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Heinz Hermann Schubert’s Nazi career and involvement in the atrocities committed during World War II will forever be a dark stain on his legacy.
His role in the organized killing of innocent people and subsequent trial showcase the horrors of the Nazi regime, serving as a reminder of the importance of justice and accountability for such crimes against humanity.
Who Was Heinz Schubert?
Heinz Hermann Schubert was a German SS officer born in Berlin on August 27, 1914.
He went to school in Eisenberg, Thuringia, and later in Berlin-Lichterfelde, where he also went to business school. Schubert began his career in the Nazi party and the SS after working as a lawyer’s assistant from April 1931 until August 1933.
Schubert began working as a civilian employee for the Reichsstatthalter of Bremen and Oldenburg in August 1933. His participation in the Nazi party began at the age of 19 in May 1934, followed by his SS membership in October 1934.
On that date, he began working for the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), specifically in the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) section I A 4, which dealt with SD personal details.
Schubert joined Otto Ohlendorf’s Einsatzgruppe D in October 1941 and served as an adjutant. In December 1941, he was given orders to organise and supervise the death of 700 to 800 persons in Simferopol.
Schubert chose a remote site for the shootings and made certain that the victims were brought secretly on delivery trucks from Simferopol’s gipsy quarter. After Ohlendorf left Einsatzgruppe D in July 1942, Schubert remained in the RSHA as Ohlendorf’s adjutant until the end of 1944. He then worked in the Office Group III B for Hans Ehlich.
From 1947 to 1948, Heinz Schubert was one of the defendants in the Einsatzgruppen Trial in Nuremberg.
He was convicted of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and being a member of a criminal organisation. In April 1948, he was sentenced to death, but his sentence was eventually commuted to ten years in prison.
Schubert was imprisoned at Landsberg Prison for war criminals until December 1951, when he was released.
Even after his release from prison, Heinz Schubert remained a divisive figure.
The recording was discovered by Schubert’s family during an interview with Claude Lanzmann for his film Shoah, which Lanzmann covertly recorded.
Lanzmann was assaulted and charged with “unauthorised use of German airwaves.” Schubert lived in Bad Oldesloe, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany, for the rest of his life, until his death on August 17, 1987, at the age of 73.
Heinz Schubert Cause Of Death
Heinz Schubert’s cause of death is unknown however he was sentenced to death but later had the verdict overturned to 10 years imprisonment.
