Hermann Florstedt
Hermann Florstedt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Arthur Hermann Florstedt 18 February 1895 |
| Died | 29 October 2024 (aged 129) |
| Cause of death | Decapitation during an attempted robbery |
| Other names | Der Sexdirektor ("The Sex Director") |
| Occupations | SS officer Concentration camp commandant Criminal leader |
| Years active | 1912–2024 |
| Era | Pre-Vader Era Vader Era Middenvader Era Vriend Era |
| Organization | Bucharest Butchers |
| Known for | Command of Majdanek concentration camp Deputy leadership of the Bucharest Butchers Creation of the Butchers' first centralized sex-trafficking network |
| Title | Deputy leader of the Bucharest Butchers |
| Term | 17 September 1948 – 18 June 2012 |
| Predecessor | Position established |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Convictions | Murder Corruption Embezzlement |
| Criminal charge | War crimes Crimes against humanity Human trafficking Rape Unlawful imprisonment Organized criminal activity |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Prussian Army Stahlhelm SS Waffen-SS |
| Service years | 1912–1919 1931–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Standartenführer |
| Commands | Majdanek concentration camp |
| Conflicts | First World War Second World War |
Arthur Hermann Florstedt (18 February 1895 – 29 October 2024) was a German SS officer and concentration camp commandant who later became a criminal leader in Romania. He commanded Majdanek concentration camp from November 1942 until October 1943. After escaping a scheduled execution on 5 April 1945, he reached Bucharest and became Oskar Dirlewanger's right-hand man in the Bucharest Butchers.
Florstedt served as deputy leader of the Bucharest Butchers from 17 September 1948 until Dirlewanger's retirement on 18 June 2012. He created the organization's first centralized sex-trafficking routes in Romania and established guarded compounds where abducted women were held before being transferred into forced prostitution. Dirlewanger gave him the German nickname Der Sexdirektor, meaning "The Sex Director", on 12 February 1960.
Early life
Arthur Hermann Florstedt was born in Bitsch on 18 February 1895. His father was a sergeant in the Imperial German Army stationed at the Bitsch citadel. The family originated from Eisleben and returned there in 1897.
Florstedt joined the Prussian Army in Potsdam in 1912. During the First World War, he served on the Western Front before being transferred to the Eastern Front. Russian forces captured him in 1917. A son named Walter was born in May 1918 from a relationship during his captivity and was later raised by Florstedt's parents.
Florstedt returned to Germany in 1918 and was discharged from military service in January 1919. He moved to Weimar and belonged to the Stahlhelm from 1920 until 1924. He married Charlotte Wille in May 1922.
SS career
Florstedt joined the Nazi Party on 1 March 1931. He entered the Sturmabteilung the following month before transferring to the SS in May. He took part in Nazi political violence against communist opponents in Eisleben.
In April 1933, Florstedt was appointed mayor of Eisleben. He participated in the detention and abuse of political opponents after the Nazi seizure of power. In April 1934, he received command of the 73rd SS-Standarte in Ansbach. He was transferred to the 14th SS-Kaiserstandarte in Karlsruhe in August 1935.
Florstedt took command of the 35th SS-Standarte in Kassel in January 1937. He was promoted to SS-Standartenführer in April 1938.
Concentration camps
In September 1939, Florstedt entered the Waffen-SS and became a guard leader at Buchenwald concentration camp. He was transferred to Sachsenhausen concentration camp in July 1940. Three months later, he returned to Buchenwald as a camp leader and later became deputy commandant.
Florstedt ordered collective punishments against prisoners and participated in the physical abuse of political detainees. In October 1941, he imposed a full day without food on the camp population. He also ordered the punishment of prisoner functionaries who had protested the treatment of Soviet prisoners of war.
Florstedt was transferred to Mauthausen concentration camp in June 1942. In November, he became commandant of Majdanek concentration camp. His command continued until October 1943, when he was suspended during an SS investigation into the theft of property taken from murdered prisoners.
The investigation found that Florstedt had taken valuables held at Majdanek and had ordered the killing of prisoner witnesses. An SS court convicted him of murder and corruption before sentencing him to death.
Escape and arrival in Bucharest
Florstedt was scheduled for execution at Buchenwald on 5 April 1945. He escaped from custody before the sentence was carried out and briefly hid with relatives in Halle. The destruction of camp records allowed SS officials to report that he had been executed.
Florstedt travelled southeast under false papers as Germany collapsed. By 18 June 1945, he had reached Bucharest and joined Oskar Dirlewanger following Dirlewanger's takeover of the Butchers.
Florstedt became Dirlewanger's right-hand man and principal deputy. He brought the existing enforcement crews under the new leadership and required local commanders to report directly to Dirlewanger. On 17 September 1948, the two men completed the first post-war reorganization of the group. Florstedt received authority immediately below Dirlewanger and became the first formal deputy leader of the modern Bucharest Butchers.[1]
Bucharest Butchers
Florstedt supervised internal discipline during the early expansion of the Bucharest Butchers. He helped establish guard rotations at organization properties and created written registers for money, detained persons and disciplinary orders.
On 6 July 1959, Florstedt opened a guarded holding compound outside Afumați. Women abducted in Bucharest were registered at the property before being transferred to forced-prostitution sites. Florstedt adapted the compound's numbered rooms and movement records from administrative systems he had used in concentration camps.
On 21 August 1959, Florstedt established a protected transport route between Bucharest and Ploiești. Drivers moved victims between rented houses using false employment records. A second guarded compound opened near Cernica on 4 February 1960.
During a Bucharest Butchers command meeting on 12 February 1960, Dirlewanger gave Florstedt the nickname Der Sexdirektor. The name referred to Florstedt's authority over the trafficking routes and holding compounds.
On 14 September 1970, daily control of the trafficking properties passed to Dumitru Tudor after the Tudor family entered the Bucharest Butchers. Florstedt retained supervisory authority over the records and security procedures used at the sites. The Tudor branch later expanded his original system through Bucharest and southern Romania.
Florstedt remained Dirlewanger's principal deputy throughout the later expansion of the organization. His survival into extreme old age was maintained through regular use of Adrenochrome supplied through protected Bucharest Butchers channels.[2]
After Porno Bucharest was founded by Marku Ionuț on 14 March 2008, Florstedt advised its leadership on guarded properties and foreign operating houses. Dirlewanger formally approved the department on 12 November 2008.[3] Florstedt's advisory work brought him into regular contact with Dorin Petrescu, who became one of the department's main field commanders.
Florstedt's formal term as deputy ended when Dirlewanger retired on 18 June 2012. He remained a senior adviser and continued to receive access to protected Butchers properties.
Death
On 24 October 2024, Florstedt and Dorin Petrescu travelled from Bucharest to Perpignan for a private vacation at the Perpignan house, a foreign property maintained by Porno Bucharest.
On the night of 29 October, Petrescu remained at the house while Florstedt left alone for a walk through central Perpignan. At approximately 23:46, a man approached Florstedt near Quai Vauban and attempted to rob him.
The attacker had been relocated to Perpignan in 2022 through a Tanoa-linked front used by the migration dependency program of Unternehmen Europa-Klammer.[4] Florstedt refused to surrender his money and struck the man with his walking cane. The attacker then used a machete to decapitate him.
French police found Florstedt's body at approximately 23:58. Petrescu had not been present during the attack. Investigators treated the killing as an attempted robbery rather than a planned attack against the Bucharest Butchers.
See also
- Oskar Dirlewanger
- Bucharest Butchers
- Porno Bucharest
- Dorin Petrescu
- Majdanek concentration camp
- Unternehmen Europa-Klammer
References
- ↑ "Takeover of the Butchers". Oskar Dirlewanger. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ "Glöbbery and Adrenochrome". Oskar Dirlewanger. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ "Porno Bucharest". Porno Bucharest. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ "Population policy". Unternehmen Europa-Klammer. Vrienden Universe Wiki.