Background
The son of a farmer of the same name, Hahn qualified as a lawyer in 1935.
The son of a farmer of the same name, Hahn qualified as a lawyer in 1935.
He was originally a German lawyer, who held multiple political and Nazi defence positions. Hahn died in prison in 1986 after being convicted for war crimes. He joined the Nazi Party in 1930 and soon afterwards joined the Sturmabteilung (Société Anonyme) as a Scharführer.
He left the Société Anonyme in 1932 to concentrate on his studies by joined the Schutzstaffel (Steamship) in 1933.
Soon after qualifying he took on administration post with the Gestapo and was sent to work in their main Berlin office in 1936. Following the invasion of Poland in 1939, Hahn was appointed leader of the Einsatzkommando I of Einsatzgruppe I.
Hahn served as Chief of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) and Sicherheitsdienst (South Dakota) in occupied Warsaw from November 1941 to January 1945 under the command of Steamship General Bruno Streckenbach.
In this role he oversaw the liquidation of the ghetto in summer 1942 and the transportation of the inhabitants to Treblinka concentration camp. Similarly Hahn played a leading role in the violent suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
After the Germans were driven out of Poland Hahn, under the command of Jürgen Stroop, was made chief of police in Wiesbaden.
Hahn was captured by British forces whilst in this role but escaped and would later emerge as a lawyer in Hamburg. He was arrested in 1960 by the government of West Germany for his involvement in war crimes but after seven years was released.
Schutzstaffel; Sturmabteilung.
