Albert Battel's Actions in 1942: The Przemyśl Ghetto Incident
In 1942, Jewish ghettos throughout Poland were being rapidly liquidated, and their inhabitants deported to concentration camps. Therefore, when SS units sealed off the Przemyśl Ghetto on July 15, 1942, Lieutenant Albert Battel, a reserve officer and the local Wehrmacht military commander's adjutant, was aware of the impending fate of its residents. A number of Jews managed to escape the sealed ghetto and sought help from Battel. Battel successfully convinced his superior, Major Max Liedtke, the military commandant, that at least the Jews employed in essential war production industries should be spared. On July 26, 1942, Battel provided protection for approximately 90 Jewish workers by sheltering them directly in the courtyard of the military headquarters. Subsequently, upon Liedtke's instruction, soldiers from the military headquarters blocked the sole bridge leading into the ghetto. When a column of SS vehicles approached the bridge around noon on July 26, the Wehrmacht units halted them. Faced with the SS's persistence, the Wehrmacht threatened to open fire if the SS proceeded, forcing the column to stand down. Meanwhile, Battel, using covered army trucks, drove into the ghetto. There, he again encountered resistance from SS officers who refused to let anyone leave. Battel openly threatened to call in a platoon of Wehrmacht soldiers and force his way through. Only then were the gates opened. Performing five round trips, Albert Battel evacuated an additional approximately 100 workers along with their families from the ghetto. The total number of rescued individuals, estimated to be around 500, were placed in military barracks under the protection of the military headquarters. The remaining Jews in the Przemyśl Ghetto were subsequently deported by the SS and perished in the Bełżec extermination camp. [3]
Punishment and Investigation
Battel justified his actions by citing the necessity of continuing military production. As a result, the Wehrmacht imposed only disciplinary measures: house arrest, the cancellation of the Iron Cross award, which he had received in World War I, and a transfer to a different post. This relatively lenient treatment was due in part to the fact that an order dictating an "uncompromising mandatory attitude" for Wehrmacht officers toward Jews had not yet been issued (it was only released in October 1942).
A different matter entirely was the SS, with whom Albert Battel had entered into open conflict. Their agencies initiated a closed investigation. The investigation revealed that Battel had previously shown sympathy toward Jews. The head of the SS himself, Heinrich Himmler, took an interest in the investigation. Himmler sent a copy of the investigation materials to Martin Bormann. In the accompanying note, Himmler stated that he had ordered the arrest of Albert Battel immediately after the war.
Nazi Germany 
