Kempner, Robert W.

LAWYER (GERMANY)
BORN 17 Oct 1899, Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg - DIED 15 Mar 1993, Königstein im Taunus, Hessen
BIRTH NAME Kempner, Robert Max Wasilii
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Parkfriedhof Lichterfelde, Thuner Platz 2-4 (Abt. 4a-2 (Ehrengrab))

Robert Kempner was the son of the scientists Walter Kempner (1869-1920) and Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner (1871-1935). He participated in the First World War as a soldier and after the war he studied Law in Freisburg im Beisgau. Afterwards he worked as a prosecutor in Berlin and in 1928 he joined the Prussian Ministry of the Interior.

His attempts to ban the NSDAP in 1931 failed. After the nazis came to power Hemann Göring dismissed him from state service and, as a jew, he was forced to leave Germany in 1935. He received american citizenship and from 1941 onwards he worked for the American government.

In 1945 and 1946 he participated in the Nuremburg Trials as Deputy Chief Prosecutor and it was Kempner who stated the charges against Göring and Frick. After 1951 he worked as a lawyer in Frankfurt am Main. During the Eichmann process in Israel he assisted the prosecution in the collection of evidence.

Images

The grave of Robert Kempner at the Parkfriedhof Lichterfelde, Berlin.
Picture by Androom (30 Mar 2007)

 

Sources
• Hammer, Klaus, Historische Friedhöfe & Grabmäler in Berlin, Stattbuch Verlag, Berlin, 1994
• Mende, Hans-Jürgen, Lexicon Berliner Grabstätten, Haude & Spener, 2006
Robert Kempner - Wikipedia


Kendall, Kay

Published: 06 Jan 2018
Last update: 27 Jan 2022