Trial of Werner Rohde and Eight Others

The Trial of Werner Rohde and Eight Others was the trial of several members of the Nazi regime in Germany for the execution of British agents without a trial.

Background information and proceedings
On June 1st, 1946, nine members of The Third Reich were charged with the murders of four British women. Wolfgang Zeus, Magnus Wochner, Emil Meier, Peter Straub, Fritz Hartjenstein, Franz Berg, Werner Rohde, Emil Bruttel, and Kurt Aus Dem Bruch were all tried and convicted of capital murder of British women sent to aid liaison officers in France. These women assisted in establishing communications between the resistance movement in France and London. The names of the victims were Andrée Borrel, Sonia Olschanezky, Vera Leigh and Diana Rowden. Two of these women were a part of the Women's Auxiliary Air force and the other two were a part of the First Aid Women's Yeomanry. All four were sent by the SOE for French resistance efforts. Thought to be spies of the Allied Powers, the Nazi regime detained them and eventually imprisoned them in the Natzweiler Camp. There, these women were allegedly inhumanely killed by lethal injection and then cremated without a previous trial regarding the execution. Major Bill Barkworth of the SAS and Vera Atkins of the SOE were in charge of the prosecution. Under Article 29 of the Hague Convention of 1907 the women were not considered spies because of their purpose to obtain intelligence openly for communicating to their own army. Also, they were not wearing disguises when captured by the SS. Article 30 states that no spy can be punished until a trial has been completed. The Judge Advocate goes on to state that because the women were sent by plane to help with communications they can not ultimately be perceived as spies but because of the previously stated circumstances the judge admitted that these four women could have been mistaken as spies. However, because there was no evidence of a trial before the lethal injections someone must be found guilty for these war crimes. Moreover, the Judge Advocate starts his argument that under the "Laws of Humanity" no person shall be put to death by another human being. Even if a person argues innocence due to the fact that they were not present during the murder, that accused individual can still be found guilty if evidence shows they had knowledge of the murder before it happened.

Defendants' arguments and charges
All of the accused were officials at the Natzweiler Camp except for Franz Berg who was imprisoned at the camp and worked the oven in the crematory. Horst Kopkow was the head of counter intelligence and was responsible for all SOE agents captured in France at the time. Kopkow was never tried because he was not captured at the time of investigation. By 1946 he was captured in British custody and was thought to be dead of bronchial pneumonia. In 1948 the Allies realized that he was sent to aid in Counterintelligence efforts against the Soviets for uses in the Cold War.

Fritz Hartjenstein was the Kommandant of the Natzweiler Camp and claimed that he was not present at the camp during the time of the executions and stated he had no idea that they were given the lethal injections. However, to his dismay evidence was found that he was at a party in the camp during the same day of the killings. He was charged with imprisonment for life and then tried again for the hanging of a pilot in Natzweiler. He was charged with death by firing squad and then extradited to France for another trial for the mass murder of prisoners. He was sentenced to death again but later given life in prison. Hartjenstein died of a heart attack in 1954.

Werner Rohde was a medical officer at the Natzweiler Camp and admitted that he was ordered by Officer Otto to inject one of the women. Officer Otto was found to not be an official at the camp and also evidence came out that Rohde was aware that the four British women never received a trial before the executions. Officer Otto could never be prosecuted because information came out that he committed suicide once the war ended. Along with Rohde, Dr. Heinrich Plaza assisted in the executions using lethal injections. Dr. Heinrich Plaza was never captured and could never be tried for his actions. Werner Rohde was sentenced to execution by hanging.

Peter Straub was the SS officer in command for the executions. According to testimony Straub was said to be drunk the night of the executions because of a party thrown for the departure of Dr. Heinrich Plaza. Straub was known to have bragged about the injections to other prisoners in the camp. Peter Straub was charged with 13 years in prison which was thought to be surprising considering all of the other war crimes he had been accused of committing in other concentration camps.

Franz Berg was a prisoner in the camp who operated the crematorium oven. Berg was a recognized criminal with a record of up to 22 crimes. He stated that he never knew that anyone unusual was being cremated and that he was locked in his cell when the injections were being administered. He went on to state a fellow prisoner told him what was happening as the murders were taking place. His defense argument was that Peter Straub told him to heat up the furnaces because he was in charge. Franz Berg was charged with five years in prison.

Magnus Wochner was the political head of the Natzweiler Camp and was directly under orders of the Berlin Police. He stated that the four British women were sent to his office and was told by the police that they were going to be executed. He sent them away because he did not think it concerned him and denied having any knowledge of the killings until the trial was conducted. However, one witness told the Judge Advocate that Peter Straub, head of the crematorium, could not conduct any execution without Wochner's permission. Wochner was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was later sent to France for prosecution but was released.

Emil Bruttel was a first aid officer at the Nazweiler Camp who was ordered to bring the lethal injections to the site of the killings. He was outside the room at the time of the murders and stated that he wanted to leave but could not because he did not have a lamp. Moreover, he admitted to hearing words such as, "four women spies", "we cannot escape the orders", and "execution" but did not admit to have any knowledge of the executions when given the order to obtain the lethal drugs. Bruttel was charged with four years in prison. Once turned over to French custody he was released as well.

Results
Aus dem Bruch and Emil Meier were found not guilty due to insufficient evidence. Wolfgang Zeus was found not guilty because he was not at the camp during the time of the executions and the other accused witnesses supported his claim.