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Plagge, Karl

    Date of birth:
    July 10th, 1897 (Darmstadt/Hesse, Germany)
    Date of death:
    June 19th, 1957 (Darmstadt/Hessen, Duitsland)
    Nationality:
    German

    Biography

    From 1941 to 1944 Major Karl Plagge was the commander of the Heeres-Kraftfahr-Park 562 in Vilnius (Lithuania), where cars from the Wehrmacht were repaired. In his work camp he employed more than 1.000 Jews as slave workers. He ordered his men to give them a respectful treatment. Abuse of Jews was strictly forbidden by Plagge. The conditions in his camp were relatively good.

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    Period:
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Rank:
    Major
    Unit:
    Heeres-Kraftfahr-Park 562
    Awarded on:
    April 11th, 2005
    Because he did his best to give them a better chance to survive, +/- 200 of his Jewish workers survived the war. Therefore he was awarded the Righteous Among the Nations honor by Yad Vashem.
    Yad Vashem-decoration

    Sources

    • Photo 1: Erika Vogel/Michael Good
    • - Good M., The Search for Major Plagge, Fordham University Press, New York, 2006

    Photo

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