41 Facts About Hanns Scharff

Hanns-Joachim Gottlob Scharff was a German Luftwaffe interrogator during the Second World War.

Hanns Scharff has been called the "Master Interrogator" of the Luftwaffe, and possibly all of Nazi Germany; he has been praised for his contribution to shaping US interrogation techniques after the war.

Hanns Scharff has been highly praised for the success of his techniques, in particular, because he never used physical means to obtain the required information.

In 1948, Hanns Scharff was invited by the United States Air Force to lecture on his interrogation techniques and first-hand experiences.

Hanns Scharff became a world-renowned mosaic artisan, with his handiwork on display in locations such as the California State Capitol; Los Angeles City Hall; several schools, colleges, and universities, including the giant Outdoor Mosaic Mural facade of the Utah Tech University Fine Arts Center; EPCOT Center; and in the 15-foot arched mosaic walls featuring the story of Cinderella inside Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World, Florida.

Hanns Scharff was born on December 16,1907, in Rastenburg, East Prussia, to Hans Hermann Scharf and Else Scharf and was the second of three sons, the elder being Eberhardt and the younger, Wolfgang, who died in his teens.

Hanns Scharff added an extra 'f' to the end of his last name as an adult; some ancestors spelled their last names that way.

Hanns Scharff was the recipient of the Iron Cross, the Reuss Cross, and the Hanseatic Cross, "all for bravery in combat," of which his son was immensely proud.

Hanns Scharff's mother was the daughter of one of the founders of one of Germany's largest textile mills.

Hanns Scharff was encouraged to learn the family business and trained for three years in textiles and weaving while still a teenager.

Hanns Scharff then traveled to work in the Adlerwerke Foreign Office in Johannesburg, South Africa, to gain experience in sales for one year.

Hanns Scharff was visiting Greiz, Germany, during the summer of 1939 when World War II broke out.

Hanns Scharff was originally to be posted to the Russian Front.

However, when Margaret Hanns Scharff learned of her husband's destination, she intervened, angry at the thought of a fluent English-speaking German soldier's life being wasted at the Eastern Front.

Hanns Scharff talked her way into the office of a German general in Berlin and pleaded her husband's case, convincing the general of the error which was about to take place.

Hanns Scharff had been slated to leave for the Russian Front the morning the telegram arrived.

Frustrated and concerned over his new battalion's unwillingness to transfer him to his correct unit, Hanns Scharff recalled his father's letter to each of his boys shortly before he died.

Hanns Scharff contacted then-Lieutenant Colonel Postel, who agreed to take his situation up with the commanding general, whom he knew personally.

The next morning, the general telephoned the panzer unit and ordered that Hanns Scharff be released to his proper unit.

Hanns Scharff assisted two interrogators named Weyland and Schroder who interrogated USAAF fighter pilots.

Hanns Scharff was later provided with an assistant interrogator, Otto "Canadian Wild Bill" Engelhardt.

Hanns Scharff was opposed to physically abusing prisoners to obtain information.

Hanns Scharff described various experiences with new POWs, outlining the procedure most of his fellow interrogators were instructed to use.

Hanns Scharff was fluent in English and knowledgeable about British and some American customs, which helped him gain the trust and friendship of many of his prisoners.

Hanns Scharff was best known for taking his prisoners on strolls through the nearby woods, first having them swear an oath of honor that they would not attempt to escape during their walk.

Hanns Scharff chose not to use these nature walks as a time to ask his prisoners obvious military-related questions directly but instead relied on the POWs' desire to speak to anyone outside of isolated captivity about informal, generalized topics.

Prisoners often volunteered information the Luftwaffe had instructed Hanns Scharff to acquire, frequently without realizing they had done so.

When faced with a tight-lipped prisoner, Hanns Scharff usually consulted these files during interrogation sessions.

Hanns Scharff began by asking a prisoner a question he already knew the answer to, informing the prisoner that he knew everything about him, but his superiors had instructed that the prisoner himself had to say it.

Hanns Scharff continued asking questions that he would then provide the answers for, each time hoping to convince his captive that there was nothing he did not already know.

When he eventually got to the piece of information he did not have, prisoners would frequently answer, assuming Hanns Scharff already had it in his files anyway, often saying so as they provided the information.

Hanns Scharff kept the Luftwaffe's lack of knowledge a strict secret to exploit the same tactic in later conversations.

Hanns Scharff interrogated many prisoners over his few years as an interrogator at Auswertestelle West.

Hanns Scharff expressed his delight at finally meeting Gabreski, who had crashed his P-47 while strafing a German airfield, as he stated he had been expecting his arrival for some time.

Hanns Scharff had Gabreski's photo hanging on the wall in his office for months before he arrived in anticipation of his capture and interrogation.

Gabreski is one of the few captives from whom Hanns Scharff never gained any intelligence during interrogation.

Hanns Scharff was asked to testify during his trial in the US in 1948.

Hanns Scharff came to the United States in 1948 when asked to testify in Lt.

Hanns Scharff chose select sections to publish in Argosy Magazine in 1950 in the form of a brief article titled "Without Torture".

In 1971, Hanns Scharff invited his daughter-in-law, Monika Hanns Scharff, to study under him alongside other mosaic artists in his expanding business.

Hanns Scharff was portrayed by Saro Emirze in the 2024 Apple TV miniseries Masters of the Air.