The recent passing of a former SS guard and an active arrest warrant for another have highlighted the operations of the world’s only support group for mass murderers.
Known as Stille Hilfe, or Silent Aid, the group consists of 25 to 40 members, which includes Gudrun Burwitz, the daughter of Heinrich Himmler, the SS leader.
They are subtly working behind the scenes to prevent the extradition of Klaas Carel Faber, 88, who is sought by Dutch authorities to serve a life sentence for the wartime killings of 22 Jews and resistance fighters.
Furthermore, until his demise two weeks ago, Stille Hilfe was also financing the legal expenses of Samuel Kunz, 89, who faced accusations of participating in the murders of 433,000 Jews at the Nazi extermination camp in Belzec during World War II in occupied Poland.
Recently, the group convened in a discreet location in Munich, the birthplace of Nazism, to devise strategies for assisting other living war criminal suspects still residing in Germany.
While operating within legal bounds, the organization exists in a morally ambiguous space.
Publicly praising Adolf Hitler or the Nazi party is illegal in Germany. However, it is well-known that members of Stille Hilfe are fervently dedicated to him and have committed themselves to providing sanctuary for his surviving supporters.
Though the core group comprises just 25 to 40 individuals, it enjoys the backing of hundreds of anonymous supporters, many affiliated with Germany’s neo-Nazi scene, which keeps it on the radar of the nation’s intelligence agencies.
A prominent member is the woman dubbed the Nazi Princess, Himmler’s daughter, Gudrun Burwitz.
Now aged 81, Ms. Burwitz has dedicated her life to honoring the legacy of her father and aiding those who served him in death camps, SS fighting units, and the terror apparatus he presided over.
As a child, Gudrun Himmler was affectionately called Puppi, or doll, by her father. Their bond was one of mutual admiration. She recalls him appearing ‘magnificent’ in his immaculate uniform, his hat perched high on his head, and his boots polished to the point where she could see her reflection.
A specific photograph encapsulates her innocence and how it was tarnished by her father and his associates. This snapshot was taken at the Dachau concentration camp, located just outside of Munich.
At Dachau, where nearly 40,000 individuals were killed during the camp’s 12 years of operation, Ms. Burwitz is admired by her father and his SS subordinates. Mere yards away, others were subjected to beatings, starvation, murder, and incineration in the camp’s crematorium.
At that time, she lacked the understanding that would come with age. Now aware, she chooses to glorify her father and the men who served under him.
Residing in the Munich suburb of Furstenried, her phone number remains unlisted, and her home is registered under a building association’s name.
Ms. Burwitz remains mostly out of public view. A significant portion of her life is spent in a secretive realm inaccessible to outsiders, particularly journalists.
Oliver Schroem, who authored a book regarding Stille Hilfe, characterized her as a ‘dazzling Nazi princess, a deity among these believers in the old times.’
Throughout its existence, the group has facilitated the reintegration into society for numerous Nazi war criminals, including Klaus Barbie, the Gestapo Butcher of Lyon; Erich Priebke, an SS murderer of Italian partisans; and Anton Malloth, a brutal guard at the Theresienstadt concentration camp in former Czechoslovakia.
Chosen as the first president, Helene Elizabeth, Princess von Isenburg, was selected for her strong connections within aristocratic and conservative upper-middle-class circles, as well as the…Catholic Church.
In this hidden realm, Ms. Burwitz holds a position of reverence. The lineage of Himmler within her blood practically elevates her to a god-like status among fellow members of Stille Hilfe.
For her, the pinnacle of her post-war achievements was orchestrating the plush retirement of Anton Malloth. Malloth, a brutal guard at the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, was condemned to death in absentia by a Czech court.
Utilizing Stille Hilfe funds, Ms. Burwitz arranged for him to have a cozy room in a 
retirement home, situated on land near Munich that once belonged to Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess. She made it a point to visit him bi-monthly up until his demise from cancer in 2002.
Another individual under her care in a retirement home in Stuttgart until his passing earlier this year was Martin Sandberger, who commanded an elite killing unit accountable for the deaths of countless Jews, Communists, and gypsies across the occupied Baltic states, including Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
German journalists covering Stille Hilfe and its covert operations are astonished by the remarkable influence Ms. Burwitz exercises within the organization.
Frequently referenced is her attendance at a neo-Nazi rally in Ulrichsberg, northern Austria, several years back, where she made a rare appearance and was lauded by the former SS veterans present.
“They were in awe of her,” remarked Andrea Ropke, a noted expert on neo-Nazism who was also at the rally.
“All those high-ranking ex-officers lined up, and she inquired, ‘Where did you serve?’ flaunting her extensive knowledge of military logistics.”
When her father took his own life at the Allied interrogation center near Luneburg on May 23, 1945, she was devastated by the news.
To this day, she refuses to accept it as truth, asserting instead that the British were responsible for his death.
Ms. Burwitz acknowledges her affiliation with Stille Hilfe, referring to herself in one of her rare interviews as merely one of the last few members of a dwindling organization.
“It’s accurate that I assist where I’m able,” she stated. “However, I decline to discuss my work.”
By Sasha Dubronitz
