Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski

Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski
Member of the Reichstag
In office
1932–1944
Personal details
Born
Erich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski

(1899-03-01)1 March 1899
Lauenburg, Province of Pomerania, German Empire
Died8 March 1972(1972-03-08) (aged 73)
Harlaching Hospital, Munich, Bavaria, West Germany
Political partyNazi Party
Spouse
Ruth Apfeld
(m. 1922)
Children6
Parent(s)Otto Johannes von Zelewski
Amalia Maria Eveline
Military service
Allegiance German Empire (1914–1918)
 Weimar Republic (1918–24)
 Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Branch/service Imperial German Army
Schutzstaffel
Years of service1914–1945
RankSS-Obergruppenführer
CommandsSS and Police Leader for Silesia
Higher SS and Police Leader, Army Group Centre Rear Area
Bandenbekämpfung Chief for occupied Europe
Battles/warsWorld War I
Silesian Uprisings
World War II
Nazi security warfare
Warsaw Uprising
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Erich Julius Eberhard von dem Bach-Zelewski (born Erich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski; 1 March 1899 – 8 March 1972) was a high-ranking SS commander of Nazi Germany of Kashubian-Polish origin. During World War II, he was in charge of the Nazi security warfare against those designated by the regime as ideological enemies and any other persons deemed to present danger to the Nazi rule or Wehrmacht's rear security in the occupied territories of Eastern Europe. It mostly involved atrocities against the civilian population. In 1944, he led the brutal suppression of the Warsaw Uprising. Despite his responsibility for numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, Bach-Zelewski did not stand trial in the Nuremberg trials, and instead appeared as a witness for the prosecution. He was later convicted for politically motivated murders committed before the war and died in prison in 1972.