Erich Priebke

Erich Priebke, born July 29, 1913 at Hennigsdorf, Brandenburg, Germany is a Nazi war criminal and mass murderer. A former Hauptsturmführer in the S.S., he participated in the massacres at the Ardeatine caves in Rome in Italy on March 24, 1944. 335 Italian civilians were killed there as revenge after a partisan group had killed 33 German soldiers and an imprecised number of civilians. Priebke was one of those who stood responsible for this mass execution. After the Nazis were defeated, he got help from ODESSA to flee to Argentina where he lived for over 50 years.

The trials

The extradition of Priebke

Donaldson's news report showed how openly Priebke could live in Argentina, and how little remorse he felt for his actions. This caused strong reactions by many people. Argentinian authorities arrested Priebke. Because of his old age and poor health, he was at first not imprisoned, but rather held in house arrest at his home in Bariloche, the ski resort where he had lived since 1949.

Related Topics:
House arrest - Bariloche

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The extradition of Priebke had several delays, his lawyers used tactics like demanding all Italian documents to be translated to Spanish, a process which could have taken two years. The Argentinian court eventually denied the process, but appeals and other delays caused the case to take more than a year. His lawyers made arguments that the case was expired since murder cases expire after 15 years.

Related Topics:
Extradition - Spanish - Appeal - Murder

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In March 1995, after nine months of delays, the president of the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was promised, from among others the Argentinian president Carlos Menem, that the case would soon be closed, and that Priebke was to be transferred to Italy by the end of the month. In spite of these promises, the Argentinian supreme court decided that the case was to be transferred to the local court in Bariloche where the case was originally brought up. This opened the possibility for years of delays from future appeals, while Priebke could live at his home.

Related Topics:
1995 - B'nai B'rith - Carlos Menem - Argentinian supreme court

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In May 1995, a federal judge accepted the Italian demand for extradition on the grounds that cases of crimes against humanity could not expire. But there were more appeals and rumors that the court might change the ruling.

Related Topics:
1995 - Crimes against humanity

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In August of the same year, it was judged that Priebke was not to be extradited because the case had expired. To pressure the Argentinian government, Germany demanded extradition the same day. The Italian military prosecutor, Antonio Intelisano, argued that FN agreements which Argentina were part of, express that cases of war criminals and crimes against humanity can not expire.

Related Topics:
Antonio Intelisano - War criminals

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After 17 months of delays, the Argentinian supreme court decided that Priebke was to be extradited to Italy. He was put on a direct flight from Bariloche to Ciampino, a military airport close to the Ardeatine caves were the executions had been carried out many years earlier.

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Priebke in court

In court, Priebke declared himself not guilty. He did not deny what he had done, but he denied any responsibility. He blamed the massacre on the Italian civilians who were behind the attack in which 33 German soldiers were killed. The order came directly from Hitler, and he thought it was a legitimate punishment.

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During the trial it became clear that Priebke had personally shot two Italians. This was also in his testimony from 1946 before he managed to escape.

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Around noon on March 24, 1944, between 80 and 90 men went to the Ardeatine Caves, Rome. All were tied with their hands behind their backs and their names were read out loud. Five and five went into the caves. Priebke went inside together with the second or third group and shot a man with an Italian machine pistol. Towards the end he shot another man with the same machine pistol. The executions ended when it got dark that night. After the shootings, explosives were used to shut the caves.

Related Topics:
March 24 - 1944

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Priebke was ruled not guilty, because the case was judged to be expired.

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On August 1, 1996 orders were given for the immediate release of Priebke. The Italian minister of justice later told that Priebke might be arrested again, depending on whether or not he was going to be extradited to Germany, where he was charged with murder. The courts were blocked by demonstrators for over seven hours after Priebke's trial.

Related Topics:
August 1 - 1996 - Demonstrators

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The judges voted 2 against and 1 for sentencing the 83 year old Priebke for taking part of the massacres, which he himself had admitted, but he was released because he was following orders.

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There were strong reactions from family members of the victims, who claimed that the judges put no value on human lives. Shimon Samuels, the leader of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said that with this ruling, Italy permits crimes against humanity.

Related Topics:
Shimon Samuels - Simon Wiesenthal Center

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The appeal

The case was appealed by the prosecutors. The day after, Germany asked Italy to keep Priebke imprisoned until their demand to have him extradited was processed, as they wanted him put on trial for the murders of two people that he had personally shot.

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Outside the courthouse there were demonstrations, but when it became known that Priebke had been rearrested, these calmed down. Many people later went to visit the Ardeatine Caves to honor the victims.

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The Italian supreme court decided that the court that had freed Priebke was incompetent and the appeal went through. Among other things it was questioned why the Nuremberg trials were not taken up earlier, since it had been concluded that an individual has personal responsibility for his actions. The reason that Priebke had been released was that he followed orders. He claimed that if he had not obeyed, he would have been executed himself, but the appeals would not accept this.

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In March 1997 it was decided that Priebke could not be extradited to Germany. The reason for this was that he was now going through a trial which was for the same things that Germany wanted him tried for. He was not to be tried for the same crime twice.

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On April 14, 1997 the new trial began. Priebke was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while another man who also was part of the massacre, Karl Hass, was sentenced to 10 years. Because of an amnesty which was given a few years earlier, Priebke had to do 5 years, while Hass was released. Additionally Priebke got some time subtracted because of the time he had spent in house arrest and in custody in Italy. The sentence thus was to be 2-3 years.

Related Topics:
Karl Hass - Amnesty

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Priebke's appeals

Priebke denied any responsibility, and therefore appealed the case. For his own sake he should not have done this. At the appeals it was decided that Hass and Priebke had committed cruel murders of the first degree and that they should be put away for life.

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Priebke himself claimed that he was the victim of intense hatred, and that he was blamed for all atrocities done during WWII. "I gave Argentina 50 years of my life, and they don't want me. (...) I fought for Germany during the war, now they want me put to trial for obeying orders."

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Priebke appealed the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where he claimed he had no choice but to obey Hitler's orders, a defense which has been ruled invalid ever since the Nuremburg Trials.

Related Topics:
European Court of Human Rights - Strasbourg - Nuremburg Trials

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On March 20, 2004, Priebke was 91 years old, the oldest prisoner in Europe. 80 Nazi and fascist sympathizers gathered in a room of the Centro Lettarario in Trieste to show their support for Priebke. Two speakers among the people gathered said that Priebke had not been imprisoned justly from the law, but rather because of the demands of world Jewry.

Related Topics:
2004 - Fascist - Trieste

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