Saturday Afternoon: Two Manfred Roeders

August 23, 2014

Manfred Roeder (b1929), known as "the German Ghandi" for devoting his life to serving German independence, dressed here iin "Volk" fashion in Austria.

Carolyn Yeager looks at two outstanding Germans named Manfred Roeder: the military judge who prosecuted the "Red Orchestra" traitors in 1942-43, and the patriotic activist called the Federal Republic's "most dangerous and notorious critic" who died on July 30th at age 85.

She also tells of a German historian's revisionist conclusions refuting the Belgian version of the famous Louvain massacre by German troops in August 1914. Highlights include:

• Prof. Ulrich Keller says German troops faced sniper fire from Belgian partisans (francs-tireurs) in the city of Louvain in WW1, and the evidence is found in 150 sworn statements from investigations and court records;
• The younger Manfred Roeder fought in the Battle of Berlin at age 15-16, and continued the battle for a true constitutional Germany free of US/Jewish domination for the rest of his life;
• Roeder was sentenced to prison twice (for 13 yrs and 2.5 yrs) for arson attacks and Volksverhetzung - incitement to hatred and insult;
• The death sentences sought and gained by Roeder the military jurist were all upheld on appeal after the war as being conducted in accordance with the law;
• The older Roeder was fully accepted in German society postwar, being an active member of the CDU, even though he had served and been admired by Hitler and Goering.

At right, Manfred Roeder (b1900), Generalrichter, in Luftwaffe uniform. His age and the date of the picture is unknown.