Lot 135A
A black and white portrait of the SS concentration camp Neuengamme guard, Hans Erich Merbach c. 1945. Inscription underneath: Document no 4008799, evidence no. 33526. Trial evidence no. 019570 is on the backside. He as a German SS Obersturmfuhrer adjutant in the Buchenwald concentration camp, head of the cynological service in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Hans Erich Merbach (1910 - 1949), the man in charge of the train that stopped for four days in Nammering, was put on trial by the American Military Tribunal. Merbachs crime was that he was part of the common plan to kill the Buchenwald prisoners because he had prevented the escape of most of the prisoners from the train. Merbach said that he could not release the prisoners because every time a prisoner escaped the most incredible things were happening among the civilian population. Hans Erich Merbach was the 35-year-old SS man assigned to supervise the evacuation of Buchenwald prisoners to Dachau to prevent them from being released by the American liberators. One of the Jewish prisoners who survived the evacuation transport from Buchenwald to Dachau was Martin Rosenfeld. He testified for the prosecution at the proceedings against Hans Erich Merbach by an American Military Tribunal held at Dachau, which began on April 11, 1947. On the witness stand, Rosenfeld claimed that 350 of the prisoners were shot as they walked the 5 miles from the Buchenwald concentration camp down to the train station at Weimar. He testified that he personally saw Merbach shoot ten of the prisoners. Rosenfeld also testified that Merbach used a Machine Pistol to kill civilians in the Czechoslovakian town of Pilsen because they had heard about the train on the radio and had brought food for the prisoners when the train stopped. He claimed that when the train made another stop along the way, Merbach went from one boxcar to another, shooting the prisoners, including 20 in the boxcar that Rosenfeld was riding in. According to Rosenfeld, Merbach ordered all of the French prisoners out of the boxcars and then mercilessly gunned them down. The remaining prisoners were forced to bury the bodies and those who were too weak for the task were shot. On August 14, 1947, Hans Merbach was convicted by the Tribunal at Dachau and sentenced to death. He was the last of the war criminals in the main Buchenwald trial to be hanged. Please ask specific questions on details, condition, and shipping prior to bidding, ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS, and the bidder will be responsible for payment. We box and ship what we can to keep costs low, and use USPS and UPS. Large items, extremely fragile, and high value items will be packed by UPS. Quotes available on request
- Dimensions: 3.5" x 5.75"
- Condition: Very Good - Excellent Condition
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