Edwin Graf von Rothkirch und Trach

Edwin von Rothkirch und Trach
Rothkirch in American custody in 1945
Born	1888
Died	1980
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Rank	General
Commands held	Army Group Centre Rear Area
Battles/wars	World War II

Edwin Graf Rothkirch und Trach (1 November 1888 - 29 July 1980) was a German general during World War II who commanded Army Group Centre Rear Area and later an army corps.

Rothkirch und Trach commanded Army Group Centre Rear Area starting in 1943. He was later appointed to command the LIII Corp. On March 6, 1945, Rothkirch, while commanding officer of LIII Corps, wandered into U.S. lines and was taken prisoner west of Coblenz, Germany. He was interned at Trent Park, a prison camp for high-ranking German officers.

While stationed in Poland, Rothkirch und Trach became aware of mass shootings by the SS (Schutzstaffel). In its review of Soldaten ("Soldiers") by historian Sönke Neitzel and social psychologist Harald Welzer (a book based on secret recordings of German POWs by the Allied intelligence), Der Spiegel reports:

"Many Wehrmacht soldiers became witnesses to the Holocaust because they happened to be present or were invited to take part in a mass shooting. In one cell conversation, army General Edwin Graf von Rothkirch und Trach talks about his time in the Polish town of Kutno:

"I knew an SS leader pretty well, and we talked about this and that, and one day he said: 'Listen, if you ever want to film one of these shootings? …I mean, it doesn't really matter. These people are always shot in the morning. If you're interested, we still have a few left over, and we could also shoot them in the afternoon if you like."

Rothkirch und Trach died in 1980.