Erich Ehrlinger, SS-Oberführer

Portrait photo of Ehrich Ehrlinger

Erich Ehrlinger (*14 October 1910 Giegen an der Brenz, † 31 July 2004 Karlsruhe) was significantly involved in the murder of 4,500 Jewish people in Maly Trascjanec in 1943 as commander of the security police and the SD (BdS) in Minsk. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison in 1962; In 1969 the case against him was dropped.

Ehrlinger grew up as the son of a finance officer in Giegen an der Brenz. He graduated from high school in Heidenheim and then studied law and political science at various universities (Tübingen, Kiel, Berlin). In 1933 he passed his first state examination in law. At the age of 21, Ehrlinger joined the Sturmabteilung (SA) and was an active member of the SA-Sturm 30 in Charlottenburg.¹ Ehrlinger became head of the SA sports school "Burg Rieneck" in Würzburg. In 1935 he transferred to Sicherheitsdienst of the Reichsführer SS (SD) and became a member of the Schutzstaffel (SS). From September 1935, Ehrlinger worked as staff leader of Central Department I 3 in the SD main office in Berlin, the highest command post of the Sicherheitsdienst. In 1938, Ehrlinger became head of the Einsatzkommando in Austria, and a year later he moved to Prague in the same capacity.²

In the course of the illegal invasion of Poland in 1939, Erich Ehrlinger worked at the headquarters of Einsatzgruppe IV of the Security Police and the SD. Ehrlinger was then transferred to Oslo on behalf of Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, where he was involved in setting up the Norwegian Waffen SS until February 1941. In mid-1941 he took over the leadership of the Einsatzkommando 1b in Lithuania within the Einsatzgruppe A, where he was involved in the mass shooting of Jews in Kovno. A year later he became commander of the Security Police and SD in Kyiv. Having risen to the officer rank of SS Standartenführer, Erich Ehrlinger moved to Minsk in Belarus in September 1943 and became commander of the BdS. In this capacity he gave the order for the murder of 4,500 Jewish people in Minsk. In addition, he was jointly responsible for the burning of three Jewish people to death on a pyre in the forest of Blahaǔščyna. In 1944 Ehrlinger became head of Office I in the Reich Security Main Office (RSH) in Berlin.³

After the war, Ehrlinger worked under the name Erich Fröscher, first near Nuremberg at a United States Army Air Force (USAAF) airfield, and later in Constance as a receptionist in a casino. In 1954 he became head of the Volkswagen agency in Karlsruhe.⁴

Trial before the Karlsruhe jury court against former SS Oberführer Erich Ehrlinger

Erich Ehrlinger was arrested in 1958 and sentenced to twelve years in prison by the Karlsruhe Regional Court on 20 December 1961:

“When assessing the sentence, the jury was essentially guided by the following reasoning: In favor of [the] accused, it is considered that [he] acted on orders with regard to the accessory to joint murder […].

[…] Above all the accused E. – as a compliant party member and supporter of the National Socialist regime of violence [had] to overcome no particular inhibitions in killing the Jews […]. Through [his] actions [he] contributed to seriously damaging the reputation of the German people.”⁵

The submitted revision of the judgment was partially granted; In 1969, the proceedings were discontinued due to Ehrlinger's inability to stand trial. Erich Ehrlinger died on 31 July 2004 at the age of 93 in Karlsruhe.⁶

Responsible for content: Johanna Schweppe, Frank Wobig

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_{¹ Cf. Klee, Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945, p. 128.
² Cf. ibid.
³ Cf. Wildt, Generation des Unbedingten. Das Führungskorps des Reichssicherheitshauptamtes, pp. 591 - 601.
⁴ Cf. Klee,Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945, p. 128.
⁵ LG Karlsruhe Lfd-Nr. 526A, JuNSV Bd.XVIII, p.69.
⁶ Cf. Klee, Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945, p. 128.}