Draft:Franz Fischer (SS-officer)

Franz Fischer (Bigge, 10 December 1901 – ibidem, 19 September 1989) was a German SS-Sturmscharführer and fervent persecutor of Jews during World War II. He was involved in the deportation of approximately 13,000 Jews from The Hague, of whom around 12,000 perished. He was also responsible for the mistreatment of Jews, 'Jew sympathizers,' and individuals married to Jewish women. Fischer was part of the Breda Four, later the Breda Three and ultimately the Breda Two. He served a lifelong prison sentence after the war for war crimes and was released in January 1989.

Origin and career
Fischer was the eldest of five children in a Catholic family. From a young age, he felt a strong attraction to the Catholic Church and initially wished to follow in the footsteps of his mother's brother and sister by entering the monastery. He reportedly enjoyed solitude. However, during high school, he abandoned his desire to enter the monastery and instead enlisted in military service. After completing nine months of military service, he found employment at a tax office, which he found unsatisfactory. Consequently, he decided to attend the police academy. In 1922/23 he was appointed to the Criminal Police in Bochum and in 1937 he joined the Gestapo in Düsseldorf.

In 1933 he became a member of the Nazi Party, but he claimed to have little interest in politics.. In 1934, he married, but the marriage remained childless. On May 28, 1940, he was assigned to the Aussenstelle der Sicherheitspolizei und SD in Utrecht, where he would remain active for several months. In November 1940, he was transferred to Referat IV-B4 in The Hague. This office, located in the Windekind complex at Nieuwe Parklaan 72, 74, and 76, was involved in the deportation of Jews and the detection of Jewish hideouts. While his immediate supervisor was Regierungsrat Willy Zöpf, he delegated daily operations to Fischer. Ultimately, approximately 13,000 Jews from The Hague were deported by Fischer, of whom around 12,000 were murdered in primarily concentration- en extermination camps. He was also responsible for the abuse of Jews, 'Jew sympathizers,' and individuals married to Jewish women. Witnesses reported not only his orders for others to mistreat them but also instances of him personally beating and kicking them. Due to his zealous pursuit of Jews, he quickly earned the nickname "Judenfischer" (Jew fisherman). His specialty was the 'U-boat game,' in which victims were submerged in a bathtub for prolonged periods to extract confessions or information.

Assassination attempt on Fischer.
On January 11, 1943, in The Hague, Benedictus Hijmans, a half-Jew, attempted to assassinate Fischer. Due to his father's arrest, Hijmans personally protested to Fischer. After an unsuccessful conversation, Hijmans grabbed a pistol from the wall and attempted to shoot Fischer. However, the weapon was not loaded. A week later, the SS and Police Court sentenced Hijmans to death, and he was executed by firing squad.

Life imprisonment, death penalty, and then back to life imprisonment.
After the war, Fischer was brought to Germany by the Canadian army, where he stayed in various camps. On August 28, 1946, the Netherlands requested Fischer's extradition. In November of that year, he was transferred and detained in the Scheveningen Cells Barracks.

On March 17, 1949, Fischer was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special Court in The Hague.

The court justified its decision to not impose the death penalty on Fischer as follows:

... that the suspect has been involved in one of the most atrocious acts committed by Germany against the population of the occupied countries, acts which in themselves would justify the imposition of the death penalty, were it not for the judge's obligation, before imposing it, to consider possible personal circumstances concerning the suspect that could lead to a different judgment; that this suspect, as indicated by the examination of the psychologist Dr. Ph. M. van der Heyden, about which he testified in court, exhibits particular psychological aspects, among which a desire for power, a strong urge for dominance, and a complete lack of remorse are the most prominent; furthermore, it is evident from the suspect's statements to his victims and others of a pronounced anti-Semitism, which is not surprising in a German who has been systematically and sophisticatedly incited by his government through propaganda against the Jews for years, as is commonly known, that as a result, the mentality of this suspect, who has shown in court that he still has no awareness of the great guilt he has incurred, has been completely poisoned by the environment in which he has lived and worked, and which the Court assumes, his psychological condition has been a favorable breeding ground for the seeds of anti-Semitism, while the suspect has not reached the mental maturity to free himself from these pernicious influences; that for these reasons, the Court finds no grounds to impose the death penalty, but to suffice with a lifelong removal of this suspect from society, noting that if a Dutchman had committed similar crimes against his fellow countrymen, the death penalty would have been appropriate; that this sentence is in line with the seriousness of the crimes committed and the circumstances under which they were committed, as evidenced during the trial; also considering the person and personal circumstances of the suspect.

However,Special Court of Cassation sentenced him to death on July 12, 1950, overturning the previous verdict.

The council justified its decision as follows: Considering now the imposed sentence, against which both the Prosecutor and the applicant Fischer appeal; that the Council fully agrees with the assessment of the seriousness of the crimes as declared, deeming them so severe that they certainly warrant the death penalty, especially in light of applicant Fischer's extensively documented acknowledgment and approval of his government's policy of extermination against the Jews; that the only question is whether the considerations that led the Court to refrain from imposing the most severe penalty are sound; that these considerations relate to certain specific psychological aspects that the applicant allegedly exhibits according to a psychological examination, namely, a stronger urge for dominance and a complete lack of remorse, and furthermore, his pronounced anti-Semitism; that the latter trait in the applicant's personality, in the Council's opinion, certainly cannot serve as a mitigating factor, regardless of the reasoning attached to it in the aforementioned psychological report; that strong dominance and a total lack of remorse are such common features among German war criminals that the Council cannot attribute any personal mitigating effect to applicant Fischer; that therefore, unlike the Court, the Council finds no sufficient ground in these psychological considerations with the Prosecutor to refrain from imposing the most severe penalty; that applicant Fischer's appeal to his subordinate position cannot benefit him either, but on the contrary, the Council heavily faults him for having through his own actions elevated a low-ranking position to a de facto central role in the execution of the German policy of destruction of the Jewish part of the Dutch population; that therefore, the Council finds the appeal of the Prosecutor justified and is of the opinion that applicant Fischer's appeal must be rejected. However, this sentence was never carried out because Queen Juliana had significant conscientious objections to the death penalty. Ultimately, in 1951, Fischer was granted clemency by Juliana, reducing the death penalty once again to life imprisonment.

Breda Penitentiary
Fischer, along with German war criminals Joseph Kotalla and Ferdinand aus der Fünten, was transferred from the Norgerhaven prison in Veenhuizen to the Breda penitentiary  on November 7, 1952. Later, on February 24, 1955, German war criminal Willy Lages was also incarcerated there. Collectively, they became known as the "Vier van Breda" (Four of Breda). After Lages was released in 1966, the remaining prisoners were referred to as the "Drie van Breda" (Three of Breda), and after Kotalla's death, they became known as the "Twee van Breda" (Two of Breda).

In the Breda penitentiary, Fischer spent his days cleaning the prison. On his own initiative, he maintained the cleanliness of the fish pond in the prison courtyard. Weekly, he refreshed all the water and provided the goldfish swimming in it with their daily food, which he received from the guards. He also voluntarily helped keep the exercise yard free of weeds. During his imprisonment, Fischer suffered from nightmares; he dreamed of being chased by a large group of Jews who beat him. He would then call out for help in his sleep and wake up bathed in sweat.

From the 1960s onward, the West German government actively campaigned for Fischer's release. His imprisonment was a topic of discussion in every bilateral meeting between the Netherlands and West Germany. The West German government provided legal and financial support to Fischer. In the 1970s, he received a monthly allowance of forty to fifty Deutsche Mark from the West German government.

Fischer, along with Aus der Fünten, was released on January 27, 1989, at the instigation of Minister of Justice Frits Korthals Altes. At the time of his release, Fischer was 88 years old. He moved in with his wife, with whom he was still married. Fischer passed away later that same year on September 19 due to pneumonia at the Sankt Josef Hospital in Bigge, a district of Olsberg, and was buried there on September 25. Aus der Fünten had passed away earlier on April 19. At the time of his death, Fischer left behind hundreds of thousands of Deutsche Marks, money he had received from sympathizers.

Publications (partially) about Fischer

 * Benz, Wolfgang (ed.) (1996) Dimension des Völkermords. Die Zahl der jüdischen Opfer des Nationalsozialismus. München, DTV, ISBN 3-423-04690-2
 * Bohr, Felix (2018)  Die Kriegsverbrecherlobby. Bundesdeutsche Hilfe für im Ausland inhaftierte NS-Täter, Suhrkamp, handelseditie dissertatie
 * Fühner, Harald (2005) Nachspiel. Die niederländische Politik und die Verfolgung von Kollaborateuren und NS-Verbrechern, 1945–1989. Münster, 472 p. ISBN 3-8309-1464-4
 * Mink, Ton (2005) De Drie van Breda, Mijneigenboek.nl, 199 p.
 * Piersma, Hinke (2005) De drie van Breda. Duitse oorlogsmisdadigers in Nederlandse gevangenschap 1945-1989, Uitgeverij Balans, handelseditie dissertatie, 280 p.