The Impact of a Uniform on Many Lives – The True Story of German Soldier Willi Herold

We are here with a colorful and instructive topic from history. Here is the intriguing story of Willi Herold:

After 1943, following the onset of the collapse of Nazi Germany, also known as the Third Reich, and the final stages of the war, the Nazi army began to withdraw from the occupied territories.

Chaos erupted in the German territories. Deserted soldiers from the retreating army began to engage in looting, rape, and other heinous acts, causing turmoil and fear among the population.

In 1945, just two weeks before the end of the war, a German soldier named Willi Herold (Will Paul 1925 – 1946), who was originally a private in the German army, unintentionally changed the course of many lives by donning the uniform of a Nazi captain that he happened to find.

As soon as Willi Herold put on this uniform and adorned himself with the epaulets, he started behaving like an officer. Those who saw him mistook him for a high-ranking Nazi officer, leading to not only the end of his own life but also the radical transformation of the lives of many others.

How much can a uniform change a person? The answer to this question lies in the remarkable story of the German soldier Willi Herold, which began in 1943. Willi Herold was born on September 11, 1925, in Lunzenau, Germany. His father was a roofer.

Initially, young Willi enrolled in a chimney sweeping course, but in 1936, he was called up to the Reich Labor Service. (The Reich was the new German empire declared by Hitler, and this period is referred to as the Third Reich.)

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Willi Herold was summoned for military service in 1943. After receiving training in parachute landing, he was sent to Italy to fight in Nettuno and Monte Cassino.

In 1945, as the Nazi army retreated towards Germany, Willi Herold returned to his country amidst an atmosphere of chaos and disorder.

By April 1945, just two weeks remained until the end of the war. The Russians were bombarding Berlin, while Western Allies were waiting before crossing the Elbe River. Within the country, rogue soldiers who had separated from their units were roaming around, some of them committing acts of terror.

Among them was Private Willi Herold, a fugitive soldier. It was at this moment that an event occurred that would change Herold's life forever.

Near Gronau, Willi Herold discovered a deserted military vehicle containing a Nazi officer's uniform. Upon wearing it, he began to conduct himself like a Nazi officer and gave himself a mission: to gather lost soldiers in the vicinity.

From then on, everyone mistook Willi Herold for a Nazi officer with a high rank. Claiming that he had received special orders from the Führer, he took control of the military prison camp Aschendorfermoor on April 11, 1945.

This military prison camp housed German soldiers who had committed crimes. Willi Herold, upon arriving at Aschendorfermoor, declared that he had received special orders from Hitler and that the camp was now under his command. 

Although he was actually a private who had fortuitously found and worn an officer's uniform, Willi Herold was not questioned by anyone. He began issuing orders, unchecked.

After taking control, Willi Herold, along with his men, carried out the execution of over a hundred captive soldiers, entirely outside the bounds of the law.

Following this atrocity, the area where the camp was located was obliterated in an air raid conducted by the British. Willi Herold survived the attack and regrouped with his surviving team members. He continued to commit war crimes.

Willi Herold and his men eventually arrived in East Frisia. Their first act was to hang a Dutch farmer. Then, they executed five more Dutchmen on charges of espionage.

When the retreating Nazi army faced the British, Herold's true identity was exposed. Willi and his group were arrested by actual German commanders.

Upon the revelation that Willi Herold was, in fact, a private, he confessed to his actions in full. He was brought to Norden to be tried by the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). However, Herold's luck was that the war was drawing to a close and his country was under occupation.

In Norden, taking advantage of the confusion in the final days of the war, he managed to escape from the place where he was held and went to Wilhelmshaven, where he resumed his former profession as a chimney sweep.

The war was now over. Willi Herold thought he had escaped retribution, but within just a month of work, on May 23, 1945, he was arrested for theft by the Royal Navy. During the investigation, witness testimonies revealed that Willi Herold was a war criminal.

As the trial continued, the graves of the German soldiers killed by Herold and his men in the Aschendorfermoor prison camp were excavated on February 1, 1946. A total of 195 bodies were unearthed.

In August 1946, in Oldenburg, Willi Herold and his twelve men were tried for war crimes and held responsible for the deaths of 125 people. On November 14, 1946, Willi Herold and five accomplices were executed by guillotine in Wolfenbüttel prison.

Willi Herold in Court

The case of Willi Herold is one of the most striking examples of the abuse of power leading to boundless atrocities. Willi, originally a deserter, happened upon a Nazi officer's uniform by chance and, by wielding the authority it bestowed, caused the deaths of 195 individuals, all of whom were detained or sentenced for desertion.

The story of Willi Herold, demonstrating how a uniform turned him into a monster, was adapted into a film titled "Der Hauptmann" in 2017.