See the article in its original context from. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practicesof the time they were published. From 1939 to 1940, he was briefly deployed to Poland and participated in various Einsatzgruppen actions before serving a further tour as a uniformed Gestapo officer in occupied Belgium where he acted to suppress resistance. Mrs. Kappler told reporters: The more they hate Herbert Kappler, the more love him. Kappler was responsible for many cruel deeds in Rome as well as the massacre at The Ardeatine Caves, which were personally supervised by Kappler. Kurtna, however, turned the tables on Kappler by stealing the top secret Sicherheitsdienst codebooks from his office during the chaos that surrounded the Liberation of Rome. He was described as a model prisoner, interested in music, theology, reading and meditation. David Alvarez and Robert A. Graham, S.J. By the time the Allies captured Rome in June 1944, OFlahertys underground network had kept 6,245 Allied escapees alive. He was only obeying orders.. SOLTAU, West Germany, Feb. 9 (Reuters)Herbert Kappler; a_convicted Nazi war criminal, died of stomach cancer here today, six months after- a daring escape from a Rome military hospital. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. In 1975 Kappler was diagnosed with cancer, but requests for his release were refused. 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. Despite this O'Flaherty assisted in helping members of Kapplers family in escaping from Rome at Liberation. Herbert Kappler joined the Nazi Party on 1 August 1931 and joined the SS in 1933. Herbert Kappler. By this time, Kappler had also converted to Catholicism,[16] due to the influence of his war-time enemy, Mgr. In the 1973 feature film Massacre in Rome, which deals with the Ardeatine massacre, Kappler was portrayed by actor Richard Burton. He escaped from prison shortly before his death in West Germany in 1978. Kappler was in charge of Jewish roundups for deportations to Auschwitz. 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. He mingled with Victor Emmanuel III, the King of Italy and he also became friendly with Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; the founder of Italian Fascism. SS Obersturmfhrer, The head of German police and security services in Rome. He was raised in Killarney where his father was a steward on a golf course where the family lived. Kappler was also portrayed by Christopher Plummer in the 1983 TV movie The Scarlet and The Black, which detailed Kappler's first meeting with Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty. ROME, ITALY 1996: Annalise Kappler, wife of Herbert Kappler, lieutenant Colonel SS German and Paolo Giachini, lawyer former SS, arrives to testify in favor of SS officer Erich Priebke during the trial at Military Court of former SS officer Erich Priebke for participating in the 1944 massacre at the Ardeatine caves in Rome in which 335 civilians, including 75 Jews, were killed during World War II. Among them was his future wife, Carla Capponi (1918-2000). There was a great sense of letting go." . Herbert Kappler was born on September 23, 1907, to a middle-class family in Stuttgart in the German Empire. Kappler came into direct conflict with the Vatican, as the Germans had strong suspicions that it was harboring Allied fugitives and escaped prisoners, even though the Vatican under Pope Pius XII was technically neutral. During his teenage years Hugh was a talented student and golfer . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. As Rome fell to Allied forces, Kappler unsuccessfully tried to seek refuge in the Vatican, but he was arrested by British authorities in 1945 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. 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. 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. [6][7][10][13], Kappler was arrested by British authorities in 1945, turned over to the Italian government in 1947, and tried the following year. Kappler converted to Roman Catholicism. What happened to Herbert Kappler, SS Colonel, after WWII? For his role in several atrocities, including the Ardeatine Massacre (the slaughter of 335 civilians in the Ardeatine Caves), the Nazi chief was sentenced to life in prison. Herbert Kappler passed away in 1978 after Anneliese broke him out of prison when he was . On a visit in August 1977, Kapplers wife carried him out in a large suitcase (Kappler weighed about (104 pounds at the time) and escaped to West Germany. [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. (Photo by Stefano Montesi/Corbis via Getty Images), 2001 x 2880 px (6.67 x 9.60 in) - 300 dpi - 1 MB. She defended these donations on the grounds that she had spent her entire savings to try and secure her husbands release and to care for him while he was a prisoner. 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. In his first action, 1,023 Italian Jews were deported, of whom only 16 survived. He later remarried Anneliese Kappler, a nurse with whom he had carried on a lengthy correspondence, in a prison wedding ceremony in 1972. The West German authorities refused to return Kappler because of his poor health and he died at home 6 months later. In 1931, Herbert Kappler formally became a Nazi Party member. Kappler and his first wife divorced while he was serving his sentence. Kappler was next entrusted with Jewish roundups for transportation to Auschwitz; in his first action, 1,023 Italian Jews were deported with only 16 surviving, and Kappler would later arrange the deportation of a further 993 Roman Jews, nearly all of whom would eventually perish in Nazi gas chambers. Ironically, Kurtna's Soviet masters failed to appreciate or reward his loyalty. While there, he asked to speak to the Monsignor and was probably surprised when OFlaherty agreed. They deposed Mussolini and freed all Allied POWs. Appeals by both his wife and the West German government to release him were denied by Italian authorities. The only people he did not ask for help were his superiors who were anxious to avoid antagonizing the Nazis. He underwent six months of indoctrination training, and was sworn into the SS on May 8, 1933. iie was 70 years old. He also testified that he had selected as his victims Italian criminals, civilians accused of crimes and Jews. By early 1944, Kappler was the highest representative of the Reich Security Main Office in Rome and answered directly to both the military governorship, under Luftwaffe General Kurt Maelzer, as well as the SS chain of command under the Higher SS and Police Leader of Italy, SS-Obergruppenfhrer Karl Wolff. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. On a visit in August 1977, Kappler's wife carried him out in a large suitcase (Kappler weighed about 47kg (104lb) at the time) and escaped to West Germany, assisted by apparently unwitting carabinieri. Kappler was posted to Rome as head of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and throughout the war years he cooperated closely with the Fascist police. from the Jews of Rome, which Kappler later alleged was an attempt to prevent the deportations.[3][8][9]. Fortunately, they did not storm the Vatican because of its unique status. It did not take the Nazis long to realize that OFlaherty was behind the disappearing people. 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). Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Kapplerwas head of The Gestapo in Rome during the occupation. 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. One of the most notorious actions Kappler undertook while in Rome was the organization of the Ardeatine massacre where 335 Italian civilians were killed on March 24, 1944 in collective punishment for an attack by resistance fighters against the SS Police Regiment Bozen in Rome. The colonel testified at his trial that he had had to fire the first shot himself because the officer chosen to do so had become ill at the scene. 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 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 was born on September 23, 1907, to a middle-class family in the city of Stuttgart in what was then the German Empire. You got lucky! Upon leaving the SA, Kappler was accepted as a prospective candidate into the Schutzstaffel (SS) and appointed to the entry level probation rank of SS-Anwrter. Hugh O'Flaherty, who also often visited him in prison, and with whom Kappler often discussed literature and religion. (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. 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Mr. Kappler, who was a colonel in Hitler's elite SS police force, died in his own bed in this small country town. After his sentencing (which upheld his lifetime conviction), Kappler went ahead with the conversion. Herbert Kappler (23 September 1907 - 9 February 1978) was the head of German police and security services ( Oberbefehlshaber des Sicherheitspolizei und SD) in Rome during World War II. Waiting to solve 5. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. It is estimated his group hid over 6,500 people for the remainder of the war in farms, convents, churches, and private apartments. Hugh O'Flaherty was born to James and Margaret O'Flaherty in Lisrobin, Kiskeam, County Cork, Ireland, on February 28, 1898. Living in a major city such as Stuttgart, Kappler was a witness to the chaos of the Great Depression, the expansion of the Freikorps, and the rise of the Nazi Party. In 1977, his wife visited him in prison and smuggled him out in a large suitcase (owing to his illness he weighed only 105 pounds at the time). Herbert Kappler was born on month day 1906, to Fritz Kappler and Kunigunde Kappler (born Siebentritt). By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org, Search JTA's historical archive dating back to 1923. He later arranged the deportation of a further 993 Roman Jews, nearly all of whom eventually died in Nazi gas chambers. He was promoted to SS-Obersturmbannfhrer (lieutenant colonel) on September 12 and quickly assumed his new duties operating out of the Italian capital. Over the years, the two developed a strange friendship. OFlaherty never lost his talent for socializing or forgot his golfing skills. Kurtna, who was always loyal to the USSR, only started to also spy for Nazi Germany in 1943 because his new handler, Kappler, repeatedly threatened to otherwise send Kurtna and his wife to a concentration camp. Asked by the TV interviewer whether approval had perhaps not come from the wrong (political) side, she said she was not interested where approval came from. He rose to the rank of SS- Obersturmbannfhrer and was responsible for the Ardeatine massacre as well as dealing with Vatican City over its neutrality. [9][13] Kappler's first wife divorced him while he was serving his sentence. Therefore, he was allowed to visit POW camps throughout Italy. On a prison visit in August 1977, Kappler's wife carried him out in a large suitcase (Kappler weighed less than 105 pounds at the time) and escaped to West Germany, assisted by apparently unwitting carabinieri. It was also because the Republic of Ireland was neutral during the war. Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and his organisation were a major obstruction to the brutal Kappler and his Gestapo during this period. Without hesitation, O'Flaherty took up Kappler's invitation and in prison the two men chatted over coffee. Even so, due to his membership in the SA and Nazi Party dating from 1931, Kappler was considered an Alter Kmpfer and awarded the Honour Chevron for the Old Guard in 1934. He next attended a technical college and spent seven semesters studying electrical engineering. Herbert Kappler (23 September 1907 9 February 1978) was the head of German police and security services (Oberbefehlshaber des Sicherheitspolizei und SD) in Rome during World War II. In 1947, Kappler was tried by an Italian military tribunal and sentenced to life imprisonment in the military prison of Gaeta. 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. Kappler was responsible for many cruel deeds in Rome as well as the massacre at The Ardeatine Caves, which were personally supervised by Kappler. She defended her husbands shooting of 335 Italian Jews and non-Jews in 1941 in reprisal for a partisan attack on Romes SS headquarters, saying he was acting under orders. Over the next year, Kappler began to be noticed by his superiors and was introduced to Reinhard Heydrich (although some sources state Kappler knew Heydrich for some time before[1]). Kappler's main activities during this period involved suppressing resistance groups, rounding up "enemies of the state", and enforcing anti-Jewish measures, conducting Jewish ghetto raids, and deportations to extermination camps. One of the most notorious actions Kappler undertook while in Rome was the organization of the Ardeatine massacre where over three hundred Italian civilians were killed on 24-03-1944 in collective punishment for an attack by resistance fighters against an SS formation in Rome. What happened to Herbert Kapplers first wife? Mr. Kappler, who died yesterday, was serving a life term for ordering the 1944 reprisal killing of 335 Italians when his wife, Anneliese, helped him escape from a prison hospital in Rome six months ago. Toget about, he donned various disguises, hence his nickname the Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican. It came from a book about an Englishman who disguised himself to help French nobility escape the purges of the French Revolution. OFlaherty did not just hide POWs. In retaliation for the armistice between Italy and the Allies on 8 September 1943, the German military occupied Rome and Kappler was appointed as Chief of the Security Police and Security Service (Oberbefehlshaber des Sicherheitspolizei und SD) for all SS and Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units deployed in Rome. During Kappler's probationary period, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, meaning that Kappler did not have the "honor" of full SS membership prior to the Nazis' assumption of power. what happened to hercules after he died . [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. He was intelligent earning a scholarship to a teacher training college. During his childhood, Kappler witnessed World War I, and came of age in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s. Herbert Kappler (23 September 1907 9 February 1978) was a key German SS functionary and war criminal during the Nazi era. Marina was born in Rome on November 4, 1942, to Jewish parents Giuseppe Del Monte and Clara Limentani. 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