In practice, refusal to obey orders during war is not possible. She declined to give details of the escape, saying these would appear in a mass-circulation magazine this week. ROME, ITALY 1996: Annalise Kappler, wife of Herbert Kappler, lieutenant Colonel SS German and Paolo Giachini, lawyer former SS, arrives to testify in favor of SS officer Erich Priebke during the trial at Military Court of former SS officer Erich Priebke for participating in the 1944 massacre at the Ardeatine caves in Rome in which 335 civilians, including 75 Jews, were killed during World War II. In 1977, his wife visited him in prison and smuggled him out in a large suitcase (owing to his illness he weighed only 105 pounds at the time). 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. He was raised in Killarney where his father was a steward on a golf course where the family lived. Kappler's first action as head of German security forces in Rome was to help plan the rescue of Benito Mussolini by the SS special forces, a feat which was accomplished by Otto Skorzeny. In January 1936, he was assigned to duty at the Gestapo central office of Stuttgart. The Italians unsuccessfully demanded that Kappler be returned, but the West Germany authorities refused to extradite him and did not prosecute Kappler for any further war crimes, reportedly due to his ill health. One of the most notorious actions Kappler undertook while in Rome was the organization of the Ardeatine massacre where over three hundred Italian civilians were killed on 24-03-1944 in collective punishment for an attack by resistance fighters against an SS formation in Rome. Kappler came into direct conflict with the neutral Vatican under Pope Pius XII, which Kappler correctly believed was harbouring escaped Allied POWs, members of the Italian Resistance, and Jews. Kappler was arrested by British authorities in 1945, turned over to the Italian government in 1947, and tried the following year by an Italian military tribunal. Hugh became a scratch golfer meaning he was quite good. [citation needed] They included the wife of the Irish ambassador, several priests, nuns, members of the French resistance, as well as other high-ranking nobles. Kappler was responsible for many cruel deeds in Rome as well as the massacre at The Ardeatine Caves, which were personally supervised by Kappler. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. There was a great sense of letting go." . Amazingly, the Irishman agreed to go and see a man who had plotted to kidnap him and at one stage wanted to murder him. Germany was furious at the betrayal and retaliated by invading Italy. Mr. Kappler's escape last Aug. 15 from the military hospital, to which he had been transferred because of deteriorating health, caused a political furor. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. From 1939 to 1940, he was briefly deployed to Poland and participated in various Einsatzgruppen actions before serving a further tour as a uniformed Gestapo officer in occupied Belgium where he acted to suppress resistance. Hugh OFlaherty was born on February 28, 1898, in County Cork, Ireland. In mid 1941, now an SS-Major, Kappler was selected as a liaison officer to the government of Benito Mussolini as well as a security advisor to the Fascist police. Kappler was also never affiliated with the Waffen-SS and spent the war performing "behind the lines" police and security duty. As Rome fell to Allied forces, Kappler unsuccessfully tried to seek refuge in the Vatican, but he was arrested by British authorities in 1945 and later turned over to the Italian government in 1947. [14][15], In 1948, Kappler was tried by an Italian Army military tribunal and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Gaeta military prison. He also coordinated the rescue of downed pilots, providing them with food, medicine and safe houses throughout Italy. from the Jews of Rome, which Kappler later alleged was an attempt to prevent the deportations.[3][8][9]. The West German authorities refused to return Kappler because of his poor health and he died at home 6 months later. Herbert Kappler (23 September 1907 9 February 1978) was the head of German police and security services (Oberbefehlshaber des Sicherheitspolizei und SD) in Rome during World War II. His first assignment was as a member of an Allgemeine SS formation (the 13th SS-Standarte), operating out of Stuttgart, performing part-time duties as a member of the general SS. He rose to the rank of SS- Obersturmbannfhrer and was responsible for the Ardeatine massacre as well as dealing with Vatican City over its neutrality. Kappler died on 09-02-1978, at home in Soltau at the age of 70. See the article in its original context from. The Italians demanded that Kappler be returned, but the West Germany authorities refused to extradite him and did not prosecute Kappler for any further war crimes, reportedly owing to ill-health. He was head of German police and security services (Sicherheitspolizei and SD) in Rome during the Second World War and was responsible for the Ardeatine massacre. (1997), Military history of Italy during World War II, "An Italian doctor explains "Syndrome K", the fake disease he invented to save Jews from the Nazis", "Weitere Grber nicht mehr namenlos (neues deutschland)", "La vedova di Kappler a Trento per il culto del Simonino", "Erich Priebke, Nazi Who Carried Out Massacre of 335 Italians, Dies at 100", "Nazi funeral that's forcing Italy to face its past", "Kappler's escape MEETING WITH Hon. [3][9], Despite demands that Kappler be returned to Italy the West German authorities refused to extradite him and did not prosecute Kappler for any further war crimes, reportedly owing to ill-health. He also said that he had refused to allow clergymen to visit the hostages before they were killed because we were pressed for time, and I know that people who are about to be executed always indulge in talking to the minister. Shortly before his trial, Mr. Kappler converted to Roman Catholicism. Hugh O'Flaherty, who also often visited him in prison, and with whom Kappler often discussed literature and religion. Mr. Kappler's wife, Anneliese, who said she had lowered him with ropes from the third floor of the hospital, explained that it had been her greatest wish that her husband, whom she called a Christbike figure, should not die in captivity. [10], In 1975, at the age of sixty-eight, Kappler was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was only obeying orders.. Mr. Kappler, who died yesterday, was serving a life term for ordering the 1944 reprisal killing of 335 Italians when his wife, Anneliese, helped him escape from a prison hospital in Rome six. Fritz was born on February 23 1876. His wife divorced him while he was serving his sentence. [11][12], Kappler organised the Ardeatine massacre, in which 335 Italian civilians were killed on 24 March 1944 in response to a direct order from Adolf Hitler to "kill 100 Italians for each German", in retaliation for an attack by the Italian Resistance that had resulted in the deaths of 33 men of the SS Police Regiment Bozen's garrison in Rome. During his childhood, Kappler witnessed World War I, and came of age in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s. Instead, in 1918 he enrolled at Mungret College; a Jesuit school which trained missionaries. Comment * what is insensible water loss. As Rome fell to Allied forces, Kappler unsuccessfully tried to seek refuge in the Vatican, but he was arrested by British authorities in 1945 and later turned over to the Italian government in 1947. Kappler and his first wife divorced while he was serving his sentence. In 1947, Kappler was tried by an Italian military tribunal and sentenced to life imprisonment in the military prison of Gaeta. Meanwhile, the West German government has denied German press reports that it has secretly reached agreement with the Italian government on a means of ending the Kappler controversy. Appeals by both his wife and the West German government for compassionate release were denied by Italian authorities, but did earn him a transfer to a hospital in 1976. The reports suggested that Bonn would place Kappler in a German hospital under strict police guard and the Italian government would find this a politically palatable solution to the row over his escape. The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. OFlaherty was told he would be shot if he crossed the line not that it stopped him. [9][13] Kappler's first wife divorced him while he was serving his sentence. Kappler came into direct conflict with the Vatican, as the Germans had strong suspicions that it was harboring Allied fugitives and escaped prisoners, even though the Vatican under Pope Pius XII was technically neutral. Kappler organized the Ardeatine massacre, in which 335 Italian civilians were killed on March 24, 1944, as a reprisal for an attack by resistance fighters that had resulted in the deaths of 33 men of the SS Police garrison in Rome. SOLTAU, West Germany, Feb. 9 (Reuters)Herbert Kappler; a_convicted Nazi war criminal, died of stomach cancer here today, six months after- a daring escape from a Rome military hospital. Kappler was born to a middle-class family in Stuttgart in what was still the German Empire. Kappler and his first wife divorced while Kappler was serving his sentence; later, he was married again to Anneliese Kappler, a nurse who had carried on a lengthy correspondence with Kappler . Retrieved from Wikimedia . Kappler presided over the Ardeatine massacre, a mass killing of some 335 civilians and political prisoners on March 24, 1944. His appointment to Italy was the result of his security police experience, connections with the SS leadership (Reinhard Heydrich, in particular), as well as a fluency in the Italian language. Where is Herbert Kappler buried? [citation needed] In 1938, during the Anschluss, he supervised the mass deportations of Austrias Jews to concentration camps. Shortly after his birth O'Flaherty's parents moved to Killarney, Ireland, and made a home on a golf course where James O'Flaherty worked as a steward. Because of Kapplers deteriorating condition and his wifes nursing skills, Anneliese Kappler had been allowed almost unlimited access to him after he was transferred to an Italian hospital. He rose to the rank of SS- Obersturmbannfhrer and was responsible for the Ardeatine massacre as well as dealing with Vatican City over its neutrality. Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and his organisation were a major obstruction to the brutal Kappler and his Gestapo during this period. World War II She also denied receiving financial aid for the escape from any group, but admitted, during a TV interview, that she had received money from various groups representing former SS members. what happened to herbert kappler's first wife. Herbert Kappler joined the Nazi Party on 1 August 1931 at the age of twenty three. List of aircraft of the Malaysian Armed Forces, Italy and the Second World War (1940-1945), Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, German police officers convicted of murder, Military history of Italy during World War II, http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0304/1224291271284.html?via=mr, http://catholicexchange.com/2009/02/25/116165/, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915344,00.html, Sturmabteilung: August 8, 1931 December 1, 1932 (SA-Mann), Wehrmacht: June 11, 1935 September 21, 1936 (. He would never join his diocese. Raised a Protestant, Kappler wanted to convert to Roman Catholicism, but OFlaherty cautioned against it. Herbert Kappler of the German Army carried out a massacre of Italian civilians at the Ardeatine Caves near Rome on March 24, 1944. Did Herbert Kappler become a Catholic? Appeals by both his wife and the West German government to release him were denied by Italian authorities, but earned him a transfer to a hospital. After serving as an SS-Anwrter from December 1932 to May 1933, Kappler was appointed an SS-Mann and assigned the SS membership number 55,211. Following the armistice between Italy and the Allied Forces on September 8, 1943, the German military occupied Rome and Kappler was ordered to serve as Chief of the Security Police and Security Service (Oberbefehlshaber des Sicherheitspolizei und SD) for all SS and police units deployed in Rome. Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Kapplerwas head of The Gestapo in Rome during the occupation. This page was last changed on 26 July 2021, at 19:26. They deposed Mussolini and freed all Allied POWs. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Arrest and Later Life.

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