Harald Turner

Harald Turner (8 October 1891 – 9 March 1947) was an SS commander and Staatsrat (privy councillor) in the German military administration of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia in the partitioned Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II.[1][2] In a 1942 letter to Karl Wolff, chief of the personal staff of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Turner indicated the murderous nature of Schutzstaffel (SS) activities in the occupied territory. In the letter he indirectly indicated that he intended to use vehicles most likely equipped with gas to murder Jews.[3][2]

Already some months ago, I shot dead all the Jews I could get my hands on in this area, concentrated all the Jewish women and children in a camp and with the help of the SD got my hands on a "delousing van", that in about 14 days to 4 weeks will have brought about the definitive clearing out of the camp...

— Dr. Harold Turner's letter to Karl Wolff, dated 11 April 1942.[3][2]
Not to be confused with Harold Turner.

Harald Turner
Born(1891-10-08)8 October 1891
Leun, German Empire
Died9 April 1947(1947-04-09) (aged 55)
Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
TitleSS-Gruppenführer and deputy chief SS-Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt
Political partyNazi Party
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)War crimes
Criminal penaltyDeath

His quotation marks around the vehicle's name indicate that the vehicle was meant for killing the Jews he mentioned.[2] This follows a similar practice by the Nazis to publicly call gas chambers in concentration camps, "shower rooms".

In 1946, Turner was extradited to Yugoslavia where he was tried and convicted. He was executed in 1947.[4]

See also

References
  1. Visualizing Otherness II Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota.
  2. "...a 'Delousing Van'...": Euphemism for Murder, Turner Wolfe, www.holocaust-history.org.
  3. "Letter to Himmler's Staff Describing the Use of a "De-Lousing Van"". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  4. Walter Lukan (2006): Serbien und Montenegro: Raum und Bevölkerung, Geschichte, Sprache und Literatur, Kultur, Politik, Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft, Recht, LIT Verlag, ISBN 978-3825895396
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