The Breda Four (Dutch; Flemish: Vier van Breda), later The Breda Three (Dutch; Flemish: Drie van Breda) and The Breda Two (Dutch; Flemish: Twee van Breda), were the four last imprisoned German war criminals in the Netherlands after the Second World War; Willy Lages, Joseph Kotalla, Ferdinand aus der Fünten and Franz Fischer. They were imprisoned in the Koepelgevangenis in Breda, hence their name. Starting in the 1960s, some - including the West-German government - pleaded for their release and multiples ministers have considered this. However, each time this led to social unrest and political opposition.
Lages was released in 1966, and died in 1971. Kotalla died in prison in 1979. Aus der Fünten and Fischer were released in 1989 and both died the same year.
Willy Lages was head of the Central Agency for Jewish Emigration in Amsterdam and therefore responsible for the deportation of Jews to Poland and Germany. He also responsible for the execution of resistance fighters.[1]
Ferdinand aus der Fünten also worked at the Central Agency for Jewish Emigration in Amsterdam and was in charge of daily management, similarly responsible for the deportation.[1]
Franz Fischer led the deportations in The Hague and was responsible for finding Jews in hiding.[1]
Joseph Kotalla was head of administration and camp guard at Kamp Amersfoort. He was nicknamed the Executioner of Amersfoort for the many cruelties he committed.[1]
The four were part of the 241 Germans who were on trial for war crimes of crimes against humanity in the Netherlands after the Second World War. Six were sentenced to life imprisonment and eighteen were sentenced do death, of whom five were actually executed. Four of them were convicted in absentia and were never arrested. The sentences of the other nine were commuted.
The Breda Four had been among the nine on death row, whose sentences had been commuted to life imprisonment. In the case of Kotalla, this was done due to diminished responsibility. The other three had filed clemency requests. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands refused to deny these, because she objected to the death penalty. Seeing no other option, Minister of Justice Teun Struycken commuted the sentences of Kotalla, Aus der Fünten and Fischer to life imprisonment, while postponing the execution of Lages. He expected them to be in prison for a maximum of 20 years. His successor, Leen Donker, similarly commuted the sentence of Lages in 1952. This last decision was met with social unrest, with a protest in Amsterdam of 15,000-20,000 protesters against the commution.[1] The other prisoners who were first sentenced to death were released in 1959 and 1960.
In 1963, two progressive criminal law experts pleaded for the release of the four prisoners. Minister of Justice Albert Beerman (CHU) attempted to put release on the parliamentary agenda in the beginning of 1963, but failed.
In May 1966,[1] Lages was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and doctors expected him not to survive a surgery. Minister of Justice Ivo Samkalden (PvdA) granted him an interruption of his sentence of three months, so he could be treated in Germany. He was transferred to a hospital in Braunlage on 9 June. His decision came at a time when there was more attention for what happened during the war, in particular surrounding the Holocaust. Samkalden's decision was met with protest, in particular in Amsterdam. His own party was particularly divided and some Jewish PvdA members could not understand that the Jewish Samkalden had made this decision. Despite unrest, his decision was accepted by the coalition parties.
Less than a month later, Samkalden was informed that Lages did not have colorectal cancer, but another disease which was life threatening, but not acutely fatal. He was however not able to imprison Lages again, because of Lages' medical condition and the fact that the West-German constitution did not allow extradition. Another protest was held in Amsterdam and a debate in the House of Representatives, where he kept the support of the coalition parties and the CHU. Lages was released from the hospital in November 1966, but stayed in Braunlage, where he died in 1971. His release contributed to the rejection of a legislative amendment which would have made it possible for those imprisoned for life to be release on parole.
At the end of the 1960s, the three remaining prisoners again request clemency. Minister of Justice Carel Polak was planning to, but abandoned this after the Supreme Court of the Netherlands advised against.[2]
Polak's successor, Dries van Agt sent a letter to the House of Representatives, in which he indicated his intention to release the three prisoners. By sending the letter beforehand, he wanted to avoid presenting the House with a fait accompli and furthermore asked for advice. At first, a majority of the House indicated that they would support his decision. Before the debate, a hearing was held on 24 February 1972, in which resistance members and victims spoke out about a possible release. A majority of the speakers opposed release and a majority of the House was swayed.[3] A thirteen-hour debate was held on 29 February 1972. A motion by Joop Voogd (PvdA), which said the cabinet should not execute their plan to release the prisoners, passed after the debate with 85 votes in favour and 61 against.[2]
In 1977, German war criminal Herbert Kappler escaped prison and died a year later, making The Breda Three the last imprisoned Germans for crimes in the Second World War in West-Europe.[4] Kotalla died in 1979.
Minister of Justice Frits Korthals Altes and his party, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, had always opposed clemency. However around 1988 he changed his mind, arguing that it might be better for the victims if they were released, so the publicity would not resurface every time clemency was discussed. Korthals Altes would later also say that the decisive reason was that the intensive individual medical care they received, did not belong in a prison. To find a reason for clemency, he requested medical examination, which however provided no reason.[1]
Around the same time, 5 July 1988, Korthals Altes and Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers receive a letter pleading for the release of the two. It was signed by nineteen (prominent) Dutch people, including resistance member Bib van Lanschot and former minister Samkalden. During a debate in January 1989 about the proposed release, Korthals Altes referred to the letter.[1] The House of Representatives supported the release.[5] On 27 January 1989, Fischer and Aus der Fünten were released and dropped by an ambulance across the border near Venlo as unwanted aliens.[1] [5]
The Breda Four were supported by the West German government starting in the 1960s. They received legal support from three lawyers, an allowance and magazine subscriptions. The German government brought their release up in bilateral meetings. They also received public support, with Germans handing out leaflets at the border and gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures calling for their release.[6]