LUDWIG HERMANN KARL HAHN
Ludwig Hermann Karl Hahn (23 January 1908 – 10 November 1986) was a Germany SS functionary during the Nazi era and a convicted criminal. A Nazi political official, Hahn was trained as a lawyer and held multiple government and security positions during his career with the SS. Hahn directly participated in the Einsatzgruppen killings in German-occupied Poland and was chief of the Nazi-security services in Kraków. Hahn was later appointed chief of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) for Warsaw. He was involved in the destruction and liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto (1942) and the brutal suppression of both the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943) and the Warsaw Uprising (1944).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. He later moved to Wuppertal where took a job as a salesman working in the textile industry. He resumed using his real name in 1949. At a hearing in 1950, Hahn's wife Charlotte falsely claimed to British authorities that her husband had been taken prisoner by the Russians and deported, prompting the British Army to end their war crimes investigation of him.Afterward, Hahn went on to pursue a successful career as an insurance broker in West Germany for many years. In 1951 Hahn's father-in-law arranged for him to take a position as Deputy Director for Organizational Matters with the Hanover branch of Karlsruher Lebensversicherung A.G. Hahn later rose to the office of branch manager in 1955.
In 1958 Hahn and his family relocated to Hamburg where he had been hired as head of the insurance department for Schmidt Assekuranz K.G. Following an investigation by the West German federal police, Hahn was arrested by the government of West Germany in July, 1960 on suspicion of his alleged involvement in the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto. He was held by West German investigators for a full year, however charges against him failed to materialize and he was released from prison in 1961. Following his release Hahn took a position with the Hamburg branch of Investors Overseas Service. He retired in 1967.He was again arrested by West German police in 1965 and again in 1966 but was only briefly held each time and never charged with any crime. It was not until May, 1972 that Hahn was successfully charged with war crimes by the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg. The now 65-year-old Hahn was found guilty in connection with wartime atrocities committed at the Pawiak prison in Warsaw. Hahn was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June, 1973 but petitioned the court for an appeal of the verdict. After a two year review of the trial and the evidence, Hahn's appeal was rejected by the West German judiciary and he entered prison in March, 1975.
During the appeals process, Hahn was also on trial in a different West German court; this case surrounded his alleged role in the deportation of an estimated 230,000 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka. The proceedings opened in October, 1974 and Hahn was again found guilty at trial. On July 4, 1975 Hahn was given a further sentence of life imprisonment. Suffering from cancer, Hahn was granted early release from prison in September, 1983. He died in Hamburg on November 10, 1986.
In 1958 Hahn and his family relocated to Hamburg where he had been hired as head of the insurance department for Schmidt Assekuranz K.G. Following an investigation by the West German federal police, Hahn was arrested by the government of West Germany in July, 1960 on suspicion of his alleged involvement in the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto. He was held by West German investigators for a full year, however charges against him failed to materialize and he was released from prison in 1961. Following his release Hahn took a position with the Hamburg branch of Investors Overseas Service. He retired in 1967.He was again arrested by West German police in 1965 and again in 1966 but was only briefly held each time and never charged with any crime. It was not until May, 1972 that Hahn was successfully charged with war crimes by the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg. The now 65-year-old Hahn was found guilty in connection with wartime atrocities committed at the Pawiak prison in Warsaw. Hahn was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June, 1973 but petitioned the court for an appeal of the verdict. After a two year review of the trial and the evidence, Hahn's appeal was rejected by the West German judiciary and he entered prison in March, 1975.
During the appeals process, Hahn was also on trial in a different West German court; this case surrounded his alleged role in the deportation of an estimated 230,000 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka. The proceedings opened in October, 1974 and Hahn was again found guilty at trial. On July 4, 1975 Hahn was given a further sentence of life imprisonment. Suffering from cancer, Hahn was granted early release from prison in September, 1983. He died in Hamburg on November 10, 1986.
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