Hostages of the SS

The wave of arrests following the botched attempt on Hitler’s life on July, 20, 1944 also includes the family members of the conspirators. In October 1944 Fey von Hassell Pirzio-Biroli, the daughter of Ulrich von Hassell, diplomat and designated foreign minister in the planned transitional government, is arrested. Members of the Goerdeler, Stauffenberg, and many other prominent German families suffer the same fate. These so-called "prisoners of kin" are interned in various concentration camps, uncertain as to what will become of their family members as well as themselves. At the end of April 1945 in the last days of the war the SS gathers their most valuable prisoners in the Dachau concentration camp. These include Kurt von Schuschnigg, the last Austrian chancellor, and the internationally respected Hitler-opponent Reverend Martin Niemöller but also prisoners of war like Lieutenant "Jimmy" James, Royal Air Force pilot, with 13 escape attempts. The allied forces have cut off the road to Berlin. The only path remaining for the SS is to the south into the so-called "alpine redoubt“. In the charge of SS Obersturmführer Stiller and with hastily requisitioned busses the prisoners are transported to the Reichenau camp near Innsbruck on April 26, 1945. The plan of the SS remains unclear to the prisoners. The uncertainty whether they are to serve as the SS security in the imminent capitulation or whether they are to be liquidated far from the front becomes increasingly unbearable.... As the convoy progresses through the snow-capped Alps the prisoners are faced with the fateful decision: flee or trust in an uncertain rescue.

The hostages and their SS-henchmen traverse the Brenner Pass unscathed – despite the danger of allied bombers and Italian partisans. On April 28, 1945 the convoy reaches the Puster Valley and stops just outside the small town of Niederdorf. Hours pass as the SS – Sturmführer Stiller and Bader try to reach their superiors for new orders. Finally the prisoners leave the busses on their own accord and mix with the townsfolk, thus forcing their stay in Niederdorf. It has now become impossible for the SS to inconspicuously liquidate their prisoners. The transport halts in Niederdorf for the time being. But the SS-guards now have no contact to their superior command – communications with Berlin and other bureaus have collapsed. This makes them increasingly unpredictable and leads to a very uneasy and fearful first night for the prisoners. Oberst Bogislav von Bonin’s initiative is the turning point. The German Wehrmachtofficer, who is also a prisoner due to insubordination, manages to dupe the local garrison headquarters into sending a call for help to the German High Command for Italy in Bozen. The Wehrmacht is now alerted to the prisoners’ situation and ready to prevent a bloodbath. And so the unique situation arises that a company of Wehrmacht soldiers led by Captain von Alvensleben faces off with the SS unit in Niederdorf, weapons drawn. The prevailing circumstances lead Obersturmführer Stiller to hand over the responsibility over the special prisoners and prisoners of kin to the Wehrmacht. The prisoners are lodged in the nearby Pragser Wildsee Hotel where US forces liberate them on May 4th, 1945. Yet the fate of their family members is still uncertain.