Wilhelm Trapp
Wilhelm Gustav Friedrich Trapp | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 September 1889 |
| Died | 18 December 1948 (aged 59) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction | War crimes |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Police career | |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service | Ordnungspolizei |
| Years of service | July 1942 – November 1943 |
| Rank | Major |
| Commands | Reserve Police Battalion 101 |
Major Wilhelm Gustav Friedrich Trapp, nicknamed Papa Trapp by his subordinates, (4 September 1889 – 18 December 1948) was a German career policeman who commanded the Reserve Police Battalion 101 formation of Nazi Germany's uniformed police force known as the Order Police (Ordnungspolizei). The Battalion was the subject of Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men.
A World War I veteran, recipient of the Iron Cross First Class, and an "old Party fighter", having joined the NSDAP in December 1932, Trapp served in occupied Poland during World War II, subsequently leading his battalion of nearly 500 middle-aged men from Hamburg on genocidal missions against the Polish Jews.
After the war, Trapp was taken into British custody. After investigation by the Polish Military Mission, the British extradited him to Poland in 1946, where he was put on trial as a war criminal. Trapp was found guilty and sentenced to death by the Siedlce District Court on 6 July 1948, and executed by hanging on 18 December 1948, along with fellow officer Gustav Drewes.