fRITZ KNOCHLEIN AND THE LE PARADIS MASSACRE
War criminal, or scape goat?
On May 27, 1940, during the fighting around the Le Paradis in Northern France, 97 members of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment were lined up outside a farm house upon surrendering and were then executed by members of the SS-Totenkopfdivision. Two of the British soldiers were wounded and managed to escape and become prisoners of war. They would survive the war, and following the war, they made their story known, and began to help find the man responsible. Fritz Knöchlein was an SS-Haupsturmfuhrer and commander of 3. /SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 2 during the fighting around Le Paradis. He was arrested, tried by a war crimes court, and sentenced to death. He was executed in 1949.
Fritz Knöchlein was born May 27, 1911 in Munich. He joined the SS-VT in 1934, and was enrolled in the Junkerschule in Braunschweig the following year. By 1939, he was an SS-Obersturmfuhrer, and commanding 3. Kompanie of SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 2. Eventually, he would end the war at the rank of SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer and would be a holder of the Knight’s Cross, Germany’s highest award for valor.
The two survivors of the massacre were Privates Albert Pooley and O’Callaghan. They laid wounded amongst the corpses of their dead comrades and waited for the SS men to leave the area. Under the cover of darkness they crawled away from the farm and were eventually picked up by a German medical unit that treated them, and then they became POWs.
According to Pooley and O’Callaghan, the men of Totenkopf had been trying to take the farm they were occupying all day long, and had sustained heavy casualties. By early afternoon the British troops were running low on ammunition and surrendered. The SS troops approached the farm and gathered up all the prisoners. They then lined them up against the wall of the farmhouse, and brought in heavy machine guns mounted on tri-pods, and then fired into the line, nearly killing all 99 men. After the machine guns stopped firing, the SS men went up and down the line executing the survivors with pistol shot and bayonets. By their account, Fritz Knöchlein was the man who gave the order to fire.
Fritz Knöchlein’s testimony differs from Pooley and O’Callaghan. He claims not to have been the officer who ordered the execution, although he did admit to being in the area during the fighting, along with three other companies of SS-Totenkopf troops, Kompanie’s No. 1, 2, and 4, of his battalion. Knöchlein states that the fighting around the farm was fierce all morning long, and agrees that the men of Totenkopf had taken heavy casualties. Knöchlein claimed that in the very early afternoon, the British troops hung a white flag from a window of the farm house. An SS officer and two enlisted men approached with a white flag to discuss terms for the British surrender. Once they were within range, the British troops opened fire, killing all three men. He goes on to explain why his comrades would have performed such an act for this reason, and also he claimed that the British troops were firing “dum-dum” rounds, which were banned in the Geneva convention. “Dum-dum” rounds today would be known as hollow-points, or soft tip bullets that expand upon impact. Knöchlein claimed that they found these rounds inside the farm and on prisoners. This would have been a violation of the rules of war.
Fritz Knöchlein was born May 27, 1911 in Munich. He joined the SS-VT in 1934, and was enrolled in the Junkerschule in Braunschweig the following year. By 1939, he was an SS-Obersturmfuhrer, and commanding 3. Kompanie of SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 2. Eventually, he would end the war at the rank of SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer and would be a holder of the Knight’s Cross, Germany’s highest award for valor.
The two survivors of the massacre were Privates Albert Pooley and O’Callaghan. They laid wounded amongst the corpses of their dead comrades and waited for the SS men to leave the area. Under the cover of darkness they crawled away from the farm and were eventually picked up by a German medical unit that treated them, and then they became POWs.
According to Pooley and O’Callaghan, the men of Totenkopf had been trying to take the farm they were occupying all day long, and had sustained heavy casualties. By early afternoon the British troops were running low on ammunition and surrendered. The SS troops approached the farm and gathered up all the prisoners. They then lined them up against the wall of the farmhouse, and brought in heavy machine guns mounted on tri-pods, and then fired into the line, nearly killing all 99 men. After the machine guns stopped firing, the SS men went up and down the line executing the survivors with pistol shot and bayonets. By their account, Fritz Knöchlein was the man who gave the order to fire.
Fritz Knöchlein’s testimony differs from Pooley and O’Callaghan. He claims not to have been the officer who ordered the execution, although he did admit to being in the area during the fighting, along with three other companies of SS-Totenkopf troops, Kompanie’s No. 1, 2, and 4, of his battalion. Knöchlein states that the fighting around the farm was fierce all morning long, and agrees that the men of Totenkopf had taken heavy casualties. Knöchlein claimed that in the very early afternoon, the British troops hung a white flag from a window of the farm house. An SS officer and two enlisted men approached with a white flag to discuss terms for the British surrender. Once they were within range, the British troops opened fire, killing all three men. He goes on to explain why his comrades would have performed such an act for this reason, and also he claimed that the British troops were firing “dum-dum” rounds, which were banned in the Geneva convention. “Dum-dum” rounds today would be known as hollow-points, or soft tip bullets that expand upon impact. Knöchlein claimed that they found these rounds inside the farm and on prisoners. This would have been a violation of the rules of war.
The British deny both of Knöchlein’s claims, and continued to insist he was the culprit. He was found guilty, and hanged. There is much controversy over the legitimacy of the trial of Fritz Knöchlein, who was held in the infamous London Cage. In October of 1946, Knöchlein writes a long detailed letter of complaint about his treatment as a prisoner in the cage.
Knöchlein alleges that because he was "unable to make the desired confession" he was stripped, given only a pair of pyjama trousers, deprived of sleep for four days and nights, and starved. The guards kicked him each time he passed, he alleges, while his interrogators boasted that they were "much better" than the "Gestapo in Alexanderplatz". After being forced to perform rigorous exercises until he collapsed, he says he was compelled to walk in a tight circle for four hours. On complaining to Scotland that he was being kicked even "by ordinary soldiers without a rank", Knöchlein alleges that he was doused in cold water, pushed down stairs, and beaten with a cudgel. Later, he says, he was forced to stand beside a large gas stove with all its rings lit before being confined in a shower which sprayed extremely cold water from the sides as well as from above. Finally, the SS man says, he and another prisoner were taken into the gardens behind the mansions, where they were forced to run in circles while carrying heavy logs.
"Since these tortures were the consequences of my personal complaint, any further complaint would have been senseless," Knöchlein wrote. "One of the guards who had a somewhat humane feeling advised me not to make any more complaints, otherwise things would turn worse for me." Other prisoners, he alleged, were beaten until they begged to be killed, while some were told that they could be made to disappear.
Based apon my own personal research, I have come to the conclusion that Fritz Knöchlein was not the person responsible for the massacre, although I do believe he was a witness and perhaps an accessory to the executions. There are several reasons one can draw this conclusion.
First of all, Fritz Knöchlein was in command of the 3. Kompanie. This unit would have been an standard infantry company, consisting of around 100 men. The machine gun squads were armed with light machine guns mounted on bi-pods. According to Pooley’s account, the SS troops used heavy machine guns with tri-pods. There is a noticeable difference between the two. Each SS Battalion would have one heavy weapons company attached to it, usually the last company in the battalion. In Knöchlein’s battalion, this would have been 4. Kompanie.
Prior to the invasion of France, heavy machine guns mounted on tri-pods were delivered to the 4. Kompanie, which was also operating in the area around the farm at Le Paradis. The man in charge of these heavy machine guns was SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Schrodel, and if these were the guns used, as Private Pooley claimed, then it would have been Schroedel in command, not Knöchlein. One could not have expected the British tribunal to understand the organization of the SS-Battalion of 1940, but now that this information has become available, one can rightly assume that Knöchlein’s troops did not even have the proper weapons claimed to be used in the massacre.
Secondly, a French woman, who was an eye-witness to the massacre claimed the man who ordered the execution was a tall slender man, wearing a visor cap, who had a very distinct face twitch. As shown in the photos of Knöchlein from the French campaign, he can be seen in the portrait below wearing an overseas cap, not a visor cap. Visor caps were extremely popular, and men always loved to use them in portrait style photos when they could. If Knöchlein had a visor cap, don’t you think he would have worn it for his portrait? His men testified that during the campaign, he wore a camoflauge smock and helmet cover, which is consistent with information regarding the outfitting of his regiment. A visor cap is a very distinct piece of equipment, and is easily seen by snipers. Knöchlein survived the war, and served on the front the entire time, avoiding Soviet snipers, he obviously knew not to wear a visor cap in combat. Knöchlein also did not have a facial twitch, which again points the finger at another man.
Knöchlein alleges that because he was "unable to make the desired confession" he was stripped, given only a pair of pyjama trousers, deprived of sleep for four days and nights, and starved. The guards kicked him each time he passed, he alleges, while his interrogators boasted that they were "much better" than the "Gestapo in Alexanderplatz". After being forced to perform rigorous exercises until he collapsed, he says he was compelled to walk in a tight circle for four hours. On complaining to Scotland that he was being kicked even "by ordinary soldiers without a rank", Knöchlein alleges that he was doused in cold water, pushed down stairs, and beaten with a cudgel. Later, he says, he was forced to stand beside a large gas stove with all its rings lit before being confined in a shower which sprayed extremely cold water from the sides as well as from above. Finally, the SS man says, he and another prisoner were taken into the gardens behind the mansions, where they were forced to run in circles while carrying heavy logs.
"Since these tortures were the consequences of my personal complaint, any further complaint would have been senseless," Knöchlein wrote. "One of the guards who had a somewhat humane feeling advised me not to make any more complaints, otherwise things would turn worse for me." Other prisoners, he alleged, were beaten until they begged to be killed, while some were told that they could be made to disappear.
Based apon my own personal research, I have come to the conclusion that Fritz Knöchlein was not the person responsible for the massacre, although I do believe he was a witness and perhaps an accessory to the executions. There are several reasons one can draw this conclusion.
First of all, Fritz Knöchlein was in command of the 3. Kompanie. This unit would have been an standard infantry company, consisting of around 100 men. The machine gun squads were armed with light machine guns mounted on bi-pods. According to Pooley’s account, the SS troops used heavy machine guns with tri-pods. There is a noticeable difference between the two. Each SS Battalion would have one heavy weapons company attached to it, usually the last company in the battalion. In Knöchlein’s battalion, this would have been 4. Kompanie.
Prior to the invasion of France, heavy machine guns mounted on tri-pods were delivered to the 4. Kompanie, which was also operating in the area around the farm at Le Paradis. The man in charge of these heavy machine guns was SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Schrodel, and if these were the guns used, as Private Pooley claimed, then it would have been Schroedel in command, not Knöchlein. One could not have expected the British tribunal to understand the organization of the SS-Battalion of 1940, but now that this information has become available, one can rightly assume that Knöchlein’s troops did not even have the proper weapons claimed to be used in the massacre.
Secondly, a French woman, who was an eye-witness to the massacre claimed the man who ordered the execution was a tall slender man, wearing a visor cap, who had a very distinct face twitch. As shown in the photos of Knöchlein from the French campaign, he can be seen in the portrait below wearing an overseas cap, not a visor cap. Visor caps were extremely popular, and men always loved to use them in portrait style photos when they could. If Knöchlein had a visor cap, don’t you think he would have worn it for his portrait? His men testified that during the campaign, he wore a camoflauge smock and helmet cover, which is consistent with information regarding the outfitting of his regiment. A visor cap is a very distinct piece of equipment, and is easily seen by snipers. Knöchlein survived the war, and served on the front the entire time, avoiding Soviet snipers, he obviously knew not to wear a visor cap in combat. Knöchlein also did not have a facial twitch, which again points the finger at another man.
One then must ask the question, if another man was responsible, and not Knöchlein, why wasn’t this man brought to trial instead? Well, the man in question, the man in command of the heavy machine gun company, SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Schroedel, was killed in Russia in 1943. There was no way to punish a man who had already been killed in action. The men in command of the other two companies in the area were also later killed before the war was over. Knöchlein was the only surviving commander who was in the area at the time, there for the blame fell on his shoulders.
This article is not meant to remove blame from the men of Totenkopf. On May 27, the men of Totenkopf most certainly committed an atrocity against the men of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, this can not be argued nor overlooked. However, the wrong man was put to justice. One must also consider all the aspects that led up to this massacre. This was the first real heavy combat for most of the men of Totenkopf and they sustained high casualties. On top of that, the British using “dum-dum” rounds and breaking the rules of the Geneva convention would make them also not protected under the convention. As stated, the British denounced these accusations, but in the past twenty years, many British veterans have come forward to admit they were issued this type of ammunition during 1940, and they were terrified to be captured with it. Even with all of that, the men of Totenkopf committed a terrible act, by murdering prisoners, fathers, brothers, and sons. Incorrectly placing blame on one man does not fix what happened.
Again, I want to be clear that I do not condone the actions of the men of Totenkopf around Le Paradis, but I do want people to look at this as an example; not everything is as cut and dry as you might think. History is written by the victor, and it is usually written inaccurately. If you do enough proper research from both sides of the situation, you can begin to piece together the truth.
Charles Trang and author of the book Totenkopf, has spoken with me regarding his doubts in Knöchlein ‘s guilt. He even wrote an article in 39/45 Magazine confessing these doubts. In his words:
“He was condemned because a culprit had to be found and he was an ideal one : he was not appreciated by his subordinates. The fact that the British troops used illegal means during the battle had to be written off and forgotten, too. It is quite certain that Knöchlein wore a helmet during the fight (and not a visor cap) and he was not known to have a twitch on his face. It is improbable that he used SS-Hstuf. Schrödel's heavy MGs to murder the British prisoners as his company had its own MGs. Though light, these ones were sufficient to mow down men at a short distance. There are too many shadows in this case and no one will know what happened exactly. I am one of those who think that Schrödel was the real culprit but he had died long before ...”
Was the person responsible for the Le Paradis Massacre SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Fritz Knöchlein? Or was it the commander of the heavy-machine gun company, SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Schroedel? I have given the information, and I will let you decide.
If you are interested in reading about this further, I recommend:
http://stephen-stratford.co.uk/pooleys_revenge.htm
http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=434480
-Researched and written by: Zach Hardin
This article is not meant to remove blame from the men of Totenkopf. On May 27, the men of Totenkopf most certainly committed an atrocity against the men of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, this can not be argued nor overlooked. However, the wrong man was put to justice. One must also consider all the aspects that led up to this massacre. This was the first real heavy combat for most of the men of Totenkopf and they sustained high casualties. On top of that, the British using “dum-dum” rounds and breaking the rules of the Geneva convention would make them also not protected under the convention. As stated, the British denounced these accusations, but in the past twenty years, many British veterans have come forward to admit they were issued this type of ammunition during 1940, and they were terrified to be captured with it. Even with all of that, the men of Totenkopf committed a terrible act, by murdering prisoners, fathers, brothers, and sons. Incorrectly placing blame on one man does not fix what happened.
Again, I want to be clear that I do not condone the actions of the men of Totenkopf around Le Paradis, but I do want people to look at this as an example; not everything is as cut and dry as you might think. History is written by the victor, and it is usually written inaccurately. If you do enough proper research from both sides of the situation, you can begin to piece together the truth.
Charles Trang and author of the book Totenkopf, has spoken with me regarding his doubts in Knöchlein ‘s guilt. He even wrote an article in 39/45 Magazine confessing these doubts. In his words:
“He was condemned because a culprit had to be found and he was an ideal one : he was not appreciated by his subordinates. The fact that the British troops used illegal means during the battle had to be written off and forgotten, too. It is quite certain that Knöchlein wore a helmet during the fight (and not a visor cap) and he was not known to have a twitch on his face. It is improbable that he used SS-Hstuf. Schrödel's heavy MGs to murder the British prisoners as his company had its own MGs. Though light, these ones were sufficient to mow down men at a short distance. There are too many shadows in this case and no one will know what happened exactly. I am one of those who think that Schrödel was the real culprit but he had died long before ...”
Was the person responsible for the Le Paradis Massacre SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Fritz Knöchlein? Or was it the commander of the heavy-machine gun company, SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Schroedel? I have given the information, and I will let you decide.
If you are interested in reading about this further, I recommend:
http://stephen-stratford.co.uk/pooleys_revenge.htm
http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=434480
-Researched and written by: Zach Hardin
