What is albert battel?

Albert Battel was a German Army officer during World War II who is known for his courageous actions in saving hundreds of Jewish lives from being deported to concentration camps. In October 1942, Battel, who was a deputy judge advocate in the German Army stationed in the Polish town of Przemysl, intervened to stop the deportation of around 800 Jews from the town to the Belzec extermination camp.

Battel ordered the train carrying the Jewish prisoners to be diverted to the Przemysl train station and then threatened to use force against the SS soldiers in charge of the deportation if they did not comply with his orders to release the Jews. The train eventually returned to the town, and Battel provided documents declaring the Jews under his protection as prisoners of war, thereby saving their lives.

After the war, Battel was arrested by the Soviet authorities and imprisoned in a POW camp for several years. He was later released and settled in the town of Hattingen in West Germany, where he lived until his death in 1952. Despite his heroic actions during the war, Battel's story remained largely unknown until the late 20th century when his courageous actions were discovered and recognized by historians and Jewish organizations. Today, he is remembered as a rare example of a German officer who risked his life to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.