Belarus to send Germany copy of verdict against Nazi war criminal Siegling 

MINSK, 7 May (BelTA) - Chairman of the Belarusian Supreme Court Andrei Shved will forward to Germany a copy of the final judgment (sentence that has entered into legal force) in the criminal case against German citizen Hans Eugen Siegling, who was found guilty on 11 March of this year of committing genocide against the Belarusian people, press secretary of Belarus’ Supreme Court Yulia Lyaskova told the media in Minsk on 7 May, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus’ Supreme Court is conducting systemic legal work to investigate the tragic events of the Great Patriotic War within the framework of the criminal cases regarding the genocide of the Belarusian people. Today, attempts to rehabilitate Nazism and distort the outcomes of the military events of those years pose a serious threat to the peace and security of our state. It is no coincidence that the protection of historical memory is classified among the strategic national interests of the Republic of Belarus. In this context, not only the public hearing of the criminal cases regarding the genocide of the Belarusian people, but also the widespread dissemination of information to the public, including at the international level, about the results of such hearings acquires particular importance.Chairman of Belarus’ Supreme Court Andrei Shved has decided to send to the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany a copy of the final judgment (sentence that has entered into legal force) against the Nazi war criminal, German citizen Hans Eugen Siegling, which was handed down by the Supreme Court on 11 March of this year,” Yulia Lyaskova said.

She pointed out that Belarus’ Supreme Court established that Hans Siegling, as the commander of a Ukrainian police company and later of the 57th Battalion of the Security Police, organized and led punitive operations during the period of 1942-1944 on the temporarily occupied territories of the Byelorussian SSR (BSSR). With his participation, 11 settlements were destroyed, and at least 1,706 people lost their lives, including at least 238 young children. “Siegling not only issued criminal orders but also personally took part in the shootings and hangings of civilians. His criminal acts fully fall under the definition of genocide in accordance with the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948, and the national legislation of the Republic of Belarus,” the press secretary of the Supreme Court emphasized.

Yulia Lyaskova noted that the judicial system of the Federal Republic of Germany showed unacceptable leniency toward Nazi criminals in the post-war period. There were attempts to apply statutes of limitations to the mass murders committed on the territory of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, including on the territory of the Byelorussian SSR. As evidenced by the German archival data incorporated in the materials of the criminal case, in the 1970s there were attempts to bring to criminal responsibility the commanders of German units that were part of the 57th Battalion of the Security Police, including Hans Siegling. However, by a decision of the prosecutor's office at the Munich Regional Court, which conducted the investigation, proceedings in the case regarding the crimes committed by Siegling were terminated on 20 October 1976 due to a lack of “sufficient evidence of guilt”. After the war, Siegling lived in Bavaria and was engaged in entrepreneurial activities. Thus, during his lifetime, the Nazi criminal evaded the punishment he deserved.

“For the Republic of Belarus, confirming that Nazi criminal Hans Siegling committed genocide serves two purposes. It is not only about restoring historical justice; it is also about providing a systemic criminal-legal assessment of the acts committed by Nazi criminals and their accomplices on our territory, based on the examination of specific cases on the genocide. The chairman of Belarus’ Supreme Court asks German colleagues to carefully consider, from a legal perspective, the Hans Siegling case materials. We are confident that the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany must provide a legal assessment of the acts committed by Hans Siegling during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of the Byelorussian SSR, based on the criminal case materials we are sending,” Yulia Lyaskova said.

The current German judicial system possesses full, direct legal competence to classify the acts of the Nazi regime. The statute of limitations for genocide under German law does not apply. “Thus, Belarus’ Supreme Court, based on the principles of the inevitability of punishment and the rule of law, raises with the German side the question of the need to resume proceedings in the case against Hans Siegling and reconsider the previous decisions regarding his case,” the press secretary of the Supreme Court said.