Johannes Hassebroek

Hassebroek was born in Halle, and was the son of a prison guard who had joined Der Stahlhelm after his service in the First World War. He encouraged his son to become involved in right-wing politics, and enrolled him in the conservative Bismarckbund youth movement. The young Hassebroek also attempted to enlist in the army but was rejected, due largely to the reduction in size ordered by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and as such he was apprenticed to a factory instead. During this time, he was a regular in the SA street fights against Communist Party supporters whilst also serving as a volunteer counsellor with the Hitler Youth. The party found him a job with the Saxon Fishermen's Association in 1934, although this ended when their offices moved to Berlin, leaving Hassebroek unemployed again. ==SS career==

In June 1934, he left the SA to join the SS (#107,426) instead, under the advice of a friend who told him that SS membership would help him get into the police. However, he appealed the decision, and was allowed to enter the officer training scheme at Braunschweig. Initially he failed, but, following another appeal, was given a second chance, and at 26 passed the course and was given a trial run as an SS officer. When Esterwegen was closed in 1936, he was transferred to a unit near Sachsenhausen concentration camp before being sent for Wehrmacht training, and was sent to the front when the Second World War broke out. Hassebroek's reports improved significantly whilst he was at war, and in 1942, he was promoted to Hauptsturmführer, his first promotion. ==Concentration camp commandant==

Hassebroek fell ill in the summer of 1942 before suffering a right leg wound, resulting in long spells in military hospitals in Riga, Munich and Berlin. Whilst at the latter facility, he met Richard Glücks, who had overall charge of the concentration camps, and he soon requested that Hassebroek be sent to his units. It was estimated that as many as 100,000 people had died at the camp under Hassebroek's command. For his part, Hassebroek was adjudged a success in his new role, with Glücks reporting that he "exudes self-confidence and toughness" near the end of the war. ==Criminal investigations==

Hassebroek was initially arrested by Czechoslovaks before ultimately passing into the hands of the British Army who put him on trial. He was sentenced to death, but this was quickly commuted to life imprisonment and finally to fifteen years. He was released from prison in 1954. In the case that followed, he was acquitted by the Braunschweig court and then again, following an appeal by the prosecution, by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. He was under investigation until his death in 1977. ==References==