31 Facts About Ludwig Hahn

Ludwig Hermann Karl Hahn was a German SS-Standartenfuhrer, Nazi official and convicted war criminal.

Ludwig Hahn held numerous positions with the German police and security services over the course of his career with the Schutzstaffel.

Between 1972 and 1975, Ludwig Hahn was the subject of two separate war crimes prosecutions in Hamburg, West Germany; both related to atrocities that occurred during his service with the SS in Warsaw.

Ludwig Hahn was ultimately convicted and imprisoned from 1975 to 1983.

The son of a prosperous farmer of the same name, Ludwig Hahn was born on 23 January 1908, in the rural town of Eitzen, Uelzen district, Province of Hanover in what was then the German Empire.

Ludwig Hahn attended Volksschule as a youth and was then enrolled at the Luneburg Realgymnasium, completing his matriculation exam in 1927.

Ludwig Hahn went on to study financial law at the University of Gottingen where he became a member of the National Socialist German Students' League.

In December 1933 Ludwig Hahn was attached to the SS Regional Headquarters in Weimar as a member of the Stabswache.

Ludwig Hahn began his career with the Nazi security services in June 1935 when he was retained as a consultant at the SD-Hauptamt in Berlin.

Ludwig Hahn maintained both positions from April 1937 to August 1939.

Ludwig Hahn was promoted to the rank of SS-Sturmbannfuhrer und Kriminalrat in September 1938.

Ludwig Hahn next took over as Commander of the Sicherheitspolizei and the Sicherheitsdienst for the occupied city of Krakow in January 1940.

Ludwig Hahn served as chief of the "Police Emergency Court" at Montelupich Prison.

Ludwig Hahn acted as a senior advisor to the Slovak Ministry of the Interior.

Ludwig Hahn's headquarters was housed in the former offices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education.

On 2 February 1944, Ludwig Hahn would organize the public execution of 300 Polish civilian hostages in reprisal for the assassination of SS and Police Leader Franz Kutschera by members of the Polish Resistance.

Ludwig Hahn would receive the further title of Oberst der Polizei.

Ludwig Hahn personally commanded the defense of Warsaw's heavily fortified government district.

Ludwig Hahn was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st Class for his service during the uprising.

In November 1944, Ludwig Hahn departed Warsaw and returned to Germany where he was posted to the Western Front.

Ludwig Hahn was stationed in the town of Cochem and was appointed commander of Einsatzgruppe L which was attached to the German Sixth Panzer Army during the Battle of the Bulge.

Ludwig Hahn was next appointed Commander of the SiPo and the SD for the city of Wiesbaden in March 1945.

Ludwig Hahn was tasked with overseeing the security detail for Gauleiter Alfred Meyer.

Ludwig Hahn was taken prisoner by the British Army on 12 April 1945 but successfully escaped from custody shortly afterward.

Ludwig Hahn remained in Germany after 1945 and went into hiding in Bad Eilsen in the British occupation zone, working for several years as a laborer and farmhand.

Ludwig Hahn rose to the office of Branch Manager in 1955.

Ludwig Hahn was held by West German investigators for a year, however no charges were brought against him due to insufficient evidence and he was released in July 1961.

Ludwig Hahn was arrested a second time in December 1965 and held in pre-trial detention for two years, but was ultimately released again, owing to his poor health.

The now 65-year-old Ludwig Hahn was found guilty in connection with wartime atrocities committed at the Pawiak prison in Warsaw, namely the execution of 100 Polish political prisoners who were shot on his orders on 21 July 1944.

Ludwig Hahn was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June 1973 but petitioned the court for an appeal of the verdict.

The proceedings opened in October 1974, and Ludwig Hahn was once more found guilty.