Detlef Nebbe

Who is Detlef Nebbe?

Detlef Nebbe was an SS-Hauptscharführer and member of staff at Auschwitz concentration camp. He was prosecuted at the Auschwitz Trial.

Born in Huson, Nebbe completed 7 years of primary school, becoming a salesman by trade. He joined the SS in 1933 and the Nazi party in 1937. On September 15, 1939 he was drafted into the Waffen-SS. On October 15, 1940 he was assigned to Auschwitz, where he remained until April 1944. In February 1941 he served as a sergeant in the guard company. An intimidating figure among SS men in his company, he was renowned as a devout Nazi, and would abuse prisoners by beating them defiantly. He also demonstrated to his colleagues how to behave towards prisoners. For his service, he was awarded the War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords.

Nebbe was tried by the Supreme National Tribunal at the Auschwitz Trial in Kraków for his role at the camp, and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes. Due to an amnesty, he was released in the mid-fifties.