On the 10th of January 1946 in the open court session in Nikolaev the hearing of the case about atrocities of the German-fascist invaders in Nikolaev city and Nikolaev region during the Great Patriotic War began. The Military Tribunal of the Odessa Military District found it established that during the temporary occupation of the territory of the Nikolaev region of the Ukrainian SSR and Nikolaev for two years and seven months (from 16 August 1941 to 27 March 1947) the German fascist invaders in the city of Nikolaev and the Nikolaev region during the Great Patriotic War. ), the Nazi invaders systematically and systematically committed mass extermination and torture of peaceful Soviet citizens, including women, children and the elderly, as well as Soviet prisoners of war, enslaved Soviet people in Germany, destroyed towns and villages, destroyed and looted factories and plants, schools, libraries, hospitals, museums, churches and residential houses.
During the occupation of the Nikolaev region and the city of Nikolaev more than 100 thousand Soviet citizens were shot, hanged, tortured, more than 60 thousand people were taken away to hard labour in Germany.
Rosarkhiv together with the Federal Security Service of Russia with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund is working on a collection of documents in the series ‘Without Statute of Limitations’ on the preparation and course of trials of Nazi criminals organised in the USSR in 1943-1947. Digitised archival documents are being added to the federal archival project ‘Crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices against the civilian population of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945’.
Convicted Nazis
Winkler Hermann, lieutenant general of the German army, being the military commandant of the city of Nikolaev, directed the activities of military units and officials subordinate to him, as well as punitive bodies to mass extermination of Soviet citizens and prisoners of war. In March 1944, Winkler issued an order: all Soviet citizens who evaded being taken to Germany were to be treated as partisans. The testimony of witnesses established that the gendarmerie, police and SD, fulfilling Winkler’s orders, shot Soviet citizens en masse.
The witnesses Pereguda and Poleshchuk, questioned at the trial, testified that they were eyewitnesses to the shooting of 158 Soviet citizens. In the camps for Soviet prisoners of war subordinated to Winkler as military commandant, prisoners of war died en masse from hunger, unsanitary conditions and torture.
During the retreat of the German troops from the Nikolaev region under the blows of the Red Army, Winkler, with the participation of the leaders of the gendarmerie, police and SD, developed and largely implemented a plan for the total destruction of the city of Nikolaev.
Sandner Hans, Obersturmführer of the SS, having arrived in Kiev for an appointment, in October 1941 participated in the mass extermination of Soviet citizens, more than 1000 people being shot by him and the group he led. While in Nikolaev as head of the operational group of the Security Police and SD, in December 1941 he led the extermination of Jewish citizens in the village of Novo-Alexandrovka in the Nikolaev region, where more than 50 women, old people and children were shot. In April 1942, Sandner shot 20 doctors and 22 members of their families in Nikolaev.
In total, during the period of Sandner’s stay in Nikolaev and Kiev, he and his subordinates shot more than 2,500 Soviet prisoners of war, and these executions were accompanied by brutal torture and torment.
Bütner Max, major of the gendarmerie, being from October 1942 to 1943 the chief of the German gendarmerie of Volyn region, and from July 1943 to March 1944 the chief of the gendarmerie of Nikolaev region, directed the activities of his subordinates to mass extermination of Soviet citizens.
On his orders 1500 people were arrested in the Nikolaev region, of whom 600 were handed over to the SD organs, and the rest were sent to hard labour in Germany.
Bütner developed a plan for the extermination of Soviet citizens, calling it a plan of ‘harvesting’. He personally took part in a punitive expedition to the districts of Nikolayev and Kirovograd regions, where hundreds of Soviet citizens were shot and 6 settlements were burnt down.
Kandler Franz, captain of the gendarmerie, former chief of the Kherson gendarmerie district, in 1942 arrested and sent 12 Soviet citizens of Roma nationality to the SD, where they were shot. In the spring of 1943, on Kandler’s orders, 15 agronomists were arrested in the Kherson district, who were also shot by the ‘SD’.
Michel Rudolf, the police officer, being from January 1942 to February 1943 deputy chief of the gendarme post in the village of Bolshaya Aleksandrovka, and from February 1943 to March 1944 chief of the gendarme post in the village of Bereznegovatoye in Mykolaivskaia. Bereznegovatoe, Nikolaev region, with his subordinate gendarmes made raids and mass arrests of Soviet citizens, subjected them to beatings and torture, and with written conclusions sent them to the Security Police and SD, where they were subjected to torture and shot.
On Michel’s orders, more than 1,000 Soviet citizens were taken by the gendarmerie from these two districts to collection points and sent to Germany.
Witzleb Franz, major of police, being from 28 November 1941 to 25 March 1944 the chief of the security police of Nikolaev, carried out mass round-ups of Soviet citizens, arrested them and sent them to Germany. According to his personal confession, up to 10 thousand people were taken away by the security police led by him. He tortured and beat those who evaded being taken into slavery.
In 1943 Witzleb took part in the hanging of 30 Soviet citizens on Bazarnaya Square in Nikolaev.
Schmale Heinrich, a police captain, held from 20 October 1941 to March 1944 command positions in the German punitive bodies: deputy chief of the police guard in Nikolaev, commander of the battalion of the guard police and chief of the guard police in Kherson.
He took part in the hanging and execution of Soviet citizens and prisoners of war, made mass arrests of civilians and handed them over to the security police and SD for torture and execution, arrested and shot Soviet people who evaded being taken to Germany.
In August 1943, he took part in a punitive expedition in the Znamenka-Alexandria area, during which hundreds of civilians were burned in settlements and shot.
Berg Robert, being a field gendarme of the 50th German infantry division, in July 1941 took part in the execution of 16 thousand Soviet citizens, including women and children, in the area of Bendery. In August 1941, in the same area he participated in the execution of 31 Soviet citizens. In September-October 1941, in Nikolaev, he participated in the execution of 28 workers of the Nikolaev port. In October 1941 in Ochakov two men and a woman suspected of burning a mill were hanged with his participation.
Happ Johannes, Ober-Efreyant of the 783rd guard battalion, in June-August 1942, took part in the mass execution of Soviet prisoners of war held in Kirovograd camp, personally shot 20 prisoners of war.
The military tribunal of the Odessa Military District found the defendants guilty and sentenced them: Winkler, Sandner, Bütner, Michel, Witzleb, Schmale and Berg to death by hanging; Kandler and Happ to exile to hard labour for twenty years each.
