¼hrer insignia ObergruppenfÃ¼hrer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA. Translated as Senior Group Leader, the rank of SA-ObergruppenfÃ¼hrer was held by...

He was born in Lauenburg, Pomerania, German Empire, on March 1, 1899, the son of Otto von Zelewski. His father joined the army and was killed in 1915 during World War I. The following year Erich von Zelewski volunteered for the Prussian army and served there until the end of the war. Twice wounded, he twice won the Iron Cross. LÄ™bork (Kashubian/Pomeranian: LÃ£bÃ³rg; German Lauenburg) is a town (town 1341) on the rivers Leba and Okalica in Middle Pomerania region, north-western Poland with some 37,000 inhabitants. ... Historic Pomerania (outlined in yellow) on the background of modern country borders. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with usâ€) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Official language(s) German Minor language(s) Polish (Posen, Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Elsass-Lothringen) Government Constitutional Monarchy - First Kaiser Wilhelm I... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire Canada France Italy Russian Empire United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria German Empire Ottoman Empire Commanders Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Sir Arthur Currie Ferdinand Foch Nicholas II Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Reinhard Scheer Franz Josef I Oskar Potiorek Ä°smail Enver Ferdinand I... Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ... A stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the German Armed Forces The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813. ...

After the war he remained in the Reichswehr and, among other duties, fought in the Silesian Uprisings. In 1924 he transferred to the border guards' units (Grenzschutz), where he remained until 1930. The Reichswehr (helpÂ· info) (literally National Defense or Imperial Defense) formed the military organization of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when the government rebranded it as the Wehrmacht (Defence Force). ... The Silesian Uprisings (Polish: Powstania Å›lÄ…skie) was a series of three military insurections (1919-1921) of the Polish people in the Upper Silesia region against the German/Prussian forces in order to force them out the region and join it with Poland, that regained her independence after the World... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

After quitting the Grenzschutz he joined the German Nazi Party (I.D. card No. 489101) in 1930 and became a member of the SS in 1931. He gained rapid promotion and by the end of 1933 had reached the rank of SS-Brigadeführer. At this point he began using his mother's maiden name (Bach), in order to sound more Germanic. A source of considerable annoyence for him was that three of his sisters married Jewish men this along with his partly Slavic ancestry may have driven him to ever bloodier excesses in order to "prove himself" as a Nazi. The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... BrigadefÃ¼hrer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. ...

A member of the Reichstag from 1932 to 1944, he participated in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. He served at various Nazi party posts, initially in East Prussia and after 1936 in Silesia. By 1937 he had become HSSPF in Silesia. The Reichstag (German for Imperial Diet) was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... The Night of the Long Knives (June 30 and Sunday July 1, 1934) (German, Nacht der langen Messer), also known as Reichsmordwoche, Operation Hummingbird or the Blood Purge, was a lethal purge of Adolf Hitlers potential political rivals in the Sturmabteilung (SA; also known as storm troopers or brownshirts). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in the Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (Czech: ; German: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlonsk / ÅšlÃ³nsk) is a historical region in central Europe. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... SS and Police Leaders were senior Nazi Party officials that commanded large units of the SS during and prior to the Second World War. ...

After the outbreak of World War II, units under his command took part in reprisal actions and the shooting of POWs during the September Campaign; however, von dem Bach was not present personally. On November 7, 1939, Heinrich Himmler offered him the post of commissar for strengthening of Germandom in Silesia. His duties included mass resettlements and the confiscation of private property. By August 1940 his units had deprived more than 20,000 families from the Zywiec region of their homes and had forced them to leave. This article is becoming very long. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Combatants Poland Nazi Germany Soviet Union Slovakia Commanders Edward Rydz-ÅšmigÅ‚y Fedor von Bock (Army Group North) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group South) Ferdinand ÄŒatloÅ¡ (Field Army Bernolak) Strength 39 divisions 16 brigades 4,300 guns 880 tanks 400 aircraft Total: 950,000[1] 56 German divisions 4 German... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... (October 7, 1900 â€“ May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in the Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (Czech: ; German: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlonsk / ÅšlÃ³nsk) is a historical region in central Europe. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Żywiec is a town in southern Poland with 32,300 inhabitants (2001). ...

In late 1939 he proposed setting up a concentration camp for the non-German inhabitants of the region in the vicinity of the town of Oswiecim. After initial reluctance, Heinrich Himmler agreed to von dem Bach's suggestion, and in May 1940 the Auschwitz concentration camp opened. 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ... Oświęcim. ... (October 7, 1900 â€“ May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Auschwitz, Konzentrationslager Auschwitz-Birkenau, KL Auschwitz, Nazi German Concentration Camp of Auschwitz was the largest of the Nazi German extermination camps, along with a number of concentration camps, comprising three main camps and 40 to 50 sub-camps. ...

On November 28, 1940, von dem Bach officially changed his name and dropped the name of Zelewski. November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

On June 22, 1941, von dem Bach became Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer ("higher SS and police leader") in the region of the Heeresgruppe Mitte ("middle army group"); in July 1943, he became commander of the so-called "Bandenkampfverbände" ("mob fight units"), responsible for, among other deeds, the mass murder of 35,000 civilians in Riga and killing more than 200,000 people in Belarus and Eastern Poland. The authorities designated him as the future HSSPF Moscow; however, the Wehrmacht failed to take the city, and von dem Bach remained THE HSSPF in command of "anti-partisan" units in the Central Front until 1943, a special command created by Hitler. Bach-zelewsky has the "honour" of being the only HSSPE in the occupied Soviet territories to retain genuine authority over the police after Prutzmann and Jockeln lost theirs to the civil administration. In February 1942 he went into hospitalization which he would later claim was due to a nervous breakdown connected with the ethnic cleansing in Belarus, especially the genocidal campaign against the Jews, though wireless intercepts decoded by British intelligence suggest that his illness was strictly physical. He resumed his post in July, with no apperant diminition in his ruthlesness June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... This article deals with mass killings which are not considered genocide. ... A civilian is a person who is not a member of a military. ... Map of Latvia Coordinates: Founded 1201 Mayor Aivars Aksenoks Area - City 307. ... SS and Police Leaders were senior Nazi Party officials that commanded large units of the SS during and prior to the Second World War. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

on July 23, 1943, von dem Bach Zelewski received command of all "anti-partisan" actions in Belgium, Belarus, France, the General Gouvernment, the Netherlands, Norway, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, and parts of the Bialystok area. In practice of course his activities remained confined to Belaruss and the contiguous part of Great russia His operations were acomplete failure. A partisan-controled area would be "more or less" encircled, (hermetic closing off was impracticable) whereupon German forces would close in. since deploying the necessary forces was a time consuming and conspicuous process the partisans were well forewarned. many would slip away, The heavier euipment and much of the supplies cached, while the remaining partisans would carry out a fighting withdrawl, picking off lead troops. usually killing more men than they lost. in the process the Germans would wantonly slaghter civilians in order to inflate enemy losses. after an operation was completed no permanent mentionworthy presence would be maintained allowing the partisans to slip back in. retrieve their cached stocks and pick up were they had left off. on Other occasions though they would not return but begin operating where they had retreared before the operation. At most Bach was not eliminating partisan forces but forcing them to relocate. July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... The General Government (in full General government for the occupied Polish areas, in German Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete) was the name given by Germany to the governing authority in Poland after its occupation by the Wehrmacht in September and October 1939. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all South Slavic languages, ÐˆÑƒÐ³Ð¾ÑÐ»Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ˜Ð° in Serbian and Macedonian Cyrillic) is a term used for the three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... Białystok (pronounce: [bȋa:wistɔk]) (Belarusian: Беласток, Lithuanian: Balstogė) is the largest city (pop. ...

In 1944 he took part in front-line fighting in the Kovel area, but in March he had to go to Germany for medical treatment. Heinrich Himmler assumed all his posts. 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Coat of Arms, circa 1993 Kovel (In Ukrainian and in Russian: Ковель, in Polish: Kowel) is a town now situated in western Ukraine in the Volyn oblast. ... (October 7, 1900 â€“ May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ...

On August 2, 1944, he took command of all troops fighting against the Warsaw Uprising (Korpsgruppe Bach). Units under his command killed approximately 200,000 civilians (more than 65,000 in mass executions) and an unknown number of POWs. After more than two months of heavy fighting, he finally managed to recapture the city. August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Combatants Poland Germany Commanders Tadeusz BÃ³r-Komorowski, Antoni ChruÅ›ciel, Tadeusz PeÅ‚czyÅ„ski Erich von dem Bach, Rainer Stahel, Heinz Reinefarth, Bronislav Kaminski Strength 50,000 troops 25,000 troops Casualties 18,000 killed, 12,000 wounded, 15,000 taken prisoner 250,000 civilians killed 10,000 killed... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...

Between January 26 and February 10, 1945, von dem Bach Zelewski commanded one of the "paper-corps", X SS Armeekorps in Germany. His unit, however, suffered annihilation after less than two weeks. He went underground and tried to leave the country. However, US military police arrested him on August 1, 1945. In exchange for his testimony against his former superiors at the Nuremberg Trials, von dem Bach Zelewski never faced trial for any war crimes. Similarly, he never faced extradition to Poland or to the USSR. He left prison in 1949. In Nuremberg he also resumed the name Bach-Zelewsky in an obvious atempt to appear more "slavic" and thus less likely an exponent of Nazi Germano-supremacism. January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956â€“present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic - President George W. Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... The SÃ¼ddeutsche Zeitung announces The Verdict in Nuremberg. ... Between 3 and 5 million Soviet POWs died in the Nazi camps, most of them by hunger. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

In 1951 von dem Bach Zelewski claimed that he had helped Hermann Göring commit suicide in 1946. As evidence, he produced cyanide capsules to the authorities with serial numbers not far removed from the one used by Göring. The authorities never verified von dem Bach Zelewski's claim, however, and did not charge him with aiding Göring's death. Most modern day historians dismiss the von dem Bach Zelewski claim and agree that a U.S. Army contact within the prison of Nuremburg most likely aided Hermann Göring in his suicide. ^{[citation needed]} 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Hermann Wilhelm GÃ¶ring. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

In 1951 von dem Bach Zelewski received a sentence of ten years in a labour camp for the murder of political opponents in the early thirties; however, he did not serve time until 1958, when he faced an accusation of killing an SA officer during the Night of the Long Knives and received a prison sentence of two and a half years. In 1961 he received a sentence of another 10 years in home custody for the murder of ten German communists in the early thirties. None of the sentences referred to his role in the East and his participation to the massacres in Minsk and Moghilev, in Belarus, though he openly admitted to having murdred Jews, making a grand show of tearful contrition 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Night of the Long Knives (June 30 and Sunday July 1, 1934) (German, Nacht der langen Messer), also known as Reichsmordwoche, Operation Hummingbird or the Blood Purge, was a lethal purge of Adolf Hitlers potential political rivals in the Sturmabteilung (SA; also known as storm troopers or brownshirts). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... [[Post code]]: 220050 Location of Minsk, shown within the Minsk Voblast Coordinates: Districts Frunzenski Kastrychnitski Leninski Maskouski Partyzanski Pershamayski Savetski Centralny Zavodzki Incorporated 980 (Polatsk) Incorporated 1991 (Belarus) Mayor Mikhail Pavlov Area - City 266. ...

He died in Munich prison on March 8, 1972. Munich (German: MÃ¼nchen, (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

See also