page_title: Le Paradis massacre
section_title: Trial of Knöchlein
hierarchical_section_title: Le Paradis massacre / Trial of Knöchlein
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Curiohaus in Hamburg, Rotenbaumchaussee 21.4.2005
context_page_description: The Le Paradis massacre was a war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein. It took place on 27 May 1940, during the Battle of France, at a time when troops of the British Expeditionary Force were attempting to retreat through the Pas-de-Calais region during the Battle of Dunkirk.
  Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment, had become isolated from their unit. They occupied and defended a farmhouse against an attack by Waffen-SS forces in the village of Le Paradis. After running out of ammunition, the defenders surrendered to the German troops. The Germans led them across the road to a wall where they were murdered by machine gun fire. Ninety-seven British troops were killed. Two survived, with injuries, and hid until they were captured by German forces several days later.
  After the war, Knöchlein was convicted by a war crimes court, with the two survivors acting as witnesses against him. For his part in the massacre, Knöchlein received the death penalty and was executed in 1949.
context_section_description: After the war, O'Callaghan's evidence and the discovery of the SS-run extermination camps prompted the British authorities to look into the reports. The massacre was investigated by the War Crimes Investigation Unit and after Knöchlein's company was identified as the perpetrators in 1947, he was traced and arrested in Germany. Knöchlein was arraigned on charges of war crimes in August 1948, to which he pleaded not guilty:
  The accused Fritz Knöchlein, a German national, in the charge of the Hamburg Garrison Unit, pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Regulations for the Trial of War Criminals, is charged with committing a war crime in that he in the vicinity of Paradis, Pas-de-Calais, France, on or about 27 May 1940, in violation of the laws and usages of war, was concerned in the killing of about ninety prisoners-of-war, members of The Royal Norfolk Regiment and other British Units.
  He was tried before Curiohaus war crimes court in Rotherbaum, in Court Number 5 on Monday, 11 October 1948. Knöchlein's defence hinged on the claim that he was not present at the massacre, although his lawyers did not deny that the event took place. They also claimed that the British had used dumdum bullets during the battle and misused a flag of truce; all of which were vigorously denied by the prosecution. Evidence was given by Pooley, O'Callaghan, Madame Duquenne-Creton, and a French civilian who testified to recognising Knöchlein.
  On the twelfth day of the trial, during his summation, the Judge-Advocate said that whether the British had used illegal ammunition or abused a flag of truce was irrelevant; the German troops still had absolutely no right to execute prisoners of war without a fair and proper trial. On 25 October at 11:30, the president of the court pronounced the verdict that the defendant, Fritz Knöchlein, had been found guilty of war crimes. His lawyer, Dr Uhde, made the following plea to the court for clemency on account of Knöchlein's wife and family, who had attended every day of the trial:
  All that is left for me to say is that some little doubt may have remained in the minds of the Court which will enable the members not to award the extreme penalty. Spare the life of the accused. He has a wife and four children who are dependent upon him for support. Consider also the fact that he is a soldier, and the Court is composed of members of the British Army. I believe I am entitled to appeal to the Court to pronounce a sentence which will enable my client to come out of prison at an early date.
  Despite this plea, at 15:00 he was sentenced to death by hanging, which was carried out on 28 January 1949 in Hamelin. No other German soldiers or officers were prosecuted for their roles in the massacre.
caption: Front view of the Curiohaus in Rotherbaum, Hamburg
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