1. Hans Helwig was a German Nazi Party politician, World War I veteran, Schutzstaffel general and Nazi concentration camp commandant.
16 Facts About Hans Helwig
1. 2.
The son of a forest ranger and the youngest of 15 children Helwig apprenticed as a bricklayer in his home village of Hemsbach.
3.
Discontented with life as a bricklayer the 19-year-old Hans Helwig enlisted in the German Imperial Army.
4.
Hans Helwig rose to the rank of master sergeant in an infantry regiment before leaving in early 1914 to work as a court clerk.
5.
Hans Helwig was only a few months out of the army when World War I broke out, prompting him to re-enlist.
6.
Hans Helwig returned to his post with the court before eventually moving on to a role as a minor official at the German Ministry of Justice.
7.
At the time in Baden Nazi politics were dominated by a personality clash between local strongmen Heinrich Himmler and Robert Heinrich Wagner, a struggle in which Hans Helwig eventually sided with Himmler, leaving the SA for the SS in 1929.
8.
Hans Helwig initially followed a career in Nazi politics, following a personal endorsement to Adolf Hitler from Himmler.
9.
Hans Helwig recovered from his health issues rapidly and sought to return to the SS.
10.
Hans Helwig was readmitted reluctantly, largely on the basis of his long service and loyalty.
11.
However Hans Helwig did blot his copybook when it was discovered that he boasted of his atrocities at Sachsenhausen to a group of non-Germans after getting drunk in a bar, breaking protocol about keeping concentration camp activities quiet.
12.
Indeed, as was the case for all of the commandants at Sachsenhausen, Hans Helwig's command was noted for its viciousness.
13.
Himmler put the blame on Eicke who in turn argued that it had been Hans Helwig who had mixed up the orders, having become confused by a sudden influx of new prisoners at the time.
14.
Hans Helwig appealed to be allowed to continue but neither Eicke nor Himmler would be moved.
15.
Hans Helwig's standing as a party loyalist ensured that the SS continued to help him find employment and after a few failed attempts he found a role in the Organisation Todt that suited his talents.
16.
Hans Helwig, who remained an active member of his local Protestant church in Hemsbach throughout his SS career despite the faith being officially discouraged, died in his hometown in 1952 before any legal proceedings could be brought against him.