Werner Grothmann

Werner Grothmann ( Frankfurt am Main , Germany , 23 of August of 1915 - 26 of February of 2002 ) was a Obersturmbannführer (most) of the Waffen SS and adjutant of Reichsführer-SS , Heinrich Himmler from 1940 until its end in 1945.

Biography

Grothmann Werner was born in Frankfurt in 1915, in his youth he studied in economies and carved out a career as an accountant in a bank. In 1933 he joined the SS at his 18th birthday, and was assigned to the SS Junkerschule where he became a Waffen SS soldier .

At the beginning of World War II , already held the rank of Hauptsturmführer (captain) was granted the command of SS-Sturmbann No. 13 , belonging to SS Standarte Deutschland . It was mobilized with his unit during the conquest of France and was wounded in combat in June 1940. ¹

On his return to Berlin, at the suggestion of Joachim Peiper, he was appointed second assistant of the Reichsführer SS, Heinrich Himmler until July 1942, where he was elevated to the aide- de- camp of the SS leader . Grothmann as his field helper, accompanied Himmler on all field visits. In 1943 he was promoted to Obersturmbannführer . ²

In the last days of May 1945, in the midst of the collapse of Nazism , Grothmann along with Heinz Macher and Himmler made a car journey through occupied territory to Flensburg , in an attempt by the Nazi leader to offer his services to the new German government headed By Karl Dönitz , who had been designated as Hitler’s successor. The request was de facto rejected by the German Admiral, so that the SS delegation had no choice but to withdraw. ³

Both Grothmann and Macher and Himmler changed their appearance by concealing themselves as members of the police gendarmes (Geheime Feldpolizei), which was a mistake since the members of this organization were very wanted by the allies, therefore, they were arrested 20 of May of 1945 By British commandos when they were in the vicinity of Bremen . The three people were taken to an allied barracks in Luneburg . At first, none of the three were recognized; but a suspicious officer suspected interrogation and recognized Himmler and this was separated from the group, where hours later he committed suicide.

Grothmann was taken to a barracks in Lübeck where he was interrogated exhaustively denying any knowledge of Aktion Reinhard and then taken to an SS prison camp. Grothmann served as a prosecution witness against several SS officers; But proclaimed in Karl Wolff’s judgment maintaining his ignorant stance of the Final Solution .

He was tried by a military court in Hamburg and sentenced to 16 years in prison; But only managed to perform some months being released as Not guilty .

Werner Grothmann already released, he remade his life as a businessman and granted few interviews in the 70s, where he crossed Himmler as a character in nature coward ^{[ citation needed ]} . Grothmann died at age 86, on February 26, 2002.

References