English source-aligned edition
Günther Herrmann
Günther Herrmann served as commander of Sonderkommando 4b, Einsatzgruppe C, during mass killings in Ukraine. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in Vinnytsia · Ukraine 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
- Günther Herrmann (1908–2004) commanded Sonderkommando 4b of Einsatzgruppe C during the invasion of the Soviet Union. Nuremberg testimony and an Institut für Zeitgeschichte documentary edition confirm the command. (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31; Source: Harvard Law School Library / NMT 9 — NMT 9, testimony of Einsatzgruppe C officer Lothar Fendler, HLSL sequence 4009 onward; Herrmann identified as Sonderkommando 4b commander; Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 3, document 276, PDF p. 690, note 2: Herrmann (1908–2004) headed the Brünn Gestapo from July 1939 to April 1941)
- According to the VEJ documentary edition, Herrmann instructed a Jewish community representative in Vinnytsia to assemble local leaders under the pretext of administrative work; when they appeared at German headquarters, he ordered them shot. The editors cite Einsatzgruppen Report No. 47 of 9 August 1941. (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31)
- The Düsseldorf Regional Court sentenced Herrmann to seven years’ imprisonment in 1973. (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31)
Place in the chain of responsibility
Responsibility is grounded in his documented command and the specific Vinnytsia order, without attributing all of Einsatzgruppe C’s actions to him. (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31; Source: Harvard Law School Library / NMT 9 — NMT 9, testimony of Einsatzgruppe C officer Lothar Fendler, HLSL sequence 4009 onward; Herrmann identified as Sonderkommando 4b commander)
Key events and mechanisms
- 1908 – birth (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 3, document 276, PDF p. 690, note 2: Herrmann (1908–2004) headed the Brünn Gestapo from July 1939 to April 1941)
- 1941 – command of Sonderkommando 4b and Vinnytsia shooting order (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31)
- 12 January 1973 – seven-year sentence in Düsseldorf (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31)
- 2004 – death (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 3, document 276, PDF p. 690, note 2: Herrmann (1908–2004) headed the Brünn Gestapo from July 1939 to April 1941)
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 Düsseldorf Regional Court sentenced Herrmann to seven years’ imprisonment in 1973. The available sources do not justify describing every individual act adjudicated in the case. (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31)
Limits of the evidence
Institutional sources establish only the birth and death years 1908–2004; exact days were not independently verified here. No victim count is assigned to the Vinnytsia order. The full Düsseldorf judgment should be read before giving a more precise legal classification. No licensed portrait was selected. (Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 7, introduction, printed p. 32 and note 56 (Ereignismeldung No. 47, 9 August 1941, BArch R 58/215, fol. 230); document 27, printed p. 181, note 31; Source: Institut für Zeitgeschichte / VEJ — VEJ, vol. 3, document 276, PDF p. 690, note 2: Herrmann (1908–2004) headed the Brünn Gestapo from July 1939 to April 1941)
Sources
The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.