Werner Best (10 July 1903 – 23 June 1989) was a German Nazi war criminal, jurist, police chief, SS-Obergruppenführer and Nazi leader from Darmstadt, Hesse. Best served as civilian administrator of France and Denmark while Nazi Germany occupied those countries during World War II.
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From 1939-40, Best was an SS-Obergruppenführer (equivalent to full general), department head in the SS-Gestapo within the National Security Main Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt, or RSHA) and deputy of Reinhard Heydrich. Best was one of those responsible for the development of the RSHA as the most important instrument in Nazi Jewish policy.
According to one source [1] Werner Best in 1939 lost a power struggle, and had to leave Berlin for a while.
In 1940, Best was appointed head of the civilian administration at the German Military Command in occupied France, a position he kept until 1942.
In November 1942 after the Telegram Crisis, Best was appointed the Third Reich's Plenipotentiary (Reichsbevollmächtigter) in Denmark. He was accredited to King Christian X, who, unlike most Heads of state under Nazi German occupation, remained in power, along with the Danish Parliament, cabinet (a coalition of national unity) and courts.
In this role, Best supervised civilian affairs in occupied Denmark. He kept his position until the end of the war in May 1945, even after a Reichskommissar had been appointed to exercise the direct German administration proclaimed on 29 August 1943.
Best hoped to maintain good relations between Germany and Denmark in order to make Denmark an example of what life in Nazi Europe could be. As a result conditions were better in Denmark, by comparison with conditions in other areas occupied by Germany. Best was unenthusiastic about taking punitive measures against Jews until after the fall of the Danish government.
The director of the ministry of foreign affairs Nils Svenningsen in January 1944 suggested establishment of a Danish camp in order to avoid deportations to Germany.[2] Werner Best accepted this suggestion, but on condition that this camp was built close to the German border. Frøslev Prison Camp was set up in August 1944.
Due to the Danish cabinet's decision on 9 April 1940 to accept cooperation with German authorities, the Danish police consequently cooperated with the German occupation forces.[3] This arrangement remained in effect even after the resignation of the Danish government on 29 September 1943. On 12 May 1944, Dr. Werner Best demanded that the Danish police should take over the task of protecting 57 specific enterprises sabotaged by the Danish resistance movement, which was growing in strength. Should the Danish civil service not accept this, the Danish police force would be reduced to 3,000 men. The head of the Danish administration, Nils Svenningsen, was inclined to accept this demand, but the organizations of the Danish police were opposed to the idea. The German request was ultimately turned down, and this was reported to Best on 6 June 1944. This reduced the Gestapo's already limited trust in the Danish police even further, and on 19 September 1944, the German army began arresting members of the Danish police forces. 1,960 policemen were arrested and deported to German KZ and prisoner of war camps.
During deliberations about capitulation 3 May 1945, Werner Best fought to avoid a scorched earth policy in Denmark.[4]
In 1948, Best was sentenced to death by a Danish court, but his sentence was reduced to 12 years in prison, and he was released in 1951. Best was fined by a Berlin de-Nazification court in 1958 for his actions during the war and was later charged in 1972 when further war crimes allegations arose. He was found medically unfit to stand trial and was released.
After that, Best was part of a network that helped old SS comrades.[5] He died in Mülheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, in 1989.
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