English source-aligned edition
Franz Stärfl (Stofel)
Franz Stärfl (Stofel) served as SS commander of the Kleinbodungen subcamp and its evacuation column. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in Kleinbodungen · Mittelbau-Dora · Bergen-Belsen through documented office, decisions, supervision or operational conduct. It does not assign every crime committed by an institution or region to one individual.
Confirmed findings
- Franz Xaver Stärfl, called Stofel in the British trial report, was born in 1915. The SS placed him in command of the Kleinbodungen subcamp; Wilhelm Dörr was his deputy. (Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
- Prisoners at Kleinbodungen performed forced labour repairing A4 rockets. About 600 were brought to the subcamp when it opened in October 1944. (Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
- Stärfl led the April 1945 evacuation march towards Bergen-Belsen. A witness said Dörr shot prisoners during the march while Stofel was present at some shootings and did not intervene; the defence disputed the account. (Source: United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, vol. II, The Belsen Trial, printed pp. 26, 93, 121–125, 142; Stofel evidence, verdict and sentence (Library of Congress copy); Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
- The British military court found Stofel guilty on the Bergen-Belsen charge and sentenced him to death. The memorial records his execution at Hameln on 13 December 1945. (Source: United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, vol. II, The Belsen Trial, printed pp. 26, 93, 121–125, 142; Stofel evidence, verdict and sentence (Library of Congress copy); Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
Place in the chain of responsibility
The documented responsibility concerns command of Kleinbodungen and the evacuation column, the person-specific evidence considered by the court, and its conviction; it does not establish that Stärfl personally shot a prisoner. (Source: United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, vol. II, The Belsen Trial, printed pp. 26, 93, 121–125, 142; Stofel evidence, verdict and sentence (Library of Congress copy); Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
Key events and mechanisms
- October 1944 – SS command of the Kleinbodungen subcamp (Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
- April 1945 – led the evacuation march towards Bergen-Belsen (Source: United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, vol. II, The Belsen Trial, printed pp. 26, 93, 121–125, 142; Stofel evidence, verdict and sentence (Library of Congress copy); Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
- November 1945 – convicted on the Bergen-Belsen charge and sentenced to death (Source: United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, vol. II, The Belsen Trial, printed pp. 26, 93, 121–125, 142; Stofel evidence, verdict and sentence (Library of Congress copy))
- 13 December 1945 – executed at Hameln (Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
The circle records authority, function and agency. Several profiles may describe different parts of the same persecution chain, so profile-level totals must not be added together.
Postwar accountability
The British military court convicted Stofel on the Bergen-Belsen charge and imposed a death sentence, which was carried out in Hameln on 13 December 1945. (Source: United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, vol. II, The Belsen Trial, printed pp. 26, 93, 121–125, 142; Stofel evidence, verdict and sentence (Library of Congress copy); Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
Limits of the evidence
The trial report records conflicting witness and defence accounts of shootings on the march. It does not identify Stärfl as the person who fired. The SS-Hauptsturmführer rank is attributed to the Buchenwald Memorial; his birthplace remains unverified. (Source: United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, vol. II, The Belsen Trial, printed pp. 26, 93, 121–125, 142; Stofel evidence, verdict and sentence (Library of Congress copy); Source: Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Kleinbodungen, sections “Bewachung” and “Zwangsarbeit”; Franz Xaver Stärfl, camp command, evacuation and execution)
Sources
The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.