Heinz Reinefarth - After The War

After The War

After World War II, the Polish authorities demanded his extradition. However, the British and American authorities of occupied Germany decided that Reinefarth could be useful as a witness at the Nuremberg Trial. After the trial, he was arrested for war crimes, but a local court in Hamburg released him shortly afterwards due to lack of evidence. In December 1951, he was elected Mayor of the town of Westerland, the main town on the island of Sylt. In 1962, he was elected to the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein. After his term ended in 1967, he started to work as a lawyer. Despite numerous demands, he was never extradited to Poland and West German courts claimed there was no evidence of him committing any crimes. Instead, the government of West Germany awarded him with a general's retirement pension. He died on May 7, 1979 in his manor on Sylt.