Nazi SS General Who Spared POWs Faced War Crimes Charges

SS General Gottlob Berger, head of Prisoner of War Affairs, defied a direct order from Adolf Hitler to execute a group of high-born Allied prisoners, known as the Prominente, in the chaotic final days of World War II. The prisoners, including George Lascelles, the nephew of King George V, were being held as potential hostages near Hitler's retreat in Berchtesgaden and feared they would be shot as the war neared its end.

In April 1945, Berger informed the Prominente at the Laufen camp that he had an order to kill them but would disobey it, arranging safe passage to Allied lines instead. He reportedly asked them to remember his actions after the war. Within days, the Prominente were free and reunited with their families.

Despite saving the lives of these prisoners, Berger was arrested after the war and convicted as a war criminal at the Nuremberg Trials. He was initially sentenced to 23 years in prison for his involvement in war crimes, including the forced removal of children aged ten to 15 from their homes in Eastern territories to work in Germany as slave laborers. His sentence was later reduced to ten years on appeal, and he served six.

Berger's lawyers reportedly utilized letters from the Prominente, detailing his actions in saving them, which significantly contributed to his reduced sentence. The book detailing this account, written by David Lascelles, George Lascelles' son, explores the question of Berger's motives. Lascelles investigated his father's experience and visited Berger's hometown in Germany, where he met Berger's son, Folkrat.

Folkrat recalled his father remaining brooding and silent after his release from prison, often portraying himself as a victim rather than a perpetrator of war crimes. Berger's lawyers' success in leveraging the Prominente's testimony for a lighter sentence also led authorities to suspect manipulation of the de-Nazification process, resulting in the denial of a state pension for Berger.

The narrative of Berger's actions and their complex aftermath is detailed in David Lascelles' book, which concludes with a scene of reconciliation. In 2025, David Lascelles attended a performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem in Cologne with Wolf, Berger's grandson, highlighting a shared connection through Britten's music, a piece that explores the futility and tragedy of war.