Fritz Bauer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fritz Bauer
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 July 1903 Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire |
| Died | 1 July 1968 (aged 64) Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, West Germany |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
Fritz Bauer (born July 16, 1903 – died July 1, 1968) was an important German Jewish judge and prosecutor. He played a key role after World War II in finding Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was a major planner of the Holocaust, which was the mass murder of Jewish people by the Nazis. Bauer also helped start the famous Frankfurt Auschwitz trials. These trials brought many former Nazi concentration camp guards to justice.
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Early Life and Education
Fritz Bauer was born in Stuttgart, Germany. His family was Jewish and lived a modern, open-minded life. They celebrated Jewish holidays. Fritz went to school at Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium. He later studied business and law at several universities. These included the University of Heidelberg, University of Munich, and University of Tübingen.
At that time, many student groups in Germany did not accept Jewish members. So, Bauer joined a liberal Jewish student group called FWV. He spent a lot of time with this group.
Working in the Weimar Republic
In 1928, at age 25, Bauer earned his law degree. He became a judge in Stuttgart. He had already joined the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1920. Stuttgart was a city known for its progressive ideas. The SPD was very strong there.
Bauer was one of the few judges in his region who was a member of the SPD. He was also one of only two Jewish judges. He noticed that many other judges were very conservative. They often treated Nazis who committed violence lightly. But they gave harsh sentences to Communists and Social Democrats for similar actions. Bauer believed this unfairness encouraged Nazi violence. He felt these judges did not support the Weimar Republic, which was Germany's government at the time.
In the early 1930s, Bauer became a leader in the SPD's defense group, the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold. This group worked to protect democracy. He often gave speeches with Kurt Schumacher, another important SPD leader. They urged people to defend the Weimar Constitution. Their rallies often ended with the shout Frei-Heil! (Hail Freedom!), which was a way to mock the Nazi slogan. Bauer also helped create the Iron Front. This group aimed to defend democracy against extremism.
Imprisonment by the Nazis
When the Nazis took power in March 1933, Bauer was arrested. He was taken to Heuberg concentration camp. Later, he was moved to Oberer Kuhberg concentration camp. Conditions were a bit better there. In November 1933, Bauer was released. He had to sign a statement of loyalty to the Nazi government. He later felt very ashamed about this.
Because of a new Nazi law, Bauer was removed from his job as a judge. His friend Kurt Schumacher refused to sign any loyalty statement. Schumacher stayed in concentration camps for many years.
Life in Exile
In 1936, Bauer left Germany and moved to Denmark. He worked hard to help his parents get visas to leave Germany. They arrived in Denmark in 1940.
After Germany occupied Denmark, Bauer was held in a camp for three months. In 1941, his cousin and aunt, who stayed in Germany, were arrested. They were sent to Riga and tragically killed.
In October 1943, the Nazis began deporting Jewish people from Denmark. Bauer went into hiding. To protect himself, he formally married Anna Maria Petersen, a Danish kindergarten teacher. Later that month, he fled to Sweden with his family. They traveled by fishing boat.
In Sweden, Bauer helped start a newspaper called Sozialistische Tribüne (Socialist Tribune). He also taught law students at Stockholm University. He supported himself by doing archival work and writing books. His father, Ludwig, passed away in Sweden in 1945.
Return to Germany and Key Work
Bauer returned to Germany in 1949. He rejoined the justice system in West Germany. He first worked as a director of district courts. Later, he became a state prosecutor in Braunschweig. In 1956, he was appointed the chief state prosecutor in Hessen, based in Frankfurt. He held this important job until his death.
One of Bauer's most famous achievements was his role in the capture of Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was a high-ranking Nazi who had escaped after the war. In 1957, Bauer received information about Eichmann's location in Argentina. This information came from Lothar Hermann, a former Nazi camp prisoner. Hermann's daughter, Sylvia, had met Eichmann's son, Klaus. Klaus had boasted about his father's Nazi past.
Bauer did not trust the German police or legal system to handle the case. He feared they might warn Eichmann. So, he secretly passed the information directly to Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. He insisted that Israel should capture Eichmann. In 2021, it was revealed that a geologist named Gerhard Klammer also provided crucial information and a photo of Eichmann to Bauer.
In 1958, Bauer successfully pushed for the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials. These trials began in 1963. They were very important for bringing Nazi criminals to justice. Bauer's work helped create a more democratic justice system in West Germany. He also worked to reform criminal laws.
In 1968, Bauer co-founded the Humanist Union. This organization works for human rights. After his death, the Fritz Bauer Prize was created in his honor. The Fritz Bauer Institute, founded in 1995, continues his work. It focuses on the history and impact of the Holocaust. Bauer once said, "In the justice system, I live as I were in exile." This showed how he felt like an outsider because of his strong beliefs.
Death
Fritz Bauer died in Frankfurt am Main in 1968, at the age of 64. His body was cremated. His ashes were taken to Sweden and buried in his parents' grave.
Works by Fritz Bauer
- Die Kriegsverbrecher vor Gericht ("War Criminals in Court"), 1945.
- Das Verbrechen und die Gesellschaft ("Crime and Society"), 1957.
- Die neue Gewalt. Die Notwendigkeit der Einführung eines Kontrollorgans in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ("The new Oppression"), 1964.
- Widerstand gegen die Staatsgewalt. Dokumente der Jahrtausende ("Resistance to State Oppression"), 1965.
- Die Humanität der Rechtsordnung. Ausgewählte Schriften ("The Human Values of Legal Process; Selected Documents"), 1998.
Biographies about Fritz Bauer
- Irmtrud Wojak: Fritz Bauer. Eine Biographie, 1903–1968, 2009.
- Ronen Steinke: Fritz Bauer: oder Auschwitz vor Gericht, 2013.
See also
- The People vs. Fritz Bauer, a 2015 German film about his life.
- Labyrinth of Lies, a 2014 German film also related to the Auschwitz trials.
In Spanish: Fritz Bauer para niños
Images for kids
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Fritz Bauer
