Erwin Rösener

Erwin Friedrich Karl Rösener (2 February 1902 - 4 September 1946) was a German Schutzstaffel commander during the Nazi era. Rösener was responsible for the massacres of a number of civilians in Slovenia during World War II, for which he was executed. He was posthumously included in the indictment at the Nuremberg Trials.

Biography

Rösener joined the Nazi Party and the Sturmabteilung paramilitary group in November 1926, later joining the Schutzstaffel in 1930. A close associate of SS leader Heinrich Himmler, to whom he reported directly during the war, he was promoted 11 times during his career and finished with the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS.

In 1941 Himmler appointed Rösener as the SS and Police Leader for the Alpenland region, which included Slovenia. In this capacity he was in charge of conducting anti-Partisan activities and oversaw the arrest and deportation of Slovene Jews to concentration camps. Rösener worked closely with Leon Rupnik, a Slovene collaborator who carried out operations against partisans and Jews. Between October 1944 and April 1945 Rösener was responsible for the massacres of Slovene civilians and prisoners of war in retaliation for partisan activities in the Slovene capital of Ljubljana.

After the war Rösener was captured by British troops. He was tried in Yugoslavia for war crimes, convicted and sentenced to death. Rösener was hanged on 4 September 1946 and buried in an unmarked grave. His name was subsequently listed on the indictment at the Nuremberg Trials for Nazi leaders.