239:, arrived in Aachen to assess the German population's political views and their attitude to the Nazis and the local situation. In January 1945 Padover claimed that he had discovered a "wholesale political conspiracy" in the city, centering on Oppenhoff, whose purpose was to keep left-wing forces out of stewardship. Padover reported to his superiors that the Aachen city administration "...is shrewd, strongwilled, and aggressive... Its leader is Oberbürgermeister Oppenhoff...behind Oppenhoff is the bishop of Aachen, a powerful figure with a subtlety of his own... All of these men managed to stay out of the Nazi party, most of them were directly connected with the town's leading war industries, ...These men are not democratically minded... They are planning the future in terms of an authoritarian highly bureaucratic state...Politically it is conceived as small-state Clericalism...". To make matters "worse", Oppenhoff and his associates had displayed what was seen as leniency in accepting ex-Nazis for jobs in the city administration.
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one and four years in prison, Hirsch was not charged, and
Morgenschwitz was set free. In two follow-up proceedings, the prison sentences were further mitigated by the same court and finally completely waived under the Impunity Act of 1954 "due to emergency orders". The Aachen lawyer Hans-Werner Fröhlich found out in 2013 that the presiding judge of the Aachen Chamber had been a member of the NSDAP since 1937 and a member of a special court set up by the National Socialists; an assessor of the jury court had also been a member of the NSDAP. According to research by the historian
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353:"Wulf Hound") into a Belgian forest near the town of Gemmenich, on 20 March 1945. They killed a 20 year old Dutch border guard Jozef Saive at the frontier, then moved on to set up camp near the target. Hirsch became separated from the rest and made her own way to Aachen, where she contacted a friend in the BDM and discovered Oppenhoff's whereabouts.
342:(BDM) was supposed to provide supplies, but turned out to play an important part in the operation. Wenzel also picked a Werwolf trainee from Hülchrath to accompany them, 16-year-old Erich Morgenschweiss. Two former members of the Border Patrol (Karl-Heinz Hennemann and Georg Heidorn) completed the team, to act as guides in the area around Aachen.
215:, in October 1944, Allied officials wanted to appoint a non-Nazi to take over administration of the city. Assisted by the Bishop of Aachen, officials managed to make contact with a group of local business people, one of whom was willing to become the first German mayor under American rule. This was Franz Oppenhoff, who was then 42 years old.
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After the war, Morgenschweiss, Hirsch, Heidorn and
Hennemann were tracked down and arrested. They were tried in Aachen in October 1949 for the assassination of Oppenhoff, with the killing of Jozef Saive being excused as an "Act of War”. Hennemann and Heidorn were found guilty and sentenced to between
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The rest of the unit arrived in Aachen on March 25. Wenzel, Leitgeb and one other confronted
Oppenhoff on his own doorstep after he had been fetched from a party at his neighbours' house. They pretended to be German pilots who were looking for the German lines. Oppenhoff tried to persuade them to
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Padover saw to it that his story was leaked to the press so as to create sufficient uproar in the
American public, and a purge of the city administration resulted, to expel former Nazis.
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When
Oppenhoff was sworn into office on 31 October 1944 no press photos were permitted and his name was not divulged, the reason being that he still had relatives in
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While escaping from the city, Hirsch triggered a landmine which injured her knee and killed
Leitgeb.
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after its capture by Allied forces in World War II. He was subsequently assassinated on the order of
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who might be liable to reprisals from the Nazi regime. Also, earlier in
October the SS newspaper,
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164:(18 August 1902 – 25 March 1945) was a German lawyer who was appointed mayor of the city of
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330:(Sergeant) Josef Leitgeb, also a training officer at Hülchrath, was second-in-command.
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188:. Oppenhoff was an expert on Nazi law, had been legal representative for the
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396:. Aachener Geschichtsverein (Aachen Historical Society). Archived from
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394:"American Occupation Experiences in Aachen before Germany's Surrender"
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In
December 1944 a group of officers belonging to the US Army's
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Press and
Information Office, The Federal Republic of Germany,
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Born in 1902, Franz
Oppenhoff received a law degree from
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by the Nazi regime, and his assassination, codenamed
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357:surrender. Wenzel hesitated, and Leitgeb shouted "
475:. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 188–189.
440:Hitler's Children: The Hitler Youth and the SS
200:was interested in him, he had taken refuge in
211:Following the occupation of Aachen after the
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322:training facility at Hülchrath Castle, near
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288:Oppenhoff was considered a traitor and a
472:Encyclopedia of Political Assassinations
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56:31 October 1944 – 25 March 1945
16:German lawyer and politician (1902–1945)
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296:("Operation Carnival"), was ordered by
584:Politicians assassinated in the 1940s
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345:The unit parachuted from a captured
300:, planned by SS Obergruppenführer
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392:Schwabe, Prof. Dr. Klaus (2000).
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574:People murdered in Nazi Germany
564:Assassinated German politicians
184:, and worked as a lawyer until
554:People from the Rhine Province
233:Psychological Warfare Division
194:Johannes Joseph van der Velden
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311:The unit was commanded by SS
559:Deaths by firearm in Germany
509:"Memorial Jeu Saive – Vaals"
579:20th-century German lawyers
284:Oppenhoff's grave in Aachen
235:, coordinated by historian
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349:bomber (most likely from
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133:Manner of death
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436:Rempel, Gerhard (1989).
204:, across the border in
444:. UNC Press. pp.
340:League of German Girls
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469:West, Nigel (2017).
336:Hauptgruppenführerin
302:Hans-Adolf Prützmann
294:Unternehmen Karneval
273:Jozef Saive memorial
261:Jozef Saive memorial
569:Assassinated mayors
513:www.tracesofwar.com
351:Kampfgeschwader 200
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246:Operation Carnival
225:Das Schwarze Korps
182:Cologne University
67:Office established
496:Hitler's Children
482:978-1-538-10239-8
338:(captain) in the
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124:(1945-03-25)
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74:Succeeded by
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544:1945 deaths
539:1902 births
370:Hannes Heer
359:Heil Hitler
332:Ilse Hirsch
62:Preceded by
533:Categories
518:2021-06-26
404:2008-05-23
102:1902-08-18
176:Biography
52:In office
42:Mayor of
498:, p. 244
324:Erkelenz
446:244–245
320:Werwolf
206:Belgium
198:Gestapo
113:Germany
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166:Aachen
148:Spouse
109:Aachen
44:Aachen
376:Notes
202:Eupen
477:ISBN
450:ISBN
347:B-17
119:Died
96:Born
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