1. Helmut Rauca was a Holocaust perpetrator instrumental in the murder of more than 10,000 Jews from the Kaunas Ghetto, Lithuania, during World War II.
17 Facts About Helmut Rauca
1. 2.
Helmut Rauca was a member of Einsatzgruppe A in the rank of Hauptscharfuhrer.
3.
Helmut Rauca had become a Canadian citizen in 1956 under his own name and embarked on a successful business career.
4.
Helmut Albert Rauca was born in Trieb, Falkenstein, Kingdom of Saxony.
5.
Helmut Rauca's father Albert was Austrian and his mother Alma nee Wolf was born in Trieb.
6.
Helmut Rauca apprenticed in a Plauen textile mill and joined the Nazi Party two years before Hitler's rise to power.
7.
Helmut Rauca became a professional policeman in 1928 serving with the Order Police ; in 1935 transferred to the detective division called Kripo where he joined the SS, card number 290 335.
8.
Helmut Rauca entered Kaunas on 3 July 1941 during Operation Barbarossa with the SS unit of Einsatzgruppe "A".
9.
Helmut Rauca lied to the Canadian officials, that he went to Kovno half a year later in February or March 1942.
10.
Helmut Rauca arrived in Canada on 13 December 1950 at Saint John, New Brunswick, aboard the Canadian ship Beaverbrae from Bremerhaven.
11.
Helmut Rauca did not change his name but switched his given names Helmut Albert to Albert Helmut which was enough to prevent detection for the next thirty years.
12.
Helmut Rauca was accused of sending 11,584 people to their deaths in the period between 18 August 1941 and 25 December 1943.
13.
Helmut Rauca was arrested on 17 June 1982, at the request of the West German government.
14.
However, Helmut Rauca voluntarily remained in jail, fearing possible reprisals if he left custody.
15.
In May 1983, Helmut Rauca dropped further appeals against his extradition.
16.
Helmut Rauca was flown to Frankfurt on 20 May 1983.
17.
Helmut Rauca died of cancer on 29 October 1983, while awaiting trial in custodial detention.