World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseJosef Blösche was born in the Bohemian region of Austria–Hungary in 1912. His early years were spent largely as a farmhand and a waiter at his father's hotel. He joined the Nazi Party and the Schutzstaffel (SS) organization in 1938. In 1939, he was assigned to the occupation force of Warsaw, Poland. In Mar 1940, he was transferred to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) within the SS, with his post remaining in the city of Warsaw. During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Apr-May 1943, his unquestioning brutality contributed to the German success in the liquidation of the ghetto and many Jewish deaths; for this accomplishment, he was awarded the German War Merit Cross. He surrendered to the Soviets in May 1945 and was sent to forced labor camps. In early 1946, he transferred to a labor camp in East Germany. In Aug 1946, he suffered an accident at work that left one side of his face deformed. In 1947, he was freed. The publication of photographs of the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, many of which featured him prominently, did not affect him as his facial deformation kept him from being recognized. He went on to become married and fathered two children. He was finally found in Jan 1967. Placed on trial in Apr 1969, he was found guilty for playing a role in the deportation of 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto and the murder of 2,000 Jews. He was sentenced to death, and the sentence was carried out in Leipzig, East Germany on 29 Jul 1969. He was buried in an unmarked grave.

Josef Blösche Interactive Map

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Josef Blösche Timeline