In 1947, Kappler was tried by an Italian military tribunal and sentenced to life imprisonment in the military prison of Gaeta. Kappler performed active training duty over three separate periods from June 1935 to September 1936, with final release on September 27, 1936 with the rank of Feldwebel der Reserve. Source: Dutch National Archives, The Hague. What happened to Herbert Kappler, SS Colonel, after WWII? Shahan Russell is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. He was posted to Rome in 1922 to finish his studies and was ordained on 20-12-1925. The date of the Ardeatine massacre, March 24, 1944, became a national day of mourning in Italy, and the killings are still recalled with outrage. As the authorities refused to release him, in 1977, Anneliese carried Kappler out of prison in a large suitcase (he weighed less than one hundred five pounds at the time). The Italians unsuccessfully demanded that Kappler be returned, but the West Germany authorities refused to extradite him and did not prosecute Kappler for any further war crimes, reportedly due to his ill health. Kurtna was last seen in 1948 by Fr. It was also because the Republic of Ireland was neutral during the war. Shortly after his birth O'Flaherty's parents moved to Killarney, Ireland, and made a home on a golf course where James O'Flaherty worked as a steward. Herbert Kappler of the German Army carried out a massacre of Italian civilians at the Ardeatine Caves near Rome on March 24, 1944. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. On 19-04-1972, he married Anneliese Viktoria Wenger (born 1925), a homeopath and mother of three already grown children from a first marriage divorced in 1955 (including Eckehard and Ekkehard Walther, who was with her in Rome) In 1962, after hearing about Kapplers fate from a patient for the first time, she wrote to him and sent food parcels. In 1937, Kappler (now an SS-Oberscharfhrer (staff sergeant)) was sent by his Gestapo superiors to attend the Fhrerschule der Sicherheitspolzei (Leadership School of the Security Police) in Berlin from which he graduated in the summer of 1937 as a certified Kriminalkommissar (Criminal Commissioner). He died of cancer in 1978, never having been returned to Prison. He would be Kapplers only visitor until 1959. The two lived at an address on Tbingern, Kurzestrasse 15, before later moving to an apartment listed at Stuttgart-Degerloch, Reutlingerstrasse 98. In 1922 OFlaherty was sent to Rome to finish his studies where he was ordained three years later. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "An Italian doctor explains "Syndrome K", the fake disease he invented to save Jews from the Nazis", https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herbert_Kappler&oldid=7681127, German military personnel of World War II, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. He had served 30 years of a life term imposed by an Italian military tribunal in 1948 for the reprisal killing during World War II of 335 hostages, including 57 Jews. She lowered him out a fourthfloor window with a mountainclimbing harness, hid him in a box and drove to West Germay. and later turned over to the Italian government in 1947. . While serving his sentence in prison, Herbert Kappler divorced his first wife and married his nurse, Anneliese, in 1972. [19], Kappler was portrayed by Christopher Plummer in the 1983 TV film The Scarlet and The Black, which detailed Kappler's first meeting with Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty. Comment * what is insensible water loss. In these measures, Kappler came into direct conflict with the Vatican, which was highly suspected of harboring Allied fugitives and escaped prisoners, even though the Vatican under Pope Pius XII was technically neutral. Kappler organized the Ardeatine massacre, in which 335 Italian civilians were killed on March 24, 1944, as a reprisal for an attack by resistance fighters that had resulted in the deaths of 33 men of the SS Police garrison in Rome. He later remarried Anneliese Kappler, a nurse with whom he had carried on a lengthy correspondence, in a prison wedding ceremony in 1972. He was only obeying orders.. During his teenage years Hugh was a talented student and golfer . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. In the 1973 feature film Massacre in Rome, which deals with the Ardeatine massacre, Kappler was portrayed by actor Richard Burton. 2023 Getty Images. In 1977 he escaped from a Rome Prison hidden in a laundry basket, and was spirited away to Germany, by his recently wedded wife, whom he had married in Prison in 1972. After serving as an SS-Anwrter from December 1932 to May 1933, Kappler was appointed an SS-Mann and assigned the SS membership number 55,211. [2], Due to Kappler's deteriorating condition and his wife's nursing skills, Anneliese Kappler had been allowed almost unlimited access to him. David Alvarez and Robert A. Graham, S.J. Kappler was posted to Rome as head of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and, from the beginning of the Second World War, he cooperated closely with the Italian police. I recommend you watch his trial here. [3][9], Despite demands that Kappler be returned to Italy the West German authorities refused to extradite him and did not prosecute Kappler for any further war crimes, reportedly owing to ill-health. In his first action, 1,023 Italian Jews were deported, of whom only 16 survived. At his trial in 1948, after six hours, the head of the five-judge military tribunal gravely pronounced the stiffest sentence he could give under Italian law: "life imprisonment, including four years solitary confinement, for repeated and premeditated murder.. [18], In the 1973 feature film Massacre in Rome, which deals with the Ardeatine massacre, Kappler was portrayed by actor Richard Burton. While there, he asked to speak to the Monsignor and was probably surprised when OFlaherty agreed. Among them was his future wife, Carla Capponi (1918-2000). Kappler and his first wife divorced while he was serving his sentence. He would never join his diocese. With a portion of Italy under German occupation, those POWs were at risk of being recaptured. Anyone can read what you share. Mr. Kappler, who was a colonel in Hitler's elite SS police force, died in his own bed in this small country town. The priest believed it might be misinterpreted as an attempt to influence his trial judges. [11][12], Kappler organised the Ardeatine massacre, in which 335 Italian civilians were killed on 24 March 1944 in response to a direct order from Adolf Hitler to "kill 100 Italians for each German", in retaliation for an attack by the Italian Resistance that had resulted in the deaths of 33 men of the SS Police Regiment Bozen's garrison in Rome. At the same time, he became a stormtrooper in the Sturmabteilung (SA) and served as an SA-Mann from August 1, 1931 to December 1, 1932. Kappler came into direct conflict with the neutral Vatican under Pope Pius XII, which Kappler correctly believed was harbouring escaped Allied POWs, members of the Italian Resistance, and Jews. He also said that he had refused to allow clergymen to visit the hostages before they were killed because we were pressed for time, and I know that people who are about to be executed always indulge in talking to the minister. Shortly before his trial, Mr. Kappler converted to Roman Catholicism. OFlaherty was told he would be shot if he crossed the line not that it stopped him. Hugh became a scratch golfer meaning he was quite good. During this action, he demanded 110 pounds of gold from the Jewish community in Rome, which he later claimed was an attempt to prevent the round-up and the deportations. (1997), Military history of Italy during World War II, "An Italian doctor explains "Syndrome K", the fake disease he invented to save Jews from the Nazis", "Weitere Grber nicht mehr namenlos (neues deutschland)", "La vedova di Kappler a Trento per il culto del Simonino", "Erich Priebke, Nazi Who Carried Out Massacre of 335 Italians, Dies at 100", "Nazi funeral that's forcing Italy to face its past", "Kappler's escape MEETING WITH Hon. By 1943, the Italians had suffered a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of the Allied powers. Contents [2], By 1975, at the age of sixty-eight, Kappler was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he was moved to a military hospital in Rome in 1976. from the Jews of Rome, which Kappler later alleged was an attempt to prevent the deportations.[3][8][9]. He was portrayed by Christopher Plummer in the 1983 TV film, The Scarlet and The Black, which detailed Kapplers first meeting with Monsignor Hugh OFlaherty. Kappler's second in command in Rome, SS-Captain Erich Priebke, did manage to escape and it was not until 1996 that Priebke . A particular adversary of Kappler's in this respect was Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, whose activities helping Jewish fugitives and Allied prisoners escape Rome led to Kappler having him targeted for assassination. Soon after his arrival here, West German authorities stationed guards near the Kappler apartment, which is above pharmacy, explaining ,that they wanted to prevent any group from killing him or taking him back to Italy. Over the years, the two developed a strange friendship. He also coordinated the rescue of downed pilots, providing them with food, medicine and safe houses throughout Italy. Kappler was never discharged and technically held this rank during World War II, although by that time Kappler was an active full-time SS member and exempt from further military service. Six months after his escape, Kappler died at home in Soltau, on February 9, 1978, aged 70.[4]. Kapplers second in command in Rome, SS-Captain. SOLTAU, West Germany, Feb. 10 (UPI) The family of Herbert Kappler, a former Nazi SS colonel, withheld plans for his funeral today to prevent pro- and antiNazi demonstrators from appearing at the rites. Appeals by both his wife and the West German government to release him were denied by Italian authorities, but earned him a transfer to a hospital. A particularly detested adversary of Kappler's was Irish Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty of the Sacred Congregation De Propaganda Fide. He was a man of many faces who used his talent at disguise to help thousands of people escape from the Nazis. Because of Kapplers deteriorating condition and his wifes nursing skills, Anneliese Kappler had been allowed almost unlimited access to him after he was transferred to an Italian hospital. [1] [2] Erich Priebke did manage to escape and it was not until 1996 that Priebke would face justice. In 1934, O'Flaherty received the title of Monsignor. iie was 70 years old. The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Germany was furious at the betrayal and retaliated by invading Italy. He later married Anneliese Kappler, a nurse who had carried on a lengthy correspondence with him, before marrying him at a prison ceremony in 1972. Kappler's first action as head of German security forces in Rome was to help plan the rescue of Benito Mussolini by the SS special forces, a feat which was accomplished by Otto Skorzeny. Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Kapplerwas head of The Gestapo in Rome during the occupation. By early 1944, Kappler was the highest representative of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Main Security Office) in Rome and answered directly to both the military governorship, under Luftwaffe Major General Kurt Mlzer, as well as the SS chain of command under the Supreme SS and Police Leader of Italy, SS-Obergruppenfhrer Karl Wolff. See the article in its original context from. "First a great fear, then a great calm, an enormous lucidity. He later arranged the deportation of a further 993 Roman Jews, nearly all of whom also died in the gas chambers. Kappler and his first wife divorced while Kappler was serving his sentence; later, he was married again to Anneliese Kappler, a nurse who had carried on a lengthy correspondence with Kappler . During those same years, Kurtna covertly spied for the Soviet Union, with devastating results for the many underground priests and faithful whose names he passed to the NKVD. Kappler was in charge of Jewish roundups for deportations to Auschwitz. Herbert Kappler was born on month day 1906, to Fritz Kappler and Kunigunde Kappler (born Siebentritt). Meanwhile, the West German government has denied German press reports that it has secretly reached agreement with the Italian government on a means of ending the Kappler controversy. Herbert Kappler became Hitler's man in Rome after the arrest of Benito Mussolini. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Fritz was born on February 23 1876. OFlaherty did not just hide POWs. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/10/archives/herbert-kappler-dies-nazi-fled-captivity-in-rome-called-a.html. 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