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ordering the killings. Almost 70 years after the massacre, former soldiers from
Diekmann's command were still being investigated over the killings. On 8 January 2014, Werner Christukat, an 88-year-old former member of the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the 4th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment was charged, by the state court in
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on a brutal search of the surrounding area. Two local men were shot dead 1.5 mi (2.4 km) east of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat by SS men under
Diekmann's command. Diekmann eventually reached the outskirts of Oradour-sur-Glane. He told his superiors that he ordered his men to raze the village and
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intensified its efforts to disrupt German communications and supply lines. German military commanders like
Diekmann who had seen service on the Eastern Front had become conditioned by the extraordinary brutality of anti-partisan measures there. In response to real or perceived resistance activity in
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On 12 January 1953, a military tribunal in
Bordeaux heard the charges against the surviving 65 of the 200 or so SS men who had been involved in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre. Only 20 defendants were convicted of war crimes. Although Diekmann was dead, the tribunal found him overall responsible for
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Diekmann met Hedwig
Meindle, a medical student, when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. They were married on 12 February 1940 and had sons Rainer (born 11 March 1942) and Uwe Rudolf (born 1943). The family lived in Elbogen, near Hedwig's parents. Diekmann was sent to France shortly after the wedding.
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because the suspect was only 19 at the time the crime occurred. According to his attorney, Rainer Pohlen, the suspect acknowledged being at the village but denied being involved in any killings. On 9 December 2014, the court dropped the case citing a lack of any witness statements or reliable
828:, with 25 charges of murder and hundreds of counts of accessory to murder in connection with the massacre in Oradour-sur-Glane. The suspect, who was identified only as Werner C., had until 31 March 2014 to respond to the charges. If the case had gone to trial, it might have been held in a
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kill the inhabitants (245 women, 207 children, and 190 men) because he had become enraged after he had found Kämpfe's handcuffed body inside a German field ambulance with the remains of other German soldiers. He believed the vehicle had been set alight burning alive everyone inside.
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According to a 2014 interview, Diekmann's eldest son Rainer had heard from his maternal grandfather's wife that his father Adolf had done "something very serious over there during the war." Several years later, Rainer learned of his father's culpability for the massacre.
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After Adolf's death, Hedwig remarried and the children left
Elbogen to live in a center in the Bavarian Forest. Hedwig later joined them and opened a medical practice in Monheim, Swabia. According to her son Rainer, her first husband's name was taboo to mention.
653:. Canou handed Kämpfe over to Guingouin. The following day the highly-decorated SS officer was executed on the orders of Guingouin or killed during an attempt to escape. His body was then burned (although some reports say he was burned alive).
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to
Heinrich and Anna Diekmann. Adolf was the second of four children, two girls and two boys. Heinrich was a primary school teacher. Despite his father's background as an educator, Adolf left school in 1932 at age 17.
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against
British troops on 29 June 1944. Diekmann, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of his death, was killed by shrapnel to his head from a British artillery shell. He was buried at the
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and became the Third
Company, First Battalion commander in the Germania Regiment in June 1940. In May 1941, he was assigned as an instructor at the
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in
Bavaria in October 1937. He then completed a course for platoon leaders at the Junker School's Dachau branch in August 1938 and was designated a
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In January 1944, the Das Reich division was sent to the southern French town of Montauban as a reserve unit, in preparation for the anticipated
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In the spring of 1940, Diekmann became the adjutant of the Germania Regiment's Second Battalion ahead of the unit's participation in the
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dictatorial powers. He received membership number 1,752,411. Diekmann completed his Nazi work service between 18 May and 13 November in
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When the SS Division discovered that Kämpfe had been kidnapped, Diekmann led troops from the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, 4th SS
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He was given command of the 1st Battalion, 4th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment (Der Fuhrer), in the Das Reich Division.
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in northern France, Diekmann was shot in the lungs on 27 May 1940. Following his recovery, Diekmann was promoted to
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on 20 April 1942. Due to combat losses, Das Reich was pulled from the front lines and sent to west to refit as a
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documentary evidence able to disprove the suspect's contention that he was not a part of the massacre.
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killed 643 inhabitants in the village, most of whom were women and children. He said he committed the
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913:"Interview with Rainer Diekmann, Adolf Diekmann's son. By Marika Schaertl and Régis Le Sommier"
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mechanized infantry division. It then returned to Russia where it fought in the
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Les mystères d'Oradour : du temps du deuil à la quête de la vérité
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After hearing the testimony of Diekmann, the commander of the 4th SS
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France, these commanders would take a hard and intensified approach.
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in France on 10 June 1944. Under Diekmann's command, troops from the
1198:"German Court Finds Lack of Proof Tying Ex-Soldier to Nazi Massacre"
1292:"Court drops case against German over WWII French village massacre"
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Diekmann's SS-VT unit was assigned to the Germania Regiment of the
1231:"In Germany, Former SS Man, 88, Charged With Wartime Mass Murder"
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1169:"In a Ruined State: Chapter 7: An Explanation for the Massacre"
947:""My father was the executioner of Oradour" - Rainer Diekmann"
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First Battalion, 4th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment (Der Führer)
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at Bad Tölz, where he had been a student four years prior.
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on 1 March 1936 (SS number 309984) and was assigned to the
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in retaliation to the killing of a fellow SS officer named
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by a Resistance group led by a Sergeant Jean Canou from
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to Germany on 30 September 1938, Diekmann's division
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for ordering the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane. SS-
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1068:"Memorial to the kidnapping of Kämpfe on the N141"
1097:Oradour-sur-Glane - Un jour de juin 1944 en enfer
454:neighborhood of Berlin. He was then sent to the
623:Following the Allied invasion of Normandy, the
390:Adolf Diekmann was born on 18 December 1914 in
458:, the SS's leadership training facilities, at
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862:Oradour : un jour de juin 1944 en enfer
386:Early life and early Nazi Party involvement
1260:"88-Year-Old Charged in Nazi-Era Massacre"
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884:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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765:Learn how and when to remove this message
566:. By the time Das Reich took part in the
542:On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany opened the
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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348:(18 December 1914 – 29 June 1944) was a
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430:, a Nazi secondary boarding school, in
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442:At the age of 21, Diekmann joined the
1147:"1944: Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane"
1013:"Adolf Diekmann marriage application"
428:Nationalpolitischen Erziehungsanstalt
406:On 1 April 1933, Diekmann joined the
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1392:Waffen-SS personnel killed in action
1047:. U.S. Holocaust Museum and Memorial
703:adding citations to reliable sources
47:adding citations to reliable sources
1120:Williams, Michael (February 2011).
1066:Williams, Michael (February 2011).
1268:. Associated Press. Archived from
987:"In a Ruined State: The Lost Boys"
14:
1372:Military personnel from Magdeburg
1126:Oradour-sur-Glane, 10th June 1944
1072:Oradour-sur-Glane, 10th June 1944
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1258:Rising, David (8 January 2014).
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546:by invading the Soviet Union in
494:2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich
257:2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich
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1099:. Geste éditions. p. 264.
945:Schaertl, Marika (2014-06-09).
897:. Neuilly-sur-Seine: M. Lafon.
815:in block 25, row 4, grave 121.
690:needs additional citations for
508:to annex the land for Germany.
34:needs additional citations for
790:ordered that he should face a
587:during the winter of 1943–44.
346:Adolf Rudolf Reinhold Diekmann
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1017:Oradour-sur-Glane remembrance
991:Oradour-sur-Glane remembrance
1367:German murderers of children
813:La Cambe German war cemetery
660:Regiment and members of the
585:Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive
488:Occupation of Czechoslovakia
646:Georges Guingouin's Brigade
506:marched into Czechoslovakia
137:Diekmann wearing a pre-war
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1382:Oradour-sur-Glane massacre
893:Le Sommier, Régis (2014).
619:Oradour-sur-Glane massacre
364:Oradour-sur-Glane massacre
573:Deikmann was promoted to
520:. During the fighting at
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16:Nazi officer (1914–1944)
1149:. www.executedtoday.com
640:Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat
631:On 9 June 1944, fellow
418:, essentially granting
339:(2nd class with swords)
1045:Holocaust Encyclopedia
194:German-occupied France
1362:German mass murderers
410:, one week after the
368:SS Division Das Reich
362:who orchestrated the
235:Years of service
1302:Agence France-Presse
1095:Penaud, Guy (2014).
860:Penaud, Guy (2014).
699:improve this article
556:pushed toward Moscow
548:Operation Barbarossa
538:Operation Barbarossa
416:Enabling Act of 1933
320:Iron Cross 2nd Class
315:Iron Cross 1st Class
286:Operation Barbarossa
43:improve this article
1195:(9 December 2014).
1041:"Oradour-sur-Glane"
1011:Williams, Michael.
985:Williams, Michael.
576:SS-Hauptsturmführer
471:SS-Verfügungstruppe
465:SS-Untersturmführer
1387:Nazi war criminals
1377:SS-Sturmbannführer
1272:on 11 January 2014
1237:The New York Times
1228:(9 January 2014).
1204:The New York Times
807:while fighting in
651:Maquis du Limousin
633:SS-Sturmbannführer
609:SS-Sturmbannführer
560:Battle of Smolensk
527:SS-Obersturmführer
325:Golden Party Badge
291:Operation Overlord
281:Invasion of Poland
1304:. 9 December 2014
1106:978-2-367-46171-7
904:978-2-749-92318-5
871:978-2-367-46171-7
788:Sylvester Stadler
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598:. While in the
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32:This article
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1306:. Retrieved
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1274:. Retrieved
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692:verification
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360:World War II
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275:World War II
271:Battles/wars
212:Nazi Germany
181:(1944-06-29)
179:29 June 1944
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
1357:1944 deaths
1352:1914 births
1308:12 February
1210:12 December
1131:12 February
1077:12 February
917:Paris Match
755:August 2024
558:during the
502:Sudetenland
500:ceding the
414:passed the
330:Wound Badge
1346:Categories
1276:11 January
1243:10 January
1178:2023-10-15
925:References
725:newspapers
408:Nazi Party
200:Allegiance
155:1914-12-08
69:newspapers
1336:Biography
1297:France 24
880:cite book
671:Aftermath
452:Adlershof
438:SS career
412:Reichstag
392:Magdeburg
372:war crime
355:Waffen SS
229:Waffen SS
162:Magdeburg
1265:ABC News
1051:18 March
1022:16 March
996:15 March
953:16 March
809:Normandy
644:Colonel
564:Smolensk
460:Bad Tölz
432:Naumburg
332:in black
263:Commands
218:Service/
190:Normandy
1153:14 June
826:Cologne
739:scholar
473:(SS-VT)
398:in the
396:Prussia
378:by the
358:during
297:†
238:1933–44
166:Prussia
143:uniform
83:scholar
1322:Portal
1103:
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868:
819:Legacy
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663:Milice
477:Führer
308:Awards
293:
220:branch
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746:JSTOR
732:books
562:near
90:JSTOR
76:books
1310:2023
1278:2014
1245:2014
1212:2014
1155:2018
1133:2023
1101:ISBN
1079:2023
1053:2023
1024:2023
998:2023
955:2023
899:ISBN
886:link
866:ISBN
718:news
606:—to
424:Burg
350:Nazi
253:Unit
243:Rank
176:Died
149:Born
62:news
701:by
594:of
45:by
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444:SS
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